Key messages for the mating period 2009
Messages for the mating period 2009
Lower than average pasture covers during winter, leading to animals with low condition score, as well as tight cash flow condition characterise the 2009 season.
What to do at mating
Set the farm up for good heat detection:
- Follow up staff training and monitor heat detection
- Use of heat mount detectors or tail paint and paddock observations
If reducing the AB period consider:
- Are you really saving money? How costly might this be to two years time?
- What is the impact on future replacements?
- What is the cost of extra bulls to make up for reduced AB?
Effort = reward
Long Term - develop a strategy to address fundamentals
Get familiar with the InCalf Book as it addresses the fundamental requirements for achieving good reproductive performance and is agreed industry knowledge. Expect reduced performance if these fundamentals are not managed well.
Key messages
Achieving good reproductive performance requires a planned approach. Ensure you’re familiar with the InCalf Book, as it addresses the fundamental requirements for achieving good reproductive performance. It contains all the key messages and is agreed industry knowledge. Expect reduced performance if these fundamentals are not managed well.
The best two indicators of overall reproduction performance and the measures used by InCalf are:
- 6-week in-calf rate
- Empty rate.
The drivers are submission rate (cows being mated when they are on heat) and conception rate (cows getting pregnant to these matings).
In-calf rate = submission rate x conception rate
Farmers have more control over submission rates than conception rates, so submission rate needs to be a priority area of focus. The target submission rate for the first 3 weeks is 90%.
(i.e. the 3-week submission rate.)
Be aware that submission rate continues to play a crucial role beyond the first round, but becomes impractical to measure at farm-level.
Read the article by Burke and Meier, 2009 – Spring ’09 Dairynewz (p.10-11) to get an appreciation of how important ‘ongoing’ submission and conception rates are to overall reproductive performance.
Aim for a 90% 3-week submission rate.
Submission rate
The two components of achieving a 90% 3-week submission rate are:
1. Get cows cycling
2. Detect heats
In other words, a poor submission rate will result if heats are being missed, and there are a lot of non-cyclers (>15% before the planned start of mating - PSM). Conception rates are also reduced by non-cyclers.
