A.I. & BREEDING

Selection indexes are great tools because they combine all significant traits into one. They get us away from setting minimum criteria for particular traits, which allows us to make progress for many different traits all at once.

When it comes to your herd’s reproduction program, you might be satisfied with a 20 percent pregnancy rate, considering the national 21-day rate average is between 13 and 15 percent. But even 20 percent no longer sets the bar – that’s yesterday’s number.

There are many tools available in the toolbox of livestock managers that can be used to maximize reproductive efficiencies. One of these tools is blood-based pregnancy tests.

Researchers and the dairy science community joined together in July in Kansas City, Missouri, for the 2014 Joint Annual Meeting held by the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) and the American Society on Animal Science (ASAS).

Whenever Jack Corless performs a farm audit, he always asks producers about their goals. The first answer is generally either “I want more milk” or “I want to make more money.” The second is, “I want to improve the fertility of my herd.”

Worldwide, dairy producers have put a great deal of focus on improving efficiencies through standard operating procedures, herd nutrition and reproductive strategies.