By J. Richard Pursley
Pregnancy losses are disconcerting and costly to dairy producers, especially after a significant expense on semen, fertility drugs and labor has occurred. Cows that lose pregnancies have a much greater chance of either being culled from the herd or becoming pregnant late in lactation. Cows that are delayed in becoming pregnant after 130 days in milk risk having significant health issues, less chances of pregnancy, and greater chances for pregnancy losses in the next lactation.
Richard Pursley, a professor in the MSU Department of Animal Science, is working to help dairy farmers remediate these issues.
As a result of the project, the team developed a greater understanding of why cows lose pregnancies. An economic analysis indicated that post-artificial insemination programs to increase progesterone during the early growth period of embryos did not translate into profit. Dairy farmers who utilize hCG to induce accessory CL post-artificial insemination to improve pregnancy survival actually lose between $4,000 and $80,000 for every 1,100 cows treated. This negative finding has been shared with producers so herds using this program will discontinue its use. It appears an alternative may hold more promise.
The team’s findings that cows with conceptus attachment later during the attachment period of 20 to 26 days post-artificial insemination have a much greater chance of losing pregnancies is a highly novel finding that will lead to ways to improve embryonic survival in dairy cattle.
Source : msu.edu