Select Sires

Ten Priorities of Reproductive Success
(Part Three)
Transcript of Select Sires' Reproductive Moment Program
on DairyLine Radio Which Aired Oct. 9, 2003
With Dr. Mike O’Connor, Dairy and Animal Science Extension,
Penn State University

This week’s reproductive moment is with Dr. Mike O’Connor of Penn State Dairy and Animal Science Extension. It is the third in our series of Top-Ten Priorities for Reproductive Success. Dr. O’Connor, we pick up this week with the advice of not taking short cuts when it comes to semen handling or insemination.

We’ve been breeding cows artificially for 50 years, and it is like any practice: sometimes it gets so routine that I am afraid people may take short-cuts to try to save time, and may not follow the procedures the way they were instructed. We have gone to all the trouble of identifying a cow in heat, restraining her, thawing the semen and paying to place that semen. Why take shortcuts when you are trying to get a cow pregnant? We are talking about a small sample of semen, and it is very vulnerable to temperature stress. This is not the place to take short cuts. It doesn’t take that much time to do it properly.

What about pregnancy checks?

In some herds this is a problem, especially now in the down swing with the low milk prices. Some dairy producers are trying to cut costs, and they may delay or reduce the number of times the veterinarian is at the farm to check for pregnancy. The earlier you know a cow isn’t pregnant, the quicker you can get on the problem: re-synchronize her, put her on a priority list or something like that. But, if you delay pregnancy examinations too long, you have two strikes against you. Routine herd health visits is not the place to cut costs.

Any advice on working with your veterinarian on a vaccination program?

Sure. This is so critical. There are diseases that can be devastating. One that comes to mind, at least back here in the northeast, is bovine virus diarrhea, which can cause embryonic death. It can be devastating once it gets into a herd, because then you have persistently infected animals. You are not going to prevent it completely with vaccination, but you can reduce the impact it might have. That is just one vaccination. You have to work as a team with your veterinarian and your A.I. technician, if you have an A.I. technician, and make sure vaccinations don’t slip through the cracks, because it can be devastating.

The tenth item on your top-ten priorities for reproductive success is improving cow comfort and hoof health, and providing good footing. That is always important, isn’t it?

It is. Cows have to mount other cows, and stand to be mounted by another cow. If they are sore in their hooves and legs, they are not going to be too anxious to perform those behaviors. They will be uncomfortable, and the dairy producer will not be seeing signs of heat if he has a high percentage of cows with these types of problems. So, routine hoof health care with trimming is important. Good footing is also important, whether it is on grooved concrete or in an exercise lot somewhere. That way they can have the trust that they are not going to slip when they are mounting other cows or standing to be mounted. We have to rely on these signs, and if the environment isn’t conducive to allowing cows to interact, and to show these signs, again we have another strike against us.

Thank you. That is Dr. Mike O’Connor of Penn State Dairy and Animal Science Extension.

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