Autumn herd pregnancy test results

Autumn herd pregnancy testing is now almost complete. The average 6-week in calf rate for our autumn herds is 64.6 %, a touch up on last year’s 63.7% but still a long way from the industry target level of 78%.

The 6-week in-calf rate of our Autumn herds has dropped sharply over the past two seasons after a period of sustained improvement, a trend that has been observed at a national level and spans both Autumn and Spring calving systems.  While the reason for these broader trends is not fully understood, contributing factors do vary from farm to farm and your vet can help you to identify what aspects are going well for you and those that provide opportunities for improvement on your farm.   

We always expect to see a range in performances across different farms though and it was pleasing to see over half of our Autumn herds performing at levels above the NZ average of 65% (red line). In addition, two farms that collected 80% in-calf at 6 weeks certainly demonstrate that achieving top-quartile results is possible (green target line).  Empty rates were uncomfortably high for many this season with 18.8% empty the regional average.  Further effort will need to be put towards ensuring this figure is reduced moving forward to ensure a more sustainable farm system in the long-run.

Dr Greg Lindsay BVS - Farm Vet & Regional Manager, Kopu.

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