1. Separating cow and calf

One of the main reasons for the long calving interval in suckler herds is due to the strong bond that exists between a cow and her calf. Breaking this bond will have a positive impact on reducing the interval.

30 days after calving, separate cow and calf. Remove the calf out of sight of the cow, and only allow it to suckler twice a day. This has been shown to advance first heat by 14 days to 21 days in over 90% of cows. While it can be difficult, in the long-term it will reduce labour and drive up output.

2. Management of the stock bull during mating season

Just because a bull worked last year doesn't mean that he's guaranteed to work again this year. You should spend time monitoring the bull serving the cow to make sure he completed the process. This is especially important in the case of a young bull. Always record when you see a cow being served and watch out for a high percentage of repeats.

3. Heat detection

If you decide to go down the route of A.I heat detection is a key part in ensuring you maintain a tight calving pattern. There are many tools available to help identify cows that are coming in heat. These range from using a teaser bull to heat detection pads that are stuck on the tailhead of the cow. It is important that some form of heat detection is used to ensure that cows do not go undetected.

4. Taking out the bull

One of the simplest ways to ensure that you have a tight calving pattern is to simply remove the bull. While it sounds simple this is probably the area that most farmers fall down on with bulls left running with cows for 150-180 days on some farms. A stock bull should only be allowed run with the cows for 70-80 days and should then be removed. Cows should be scanned 30-40 days after the bull was removed. Empty cows should be earmarked for culling

5. Keeping records

Keeping accurate records is the key to monitoring the fertility of your herd and quickly identifying whether you have a problem. Undoubtedly a fertility problem is going to cause economic losses. However, the extent of these losses will depend on how long it goes undetected. In many cases poor fertility is not detected until cows fail to calve down either in the autumn or the spring.

Record keeping is also important to ensure that you get an overall picture of the fertility in the herd and can identify cows that are continuously not holding in calf. The suckler cow welfare scheme will provide a wealth of information on the fertility of the herd. This information must be used to identify and cull the freeloaders.

6. Cull hard

Poor fertility should be top of the list when it comes to selecting cows for culling. Don't be tempted to give cows another chance if they have not gone in-calf by the end of the breeding season.

7. Herd health

Poor herd health can affect both the fertility of the bull and the cow. BVD, Leptospirosis and Johnes are the most important disease to be aware of in the suckler herd. These infectious diseases can lead to poor conception rates, increased incidents of abortions and increased calf mortality.

Where BVD or Lepto is identified in the herd you should carry out a vaccination programme. The Lepto vaccination should be administered on an annual basis one month before going to grass. Where BVD is identified you should consult with your vet on the best course of action.

Where vaccination is decided as the best course of action it should be administered one month before the start of the breeding season followed by an annual booster shot.

Cleanliness at calving

Uterine infections can significantly delay the length of time taken for cows to come back in heat and therefore increase your calving interval. The risk of uterine infections can be minimised by good hygiene practices during the calving process.

8. Mineral supplementation

Pre-calving minerals are an important part of the nutritional requirement of the cow during the last two months of pregnancy. The key minerals during this period are copper, selenium and iodine. Deficiencies in these minerals can significantly impact on the health of both the cow and the calf and can lead to retained placenta, weak calves at birth, and poor fertility. Pre-calving minerals should be fed at a rate of 100 grams per head per day.

9. Calve replacement heifers down early

In order to keep your calving interval tight replacement heifers should be calved down one month before the main herd is due to calve. Heifers will usually take an additional 20-30 days to come back in heat compared to mature cows.

10. Condition score of the cow

The condition score of the cow has been shown to directly impact on fertility. Having cows either too thin or too fat at calving or mating will significantly reduce the fertility of your herd and increase your calving interval. In the case of a spring calving herd the average condition score at calving should be 2.5 increasing to 3 for a autumn calving herd.