Keeping records and making efficient use of vets on dairy farms are two things that need to improve, according to Folke Rohrssen, a vet from Cahir, Co. Tipperary.
Rohrssen was speaking at a Eurogene information meeting which took place on Thursday (January 19) in Mullingar, one of a number of these events taking place throughout the country.
A number of topics were covered at the meeting, including the significant challenges that will be faced by every dairy farmer in planning their breeding strategy for 2023 and beyond.
Breeding 2023
Rohrssen outlined what farmers should focus on now to ensure that herd fertility is correct for breeding later this year.
“It is funny to talk about fertility in January, most people don’t start talking about it until March or April,” he said.
“But January is the month when you have a little bit more time to focus on the targets you want to meet later in the year.
“One of the things I would like to see improved on farms is record keeping.”
Rohrssen said that having information on how difficult each cow’s calving was, i.e. if she held her cleaning; was sick; had milk fever, ketosis, or mastitis, or anything that happened the cow in the months and weeks after calving, is important.
He also said to track any heats that the cows had and anything that the vets need to look at.
This, he said, means you have information on each cow ahead of breeding which can be used to ensure that all cows are cycling at the planned start of mating.
Efficient use of the vet
Rohrssen also spoke about how the use of these records can allow farmers to make more efficient use of their vets.
Commenting, he said: “One of the key points I wanted to get across to farmers is how to use a vet efficiently to improve fertility.
“Efficient use of the vet is not to present a herd of 200 cows and say ‘scan them and see what ones I can give sexed semen to’.
“Efficient use of the vet is knowing, before any vet arrives onto the farm, exactly what requirements you have, which cows need to be looked at and which ones don’t.
“This broad herd scanning is a bit of an excuse for poor management or record keeping.”
Rohrssen added that vets are not getting any more plentiful around the country, so you want to make efficient use of them.
He said that all the cows that held their cleanings, were sick or are not cycling are the cows that vets want to see and want to see prior to the start of the breeding season.
Rohrssen then described a call from June 15: “I have a couple of cows to scan,” said a farmer. “Yeah what wrong?” asked the vet. “Well they calved in February and I still haven’t seen them bulling,” the farmer said.
“That is inefficient management and inefficient use of the vet; what can the vet do in June, when he/she could of been there in April?” Rohrssen said.
“I think it is important for farmers to get their heads around efficient management and that January is the month were you lay down the foundation for this efficient management.”