Dairy
Breeding is well and truly underway with many farms half way through their AI programmes already, but have any bred for TB resistance?
Breeding
It is easy to get so caught up in the statistics of breeding during the season, so much so that we forget about embryo survival.
Breeding is well underway now, yet not too many farms will have stocks bulls out yet, as the majority go with AI in the early season.
Between breeding and silage the farm is getting increasingly busy, therefore farm safety must be a number one priority over the coming months.
Dairy Technical
As breeding kicks off this week, sexed semen usage will dominate the first three weeks of artificial insemination (AI) on many farms.
Breeding is now underway on a lot of farms, but there is still plenty of non-bulling cows in the herd that will have to be dealt with.
With the breeding season officially kicking off for many farmers this week, it is important to stay on top of heat detection.
A lot of spring calving farms now target a 90% submission rate within the first three weeks of the breeding season, but is it worth it?
Now days all the talk ahead of the breeding season is about AI and sexed semen, but we cannot forget about the stock bull.
A lot of farms may be getting heifers out to grass, but it is still important to keep your eye on their condition as breeding edges closer.
As the last of the cows calve down, identifying any high cell count cows will be critical in the lead up to the breeding season.
With breeding kicking off in two weeks time, industry leaders are emphasising the key messages that will ensure a successful season.
With the breeding season approaching, it is important to understand what milk urea is and how it could be affecting your herds fertility.
In the build up to the breeding season, there will be a focus on keeping lameness to a minimum to ensure the oestrus cycle goes unaffected.
Retained placentas are a relatively common occurrence during the calving season, which can in turn affect the upcoming breeding season.
Ahead of breeding, a number of boosters may be required, as vaccinations play an important role on dairy farms.
With such encouraging calf prices this spring, dairy farmers must be aware of what buyers are looking for before breeding commences this year.
Sexed semen usage has been on an upward trajectory of the last number of years, with approximately 400,000 sexed semen straws used in 2025.
When selecting bulls this breeding season, it's worth looking at how you can use milk traits to drive farm profitability.
Sexed semen has grown in popularity over the last few years, which has ultimately led to the uptake in synchronisation programmes.
There has been a huge uptake in breeding technology over the last couple of years, but what are the actual advantages?
As the breeding season approaches quickly, it's time to start making selective decisions about the cows and bulls being used next month.
There are still plenty of cows to calve down, but with breeding quickly approaching farmers should start carrying out pre-breeding checks.
