Empty rates in dairy cows are running in line with other years, with an average of between 10% to 12% of cows not in-calf, according to a cow scanners contacted by the Irish Farmers Journal.
Veteran cow scanner Dr Dan Ryan, who covers most of Munster, says that while empty rates in cows are normal, he is seeing increased signs of embryo mortality in some dairy cows.
A possible cause for this, he says, is the change in diet in mid-summer when many farmers went short of grass due to the dry weather and had to put in other feed.
“There was a definite increase in the number of foetal abnormalities and embryonic death after 50 days this year.
Padraig Healy, Macroom scanning cows for Richard, Helen and Gearoid Hinchion, Clomacow, Crookstown, Co Cork.
“I put that down to changes in diet from grass to more supplement. Mycotoxins on the feed would result in those problems,” he said.
Carlow-based scanner Myles McDermott says it has been a very good year for breeding, with average empty rates of 9% across the herds he is scanning, with many herds recording empty rates as low at 3% to 5%.
“The obvious and main reason for improved breeding performance is the excellent weather that we enjoyed throughout the year,” he said.
“Cows and heifers got out to excellent quality swards earlier than usual,” he added.
Heifer fertility was better than normal too, according to fertility vet Cathal Ó Sé.
Leo Healy, Macroom scanning cows as Gearoid Hinchion records the results on the Hinchion family farm at Clomacow, Crookstown, Co Cork.
“Conception rate to first service with both sexed and conventional semen is higher this year.
“There have been practically no cases of farms with less than 55% in-calf to first service and heifer empty rates in general have been lower this year with rates closer to 5%,” he maintained. Scanning results for the Teagasc farms were somewhat mixed this year.
On Curtins research farm empty rates for the cows were 7% with heifers due to be scanned next week.
On the Clonakilty farm, empty rate for the cows was 14% on a 10-week breeding programme.
Of the heifers, one of the 44 were not in-calf after a synchronisation programme.
Empty rates in dairy cows are running in line with other years, with an average of between 10% to 12% of cows not in-calf, according to a cow scanners contacted by the Irish Farmers Journal.
Veteran cow scanner Dr Dan Ryan, who covers most of Munster, says that while empty rates in cows are normal, he is seeing increased signs of embryo mortality in some dairy cows.
A possible cause for this, he says, is the change in diet in mid-summer when many farmers went short of grass due to the dry weather and had to put in other feed.
“There was a definite increase in the number of foetal abnormalities and embryonic death after 50 days this year.
Padraig Healy, Macroom scanning cows for Richard, Helen and Gearoid Hinchion, Clomacow, Crookstown, Co Cork.
“I put that down to changes in diet from grass to more supplement. Mycotoxins on the feed would result in those problems,” he said.
Carlow-based scanner Myles McDermott says it has been a very good year for breeding, with average empty rates of 9% across the herds he is scanning, with many herds recording empty rates as low at 3% to 5%.
“The obvious and main reason for improved breeding performance is the excellent weather that we enjoyed throughout the year,” he said.
“Cows and heifers got out to excellent quality swards earlier than usual,” he added.
Heifer fertility was better than normal too, according to fertility vet Cathal Ó Sé.
Leo Healy, Macroom scanning cows as Gearoid Hinchion records the results on the Hinchion family farm at Clomacow, Crookstown, Co Cork.
“Conception rate to first service with both sexed and conventional semen is higher this year.
“There have been practically no cases of farms with less than 55% in-calf to first service and heifer empty rates in general have been lower this year with rates closer to 5%,” he maintained. Scanning results for the Teagasc farms were somewhat mixed this year.
On Curtins research farm empty rates for the cows were 7% with heifers due to be scanned next week.
On the Clonakilty farm, empty rate for the cows was 14% on a 10-week breeding programme.
Of the heifers, one of the 44 were not in-calf after a synchronisation programme.
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