“Fertility is poor this year, isn’t it?” is one of the most common refrains this time of year – apart from the weather of course. Having qualified over a quarter of a century ago, it’s a sentiment I’ve heard every year since 1992. While national data may support such sentiments, many of the factors that determine overall fertility are still controllable within the farm gate.

This autumn, we have seen results typical for other years, with most herd pregnancy rates of between 85% and 95%. Very few herds in our experience score above 95% and thankfully few below 85%.

Factors which may be affecting the lack of empty cows this year are herd expansion and the price of milk, with some dairy farmers more inclined to be tolerant of later-calving cows, which we currently see with extra cows calving in traditional spring-calving herds.

There are some things which you can do to help in 2018:

Minerals: mineral supplementation of dry cows for a minimum of six weeks prior to calving is essential for optimum reproductive health. Watch that all cows get adequate supplementation, particularly where fed from a central feed passageway, as poorer cows may not get proper head feed space access where cow numbers have increased. Supplementation is critical for the three months after calving, with individual administration methods such as parlour ration feeding or bolusing preferable to mass medication of water or pasture sources.

Fresh cow programme: thin/poorer-thriving cows and first-calved heifers in particular need special care for the first two to three weeks post-partum. These will also require extra head space to help them get proper feed intakes, as these are the animals whose subsequent fertility may determine the herd’s overall performance and fertility indices. This is particularly so in bigger or recently expanded herds.

Metritis and lameness: there is no doubt that early intervention in the treatment of womb infections returns cows to normal fertility much sooner and pays dividends, giving such cows an extra cycle to present for mating. We all know the importance of attending to a lame bull at the start of the breeding season, but the same is equally so for cow fertility. Prompt intervention of lame cows, especially so in early breeding, improves such cows’ ability to demonstrate oestrus (heat) and due to the reduction in lameness associated inflammation, will also improve the subsequent conception rate.

Buffer feeding: this is an old chestnut, but one that will not go away. Too many cows on early spring grass pass slurry out their back end, which is wasteful as the full complement of nutrients and feed value of the grazed grass is lost. The associated sub-acute acidosis is no help to fertility rates either. Anything that helps bind up such cows at this time of year will be worthwhile. Maize supplementation and/or straw availability will help alleviate this situation.

Michael Sexton of Riverview Vet Clinic is part of XLVets. XLVets is a group of progressive practices who are working together to achieve a better future for agriculture and veterinary in Ireland. For further information go to www.xlvets.ie.