Regardless of how a producer chooses to breed – either naturally or with synchronization protocols using fertility pharmaceuticals – their goals must involve an approach that maximizes cow health. There are options for producers to optimize and prioritize the reproductive health of their herd while just “leaving the cow alone” and using automated technologies.
For many different reasons, producers are contemplating how they can go back to, incorporate or improve natural breeding results in their herd. In 2001, the fertility of the North American dairy cow had bottomed out, which required a very critical response by producers and industry leaders.
Since then, our industry has learned a great deal, as summarized in previous articles, “Back to the basics: Reproduction on your dairy” and “Sensing stressors: Reproduction on your dairy.” Both articles highlight the foundation for assessing and organizing your herd to achieve your reproductive goals. A part of this journey to selecting reproductive systems is to analyze the role of detecting heat naturally. The choice to add more breedings naturally to your herd program will be specific to your farm and may reflect trends in the dairy community.
You may choose a new system due to the concern of using fertility programs, and branding milk in the future may challenge the continued blanketed use of fertility programs. Since perception overpowers logic in many situations and the food safety of the programs is well known, there may be changes in our protocols at some point in the future. The other key factor is how the farm wishes to organize its labor. Large farms may find it easier to have a reproduction team execute fertility programs, whereas midsize and smaller farms may find that their employees are stretched and cannot execute the injection protocols in a timely manner to achieve high conception rates possible with healthy cows.
Farms in North America will be categorized as conventional or organic. The organic world clearly leads us to work with cows naturally for all breedings, while the conventional world has choices. When moving to natural breedings, farmers fully expect to see signs of heat and breed from them. Today’s automated reproductive management choices are:
Implement a system that detects behavior changes
With the increase in average herd size and skill level required for indicating cows in heat, the emphasis has shifted from asking people to detect heat utilizing tail chalking to automated systems. Automated systems prepare a list of cows to breed based on behavior activity and aligns it with the ideal time to sort and breed cows in parlor, rotary and robotic herds.
Traditionally, these systems have been referred to as activity systems that also provide health scores. Some automated systems have added rumination and eating time, and a few systems have locations. As this data is added in, algorithms can be improved to find additional behaviors that reflect the timing of ovulation. Ultimately, a change in behavior occurs due to a change in hormone status within the cow’s body. Cow health is key, as inflammation in the transition period and body condition loss impact the ovary and, therefore, the quality of the eggs and embryos. With increased issues in transition cows and greater body condition loss, silent heat and lower conception rates often follow. The system does what it is supposed to do – finds cows with a change in behavior – but it is the cow’s body that plays a significant role in determining if she will conceive and maintain the pregnancy.
Timing of insemination is important, and each herd will have to decide what is important to them – breeding two times per day to optimize the timing of insemination or organizing labor in the most efficient manner to breed, meaning breeding once per day. Robotic barns typically pick a time of day to breed, whereas parlors will breed following a milking session, historically in the first half of the day. Sorting systems help ensure cows that do not need to be bred can return to their stall. It is critical that we leave these cows alone. Those that do not need attention and are not needed for breeding should return to their pens to eat, drink and rest in their stalls. Cows locked up for prolonged periods of time were found to have increased stress levels, which can impact milk production and health.
Sorting into a work area for breeding is attractive to the farms wanting to minimize the lockup time for whole groups. If headlocks are necessary due to decisions made in the past, farms are encouraged to minimize lockup time for the whole group.
Install an inline progesterone testing program
Inline progesterone testing is available and has been in Canada for 13 years and recently launched in the U.S. This is the most advanced form of heat detection, allowing farmers to identify noncycling and cystic cows and indicate pregnancy. For robotic herds that want to focus on the right cows at the right time, this has been a successful form of technology. The conventional herds that want to know when cows are not cycling can interject with a fertility program to try to start the cow’s cycle or treat cysts extremely early in the process.
The transition cow program, cow comfort, cooling and nutrition are key to ensuring the herd optimizes the level of fertility in the herd. All herds have some abnormal cows, and inline progesterone testing empowers robotic farmers to deal with each cow as she should be dealt with. Healthy cows should be left alone to breed naturally, while unhealthy cows with poor cycles are left alone to see if time will help them or if a fertility protocol needs to be implemented. This concept fits well with the culture of robotic barns and a wide range of philosophies can be adopted.
Farms desiring high performance will organize their day to optimize the timing of insemination. Once-per-day breeding must be exercised with caution, while twice-daily breeding yields higher conception rates. Cows that drop their progesterone levels and show signs of heat make it easy for farmers to know exactly what behavior changes are indeed heat signs. Cows can be confusing and show signs again 10 to 14 days later, making it easier to ignore these cows. The system alerts the farmer of the real cystic cows. They will be diagnosed by the system and appropriate therapy can be utilized, treating the right cow at the right time.
The more we can leave cows alone to eat, drink, socialize and rest, the lower their cortisol levels will be, and this will add to their health and reproductive performance. Today’s farmer has many choices for their reproductive programs, and automated technologies can play a role in achieving their herd’s goals. Healthy transition cows will reward the farmer with the outcomes expected, regardless of technology.
References are omitted but available upon request by sending an email to an editor.
