Maintaining a high fertility level in the modern dairy herd is a constant challenge to the producer. Reproductive problems decrease production, increase cost of replacements, create longer dry cow maintenance, increase veterinary expense and, of course, result in fewer calves being born. To maximize milk production, the average calving interval in the herd should be 12 to 13 months. However, this interval has too often been much greater, with 13 to 15 months being common.
Many factors influence reproductive performance in a dairy herd.
These include genetic influence, nutrition, level and type of disease in the herd, adequacy of records, accurate heat detection date and other management factors. All of these are controllable but require effort on the part of the producer. A programmed veterinary approach as a part of the overall management system is necessary to reach maximum reproductive performance. This requires that a veterinarian thoroughly examine, evaluate and take action on health related aspects of the herd at regularly scheduled visits. The basic approach is to prevent problems before they occur.