Three Ways to Improve Efficiency This Breeding Season
Take advantage of technology, including breeding indicators, to improve reproductive results.
Many technologies are available to improve reproductive efficiency, a key performance indicator for herd profitability. Yet, only a handful of producers are using them. Are you among those using the tools at your fingertips?
The USDA’s National Animal Health Monitoring System data1 suggests:
- 19.5% of operations take advantage of semen evaluation;
- 18% palpate for pregnancies;
- 14.3% use body condition scores;
- 7.9% use estrous synchronization; and
- 7.6% use artificial insemination (AI).
The list continues. However, the real question is, why is technology adoption so low? The top reasons for not using reproductive technology include lack of time and labor, cost and the technology itself being too difficult/complicated to use1. These are valid reasons, but they don’t address the underlying issue.
The reality is, reproductive inefficiency accounts for $600 million to $1.2 billion in losses each year2. Every operation, big or small, contributes to that statistic.
How can you increase reproductive efficiency this breeding season? How can you use technology for increased reproductive performance?
Here are three ways to improve your herd’s reproductive efficiency:
1. Detect heat and make smart decisions
“Many technologies on the market today are simple to use and effective,” says Ky Pohler, assistant professor of beef cattle production at Texas A&M University. “One example is a breeding indicator, a self-adhesive patch many producers use primarily for heat detection.”
Breeding indicators are applied halfway between the hip and tailhead on a cow’s back. As estrous activity and mounting occurs, the indicator’s surface ink is rubbed off by the friction of mounting to reveal an indicator color. Once a certain amount of color is exposed, the animal is considered in standing heat and ready to breed.
“Some breeding indicators have easy-to-read bull’s-eyes on them,” says Pohler. “Once the bull’s-eye, or the equivalent surface area, is rubbed off, that animal is ready to breed and is up to three times more likely to result in a confirmed pregnancy3.”
The chance of a successful pregnancy is lower when an indicator isn’t fully activated. With that information, you or your AI technician can make smart cow-side decisions, like choosing an inexpensive straw of semen. If an indicator is fully activated, that cow has a higher chance for a successful pregnancy, and you might use more expensive semen or sexed semen. You might even put in an embryo.
2. Diagnose pregnancies
“The majority of beef females in the United States never undergo a pregnancy diagnosis,” says Pohler. “Herds that don’t use pregnancy diagnosis are taking a gamble. The wait-and-see strategy can be a costly one if a cow isn’t pregnant, and is consuming feed and resources for the duration of her thought-to-be pregnancy.”
Confirming pregnancy allows you to make an informed decision about a cow’s future in the herd. A cow that is confirmed pregnant might move into a group of pregnant cows that are managed differently. A nonpregnant cow detected early in the breeding season might transition to another round of breeding or she may leave the herd altogether.
Breeding indicators can also be used as a pregnancy diagnosis tool. If a cow is cycling but doesn’t come back in heat, which would be visually apparent based on her breeding indicator, then the cow is most likely pregnant.
“The value of a pregnancy diagnosis can’t be understated,” says Pohler. “It has the power to significantly increase reproductive efficiency.”
3. Get management basics right
For reproductive efficiency, you’ve got to have your basics covered. Using technology is not a replacement for other overlooked management areas. Including technology without addressing management will still cause inefficiency.
“If you’re going to use a reproductive technology, but your cows are in poor body condition, you can’t overcome that,” says Pohler. “If nutrition is bad, no technology will give you the results you desire.”
Animal health is another management aspect that needs focus.
“It sounds simple, but vaccination plans, disease management protocols and biosecurity need to be adopted and practiced,” says Pohler. “If you don’t have these in place, you might end up with only a 50% calf crop due to mid- to late-term abortions or other disease-related issues, a huge loss that could have been avoided.”
The bigger reproductive efficiency picture
To improve reproductive efficiency, you’ve got to think about it more than once or twice a year during breeding and calving seasons.
“Reproductive efficiency improves when you have a bigger-picture focus, preparing animals year-round for breeding, calving, breeding back and repeating the cycle,” says Pohler. “Ultimately, you have to find technologies and management practices that work for you.”
Editor’s note: This release is from Filament on behalf of Estrotect.
1,2NAHMS. 2009. Part II: Reference of Beef Cow-Calf Management Practices in the United States, 2007-08. Natl. Anim. Health Monit. Serv., Fort Collins, CO.
3Pohler, K. & Speckhart, Savannah & Araujo Franco, Gessica & Maia, T. & Guirado Dantas, Felipe & Thompson, K. & Rhinehart, J. (2018). PSVIII-23 Late-Breaking: Effect of reproductive tract size and position scores and estrus on reproductive performance in beef cows. Journal of Animal Science. 96. 358-358. 10.1093/jas/sky404.787.
