Optimising reproductive management to maximise dairy herd health and production

Reproduction is central to the operation of a dairy herd through initiating lactation and providing replacement animals and offspring for sale. This chapter outlines the steps required to detect reproductive problems and limitations in cows and herds. It then elaborates some strategies to overcome limits to reproductive health and production concentrating on detecting cows requiring attention through record monitoring, analysing herd records to monitor reproduction and identify areas that limit performance and providing strategies to deal with these limits. The main limits addressed are anoestrus and inadequate oestrus detection that are addressed through education of farm workers, aids to oestrus detection and the use of planned breeding programs to induce and control oestrus and breeding. Nutritional causes of limited reproductive performance are also considered as well as strategies to limit abortion.