Dr. Ray Nebel has been visiting with DairyLine Radio over the past few weeks about things that can derail a herd`s reproductive success. To recap, the things he has touched on so far are:
-Transition
-Nutrition
-Disease
-Lack of systems

But the constant behind all of these things is people! Working with good people translates into a good team that will work hard to make things better. They are the ones working with the transition cows, mixing the ration, treating sick cows, etc. There must be strong compliance to set protocals and communicaton within the team. Schedule monthly team meetings as a time to have question & answer for everyone on the team.

In DairyLine`s continuing segment on what will derail reproduction in a herd, Dr. Ray Nebel of Select Sires cites disease as the third most important. Proper transition cow management and nutrition were the first two areas producers should be concerned with.

In regards to disease, the big three that you should screen for are BVD, Neospora & Leptospirosis. BVD is a disease that can mutate easily so you need to be vigilant in your testing, which can be done with a milk sample. Neospora can result in abortion in the second trimester and testing should be performed on the aborted fetus to see if that was the cause. Lepto results in lower conception rates and can be screened for with a urine sample. Work closely with your vet to stay on top of prevention of these 3 diseases that can cause problems with your herd`s reproductive health.

Dr. Ray Nebel of Select Sires shares important nutrition elements all producers should be aware of and continue to monitor in order to ensure a reproductively healthy herd.

1. Dry Matter Intake
2. Bunk Management
3. Energy Density
4. Protein Type & Level
5. Minerals
6. Toxins

Utilize the expertise and experience of your nutritionist. Make sure to make daily “walk throughs” a part of your routine - too much or too little feed, clean water, comfort of cows. Also, monitor the Milk Urea Nitrogren (MUN) of the herd as it is an indicator of nitrogen not utlized by the cow.

Knowing and being able to recognize the warning signs that might derail reproduction is very important. In the weeks ahead DairyLine Radio and Dr. Ray Nebel of Select Sires will be visiting about this topic. To start this series, Thursday`s Reproductive Moment focused on proper care of transition cows.

The transition period is the most important time in a cow`s reproductive cycle. Proper care during this time is the key to getting off to a good start as the cow enters the milking herd. The primary concerns are problems calving, metritis, metabolic disorders and excessive weight loss. Close monitoring of close-up cows (2-3 weeks prior to calving) is important. Of special concern is overcrowding.

To listen to Dr. Nebel`s full segment on DairyLine Radio, click the play button below:

Dr. Ray Nebel shares information in Thursdays Reproductive Moment regarding identifying your herds early problem cows. The entire DairyLine Radio segment can be heard by clicking the play button below. Here are a few of his key points.

It used to be that in order to identify problem cows in the herd, the only tool dairy producers needed was “cow sense.” This ability to recognize and understand when cows are uncomfortable or just arent doing their best, is becoming more and more of a lost art. Instead, dairies have come to rely on tools such as internal body temperature monitors and locomotion scoring. By identifying the problem cows early on, producers will avoid investing the time, money and labor to get her pregnant.

Our Thursday Reproductive Moment on DairyLine Radio features a conversation with Dr. Ray Nebel of Select Sires. The topic today focuses on the next step after an early pregnancy test.

Current statistics tell us that approximately 60-65% of the cows bred on first service will remain open. To increase the chances of settling on the second service, a couple of different strategies are recommended:
1. Give GnRH one week before the early pregnancy exam. Upon being found open at the exam, prostaglandin is then administered followed by the final GnRH injection 2 days later. Breeding is recommended 16 hours later, in other words, 3 days after they were found open on exam.
2. If declared open on the early pregnancy exam date, begin the Ovsynch program. GnRH injection followed by prostaglandin 7 days later, GnRH 2 days later and then breed 16 hours later. This results in breeding 10 days after they were found open on exam.

To listen to Dr. Nebel share more info about these strategies and how to proceed, click the play button below!

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