Nov. 30 2020
“We utilize Dairy Comp 305 for our record keeping and record health events weekly,” said Andy Fisher of the importance of herd health records
Nov. 23 2020
“We have made several improvements over the past few years to help our cows and heifers that are safe in calf,” said Travis Holmes, the lone repeat winner in the 13th Annual Dairy Cattle Reproduction...
Nov. 16 2020
“We are extremely particular about the nutrient balance in our prefresh and postfresh rations,” explained Paul Colgan of Patterson Farms
Dec. 23 2019
"We talk a lot about what the future might look like for our industry. We, as dairymen, have figured out that keeping cow comfort as a priority is paramount to getting cows safe in calf,” explained...
Dec. 16 2019
“All our protocol lists are set up in drop boxes. Our cow mating is also downloaded into the herd program, so on timed A.I. breeding days we just print the list of cows to breed, and it has the sire...
Dec. 9 2019
“The entire dairy is equipped with headlocks. Lockup time is one of our main focuses, and our goal is 30 minutes or less of lockup time,” said Chris Terra, a Platinum winner of the Dairy Cattle...
Dec. 2 2019
“Cows are watched for heats as soon as the postfresh cows are 25 days in milk (DIM),” said Brian Schilling, a Platinum winner of the Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council’s 12th annual awards...
Nov. 18 2019
A voluntary waiting period (VWP) of 88 days is the longest calving-to-breeding period among all the finalists in this year’s Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council’s awards competition
Dec. 17 2018
“We believe our herd’s reproductive performance has improved with the addition of every week herd health (instead of every other week),” said Rick Portena, who works closely with his...
Dec. 10 2018
“We record breeding codes on all breedings so we can track performance,” explained general manager Kevin Souza of Victory Farms in Milbank, S.D
Dec. 3 2018
“Nutrition is a very important part of our reproductive program,” said Tim Holmes from Holmesville Dairy near Argyle, Wis
Nov. 26 2018
"Three people on our dairy handle all the breeding — Rick and Ingrid Portena and Jesse Boyd. We have alternating weekends between Rick, Ingrid, and Jesse,” said Rick Portena from Pendora Dairy...
Nov. 19 2018
"All cows enter the presynch program. All repeat breeders confirmed at herd check are enrolled in ovsynch,” said Steve Paider, dairy manager for Seidl’s Mountain View Dairy of Luxemburg, Wis
Nov. 12 2018
“Every cow is given prostaglandin (Lutalyse) at 21 to 24 days in milk (DIM) to eliminate metritis or endometritis,” said Andy Schilling of Schilling Dairy in Darlington, Wis
Nov. 5 2018
“I walk the pens three times a day — after morning chores, noon, and after night chores. Usually during those calm times of the day, I can catch most of the active cows,” said Jeffrey...
Jan. 1 2018
“Every cow receives prostaglandin at 10 days in milk (DIM) to help clean up the uterus,” explained Jeff McNeely of his farm’s prebreeding protocols and presynchronization program
Dec. 26 2017
“Team JZB . . . our “in-house” team breeds cows at Jer-Z-Boys Ranch,” commented Gary de Graaf when responding to the question “Who breeds cows on your farm?”
Dec. 18 2017
“I walk the pens three times a day, after morning chores, noon, and after night chores,” said Jeff McNeely of his commitment to his family’s dairy herd
Dec. 11 2017
What are the most important metrics that the nation’s top herds use to monitor reproduction?
Nov. 27 2017
“We ultrasound cows at 33 days carried calf to determine pregnancy. Pregnant cows are given a second ultrasound at 60 days carried calf to confirm pregnancy, determine fetal sex, and to check for...