by Amanda Smith, Associate Editor
Reproduction is a linchpin on most dairy operations as it has significant impact on overall profitability. When herds excel in this metric, they improve their productivity as cows take better advantage of the most productive parts of their lactation and reproductive costs per pregnancy drop.
Through collaboration between the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Cornell University, a new tool was developed to assess the net returns of reproductive performance parameters. This allows a dairy's key decision makers to perform reproductive analyses and study the monetary value of intended breeding strategies.
UWCU-DairyRepro$Plus implements a complex model that simulates all cows in a herd and their economics. It then computes the net return associated with reproductive performance parameters, allowing you to compare alternative reproduction programs.
It also calculates and compares the economic value of reproductive programs, including timed Artificial Insemination (TAI), heat detection, (HD), and combinations of TAI and HD programs, including the use of activity monitors.
The PC-based tool can be downloaded here.
