When Chad Abbas, herdsman at Van Voorst Dairy, set out to improve reproductive efficiency a few years ago, he found the answer by combining targeted estrus synchronization with SenseHub® Dairy cow monitoring technology.

At the time, cows on the 1,500-head dairy in Sioux Center, Iowa, were on synchronization programs utilizing ESTRUMATE® (cloprostenol injection) and FERTAGYL® (gonadorelin). Heat detection rates hovered around the 60% range, with pregnancy rates averaging 26%. It was good, but Abbas thought they could do better still.

“We were just missing too many cows in heat,” he says.

Boosting rates through a unique approach

The solution for Abbas? Adding SenseHub® Dairy monitoring to his operation. He now receives a daily report of cows and heifers ready to be bred, ensuring heats are no longer missed.

With SenseHub® Dairy technology, Abbas improved the herd’s heat detection rate by 10% and increased pregnancy rates by 5%.

“These results have added more profitability to our bottom line. We’ve had more pregnant cows and less days open, which results in lower feed costs and more calves,” he says.

SenseHub Dairy has been a game changer for heifer breeding, too. Van Voorst Dairy houses heifers at a separate facility about five miles from the main dairy. Prior to installing SenseHub Dairy monitoring ear tags, Abbas hired a breeding technician to walk heifer pens daily, checking for heats and painting tail heads of heifers to be bred. It was a time-consuming task that cost the dairy $1,500 per month.

Now, Abbas simply checks his phone each morning to access a list of heifers in heat generated by the SenseHub Dairy system. He makes a quick trip down theroad to breed the heifers himself, not only saving the technician fee but also getting better results due to more accurate heat detection.

“To be a profitable dairy, it takes cow comfort, it takes efficiencies among employees and it takes efficiencies with the cows. It takes everyone working together,” Abbas said. “The complete package from Merck Animal Health — ESTRUMATE, FERTAGYL and SenseHub — has really worked well here.”

Doing more with data

On Oechsner Dairy in Brownsville, Wisconsin, the family team of Dave and Alan combine technology and hormones in a different way to achieve greater reproductive efficiency.

The Oechsners genomically test all animals, identifying the top 1% of the milking herd for breeding to dairy sires. They breed heifers with sexed dairy semen, beginning at 10 months of age, paying close attention to daughter calving ease and daughter pregnancy rate when making sire selections.

They use a Double Ovsynch program with ESTRUMATE and FERTAGYL for the milking herd, and switched from LUTALYSE® (dinoprost tromethamine) to ESTRUMATE 10 years ago because of what their own data was telling them.

“We did our own on-farm trial to compare the two products,” says Alan. “There was no doubt that we saw stronger heats with ESTRUMATE. We haven’t looked back.”

They’ve found the greatest success using weekly ultrasound checks to inform the timing of their shots.

“Giving FERTAGYL at the right time has made such a difference for us,” Dave says. “Ultrasound lets us see what is happening inside the cow. There are times our veterinarian will have us restart a cow on Double Ovsynch. All cows 23 to 25 days post-breeding get FERTAGYL followed by ESTRUMATE the following week if found open. If the ultrasound shows that the CL (corpus luteum) is not old enough, we give FERTAGYL two weeks in a row. If there is a dominant CL, we can give ESTRUMATE and get a good response. Without the ultrasound, we wouldn’t know the quality of the CL.”

While there are many ways to measure reproductive performance, Dave Oechsner is most proud of his dairy’s 12-month calving interval. An incredible 92% of the herd is confirmed pregnant by 150 days in milk. They credit a great team, good cow sense and the use of technology for their success.

Optimizing the way you want to work

Every dairy operates in their own unique way. But one aspect all dairies share? The need to get the most from their reproduction program.

With the full-solution M-Power portfolio from Merck Animal Health, producers have access to the most powerful solutions, no matter how they run their dairy. With all the right tools all in one place, it’s easy to combine methods and solutions for greater results. See what the power of M-Power can do for you today.

Important Safety Information

ESTRUMATE: Do not administer ESTRUMATE to a pregnant cow unless abortion is desired. Severe localized post-injection clostridial infections have been reported; in rare instances infection has led to death. Women of childbearing age, asthmatics, and persons with respiratory problems should exercise extreme caution when handling ESTRUMATE. ESTRUMATE is readily absorbed through the skin and can cause abortion and/or bronchospasms; direct contact with the skin should be avoided, and accidental spillage on the skin should be washed off immediately with soap and water. For complete safety information, refer to the product label.

FERTAGYL: Not for use in humans. Keep out of reach of children. For complete safety information, refer to the product label.

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