Waikato DairyNZ Farmwatch: Pregnancy testing underway

Pregnancy testing results can be used to highlight areas for improving mating next season. Photo / Mark Mitchell

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By DairyNZ

Pregnancy testing is underway for spring-mated herds.

While the results will help you with preparing a cull list and working out your expected calving pattern for the spring, the results can also be used to highlight areas for improving mating next season.

Look for a pattern among empty cows, how did each age group perform?

For example, if your heifers have an above-average empty rate it may point to poorly grown replacements.

Are late-calving cows the problem group, or carry-over cows?

The InCalf Fertility Focus Report is a single-page report that assesses current herd reproductive performance and shows which management areas to focus on for improvement.

It will give clues to where you can improve, for example, heat detection, and calving spread - is it the first half or second half of mating where the issue lies?

DairyNZ Farmwatch for week ending February 2.

The Fertility Focus report is available via LIC, CRV AmBreed and Infovet.

You can also find out more about the Fertility Focus report on DairyNZ’s website here.