Select Sires

Sleeping on the Job? A Cow's Reproductive Job Description
Transcript of Select Sires' Reproductive Moment Program
on DairyLine Radio, Which Aired Dec. 12, 2002
with Mel DeJarnette, reproductive specialist,
Select Sires Inc.

In this week’s Reproductive Moment we start a three part series with reproductive specialist Mel DeJarnette at Select Sires and the topic, Sleeping on the Job: Having your cow as your employee and how we go about paying them.

Thanks, Bill. To keep up with me on this one, I need everybody to quit thinking of cows as cows and start thinking of them as employees of the dairy. How long would you tolerate a human employee that is continually caught sleeping in the haymow when they should be out milking, feeding, heat-detecting, or cleaning the alleyway? Not very long, I am sure. So, why should it be any different for the cows? Cows are basically employees and they are assigned the task of generating income and a return on investment for the operation. Employees, human or bovine, when they don’t pull their weight, should be asked to seek employment elsewhere. Perhaps McDonald’s would have an opening for either of them.

At this point I am sure many of you are thinking, well ... we are heading for a discussion of culling strategy. However, instead I am going to argue just the opposite and suggest that perhaps we need to give these non-productive employees a raise, more compensation, more benefits and more perks. Of course, that would be ridiculous for human employees, but it is really for the cows. Unlike your human employees, who are paid after a days’ work or a week’s work, your bovine employees require their pay in advance. To be productive and profitable members of the herd, a few items in the job description for your bovine employees might include: resume normal estrus cycle within 30-days after calving; conceive to the first or second service, and no later than 100 days after calving; and produce lots and lots of wholesome milk with a high component percentage and low somatic cell counts.

In order for your cows to meet these expectations, they demand first to be compensated with a well-balanced ration composed of quality feed stock that meets their nutrient demands relative to stage of lactation and body condition. Cows demand health benefits as well, including regular veterinary visits, and vaccinations for all diseases relevant to the area. They demand living and working quarters to be kept clean, dry and comfortable, with seasonal provisions for summertime cooling, especially in the cafeteria.

This is just the beginning of their demands. Just wait until you read the fine print in their labor union contract. Human and bovine employees could not be any more opposite. While the current compensation of a human employee is usually a reflection of historical job performance, the current job performance of your bovine employees is usually a reflection of historical compensation. So while with human problems we can often solve them with reprimands and pink slips, resolutions to your bovine labor issues will usually require more investment in compensation and benefits. So, in the next couple segments we will dig a little deeper into the specifics, and perhaps expose a little of the fine print in the typical bovine labor union contract.

Thank you, Mel. That is Mel DeJarnette, reproductive specialist with Select Sires.

Copyright 1996-2002 Select Sires Inc. Last updated 12-Dec-2002.

Select Sires Inc., 11740 U.S. 42 North, Plain City, Ohio 43064 / Phone: (614) 873-4683 Fax: (614) 873-5751