Using a whole farm model to determine the impacts of mating management on the profitability of pasture-based dairy farms

Beukes, P.C.; Burke, C.R.; Levy, G.; Tiddy, R.M.

doi:10.1016/j.anireprosci.2010.04.191

Cited by 21 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The key reproductive outcome of interest (the end result) was the 6-week in-calf rate, as this has been shown to be an important economic driver (Beukes et al, 2010). To determine this, pregnancy diagnosis was undertaken by an experienced veterinarian at 12 weeks after the planned start of mating for herds in both years, when the pregnancy status and stage of gestation (if pregnant) were determined for each cow.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of herd management programmes to improve the reproductive performance of dairy cattle

McDougall¹,

Heuer

Morton³

et al. 2014

Animal

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There has been a long history of herd health and production management programmes in many dairy industries around the world, but evidence for the efficacy of such programmes is limited. In response to a perceived decline in fertility of dairy cows, a herd reproductive management programme (InCalf) was introduced in New Zealand in 2007. This programme uses a management cycle approach that includes an assessment of the current herd status, identification of areas for improvement, development of a plan, implementation of this plan and finally a review process. The programme uses facilitators who work with farmers either in a oneto-one manner or in a formalised group setting that involves a series of meetings over a 12-month period (the farmer action group). The hypothesis that involvement in a reproductive management programme would improve herd reproductive performance was tested using a herd-level controlled randomised study (the National Herd Fertility Study) involving herds in four geographic regions of New Zealand over 2 years. Within each region, herds were ranked on the basis of the 6-week in-calf rate (i.e. the proportion of the herd pregnant in the first 6 weeks of the seasonal breeding programme) in the year preceding commencement of the study and then randomly assigned to be involved in a farmer action group or left as untreated controls. The key outcome variable of the study was the 6-week in-calf rate. Pregnancy diagnosis was undertaken at 12 weeks after the start of the seasonal breeding programme, which allowed determination of conception dates and hence calculation of the 6-week in-calf rate. Additional measurements including heifer live weight and body condition score (pre-calving and pre-mating) were undertaken to test whether treatment resulted in measurable changes in some of the key determinants of herd reproductive performance. Involvement in the farmer action group of InCalf resulted in a 2 percentage point increase in the 6-week in-calf rate ( P = 0.05). The following additional observations were made in herds involved in the farmer action group relative to control herds: heifers had live weight closer to target; the pre-mating body condition score of cows was higher; and oestrous detection rates were higher. It was concluded that involvement in this herd reproductive management programme improved reproductive outcomes in this New Zealand study. However, to achieve substantial improvements in herd reproductive performance at the regional or national level a greater response to the programme and a high uptake of such programmes is required, as well as use of other industry-level tools such as genetic management programmes.Keywords: dairy cows, fertility, randomised controlled trial, management programme Implications A planned animal health approach to dairy herd fertility was demonstrated, through a controlled randomised study, to improve fertility at herd level. The programme tested (InCalf) used a management cycle approach, that is assessment of current performance against goals and objecti...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of herd management programmes to improve the reproductive performance of dairy cattle

McDougall¹,

Heuer

Morton³

et al. 2014

Animal

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“…This allows the user to represent a wide variety of management strategies, by combining decision rules to determine policies for: rotational grazing, supplementary feeding, fertilizer applications, irrigation (water and dairy effluent), cropping, surplus herbage conservation, reproduction, standing off cows, culling, replacement and mob (sub-group within the whole herd on the farm) assignment. The WFM was developed to assist in analysing and designing farm systems experiments, and to explore various scenarios requiring numerous farm system interactions over multiple years (Beukes et al 2010a). The partitioning of excreted N is based on the proportion of the daily active time cows spend on each surface (pasture, standoff pad, dairy, races and concrete pad).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A urine patch framework to simulate nitrogen leaching on New Zealand dairy farms

Romera

Levy

Beukes

et al. 2012

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst

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On New Zealand dairy farms, it is the nitrogen excreted directly onto pasture, particularly urine, that drives nitrogen (N) leaching from the farm. A new framework (UPF: Urine Patch Framework) is presented that post-processes the results of a whole farm model and runs a mechanistic soil model to simulate the urine patches. Two alternative methods to simulate the spatial distribution of urine patches were implemented and compared (Grid: spatially explicit, and Probabilistic: based on the probability of different temporal urination patterns). This paper describes the implementation of these two methods in connection with a Whole Farm Model; and compares the N leaching predictions with observed data. Two examples are provided, one analyzing the impact of urine patch overlap and another, the relative risk of N leaching at different times of urinary N deposition. The model showed good correlation and predictive ability between simulated annual N leaching results and observed data [R 2 = 94 %, mean relative prediction error (MRPE) = 10 % for Grid and R 2 = 72 %, MRPE = 20 % for Probabilistic]. The two methods produced similar results across an 8-year period for monthly and annual N leaching (R 2 = 96 %, MRPE = 10 % and R 2 = 86 %, MRPE = 8 %; respectively). Only 8 % of the paddock area was covered with multiple urinations during 1 year, but as much as 39 % of the total urine volume was deposited on overlapped patches. Systematically removing all urinary N for 1 month in either May or June reduced N leaching by approximately 20 %. Avoiding urinary N deposition during autumn or early winter could be highly effective in mitigating N leached during the following winter.

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“…The importance of reproductive performance is emphasised in seasonal production systems compared with year-round production systems, and is a key factor in determining profitability on pasture-based dairy farms (Veerkamp et al, 2002;Beukes et al, 2010). As a result, the uptake and usage of sexed semen to date has been limited in seasonal pasture-based systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applications and cost benefits of sexed semen in pasture-based dairy production systems

Butler

Hutchinson

Cromie

et al. 2014

Animal

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Sexed semen technology is now commercially available in many countries around the world, and is primarily used in dairy cattle breeding. Sperm are sorted by flow cytometry on the basis of a 4% difference in DNA content between sperm containing X and Y chromosomes. Despite reliably producing a 90% gender bias, the fertility of the sexed semen product is compromised compared with conventional semen. The negative implications of the reduced fertility of sexed semen are amplified in seasonal systems of dairy production, as the importance of fertility is greater in these systems compared with year-round calving systems. A review of the literature indicates that conception rates (CR) to 1st service with frozen-thawed sexed semen are~75% to 80% of those achieved with conventional frozen-thawed semen. Preliminary results from a large-scale field trial carried out in Ireland in 2013 suggest that significant improvements in the performance of sexed semen have been made, with CR of 87% of those achieved with conventional semen. The improved fertility of a sexed semen product that delivers a 90% gender bias has considerable implications for the future of breeding management in pasture-based dairy production systems. Sexed semen may facilitate faster, more profitable dairy herd expansion by increasing the number of dairy heifer replacements born. Biosecurity can be improved by maintaining a closed herd during the period of herd expansion. In a non-expansion scenario, sexed semen may be used to increase the value of beef output from the dairy herd. The replacement heifer requirements for a herd could be met by using sexed semen in the 1st 3 weeks of the breeding season, with the remaining animals bred to beef sires, increasing the sale value over that of a dairy bull calf. Alternatively, very short gestation sires could be used to shorten the calving interval. Market prices have a considerable effect on the economics of sexed semen use, and widespread use of sexed semen should be restricted to well managed herds that already achieve acceptable herd fertility performance.

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Using a whole farm model to determine the impacts of mating management on the profitability of pasture-based dairy farms

Cited by 21 publications

References 11 publications

Use of herd management programmes to improve the reproductive performance of dairy cattle

Use of herd management programmes to improve the reproductive performance of dairy cattle

A urine patch framework to simulate nitrogen leaching on New Zealand dairy farms

Applications and cost benefits of sexed semen in pasture-based dairy production systems

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