Striving for Reproductive Success with DairyComp
What does reproductive success look like on your operation? Maybe it’s a higher conception rate or shorter open period – regardless of your goals, one thing remains the same. The future of your herd depends on the performance of your reproductive program today.
Start collecting data early
Don’t overlook your calves and heifers. While they may not appear to be profit-drivers right now, collecting data on them will prove valuable throughout their lives. The more data you have available, the easier it is to view trends and identify outliers using DairyComp.
DairyComp allows you to record a variety of items as early as birth. Some one-time occurrences include:
- Calving ease
- Birth weight
- IGG
- Total protein
- Colostrum score/Brix value
- Time to colostrum
- Technician that worked with the calf
You can also enter events into DairyComp that are tracked through calfhood:
- Body weight and/or heights
- Pneumonia/respiratory
- Diarrhea/Scours
- Vaccinations
- Lung scores and much more
Healthy calves usually show better growth, reproductive status and are more profitable when they start lactating. Recording calf information early using DairyComp, can make it easier to evaluate why something is or isn’t working in your reproductive program for a productive herd.
Measuring reproductive performance with DairyComp
One of the key indicators for breeding is a heifer’s average daily gain (ADG). Thanks to DairyComp’s robust analytics, this too can be tracked to see how your herd is trending and eventually identify problem breeders.
Follow these steps to start using your DairyComp to improve reproductive performance.
First, use the EPLOT\M to tie in your weight and heights events, along with the birth weight and ADG items.
Next, enter the weight and height events into DairyComp using the EPLOT\S command as a daily scheduled task. This will calculate the ADG values for you so they are always current.
Lastly, when you’d like to review reports, visit the Replacements tab under GUIDE. There will be a Growth section that allows you to view data points that are outliers in addition to tracking weight and ADG values throughout that critical first year of life for the animal.
For more on using DairyComp to optimize your reproductive program, check out our Breeding for Your Dairy’s Future webinar or reach out to your VAS representative.
View the handout for more information on measuring reproduction metrics in DairyComp.
