Select Sires

SELECTIONS - Winter 2005
Ovsynch From The Producer Perspective

From left: Paula, Kevin, Janet and Duane Molhoek reap the benefits of a well-managed Ovsynch program.

When Duane Molhoek, owner of End Road Farm, Falmouth, Mich., decided to make improvements to his facilities, which included moving cows from dirt lots to a barn with cement lots, he wasn’t prepared for the change it would make in his heat detection program.

"The herd checks said the cows were ovulating right; we were just missing [heats]," says Molhoek, who milks 113 registered Holsteins.

Around the same time as the barn improvements, a new program called Ovsynch entered the market. After trying everything he could think of, including hiring night help to catch the cows in heat, Molhoek decided to give Ovsynch a try. The results were outstanding.

"Now we use the [Ovsynch] sequence on everything and it has basically eliminated heat detection. We can breed more cows at the same time and have a more appealing pregnancy rate," he comments.

Although some view Ovsynch as a difficult program to use because of the number of times cows have to be handled to successfully implement it, Molhoek outweighs this with the positive results he’s achieved, especially with cystic cows and his embryo program. By using Ovsynch, Molhoek has gained the ability to pick flush dates two months in advance. In fact, before starting the Ovsynch program, he often had to eliminate 50 percent of potential recipients. Now that number has dropped to 15 percent.

"[Ovsynch] is a great tool but you have to look at how it fits into your management scheme, just like other breeding aids," advises Molhoek. "The program has a proven track record, but you must follow the protocols for using Ovsynch exactly to have success."

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