We are well over halfway through scanning our spring-calving herds now, so we can start looking at some trends in the numbers. Our analysis so far indicates the average 6-week in-calf rate across Anexa clients is sitting at 70% (some of our clinics are sitting at above this) which is up a couple of percent on last season. This is despite a challenging spring, and a slower calving pattern in many herds on the back of the poor 2023 mating results. We have many herds with 6-week in-calf rates above 78%, and many herds have had their best result for a few years.
It is still a bit early to have accurate ‘empty rate’ figures yet, as there are still herds that haven’t done their final pregnancy test at the time of writing this article. However, early numbers suggest that the not-in-calf rate is likely to be a couple of % better this season in line with the improved 6-week in-calf rates. We will let you know the final results in a later update. Personally, I feel clients took mating very seriously this season, knowing that there were some factors that meant you were on the back foot, and by taking control of the things that you could influence, you have managed to achieve better results!
Once you have your scanning results – what do you do with them – to find out which of those changes actually made a difference?
When the results are excellent, it is easy to know that all the hard work has paid off. However, when you have thrown the book at mating and changed lots of things, you need someone on the outside to go through the data with you and ensure you know what actually worked!
NOW is the time to figure it out and to try and plan ahead to next season to make use of the better results – do you cull more cows, sell some surplus, milk more cows next season?
The best time to make sense of the pregnancy testing results is now, as spring is still fresh in our minds and we can still remember what was happening on farm leading up to, and during mating. Taking some time now to dig into the detail and figure out what went well (or otherwise!) will pay off in better results next season.
As part of Anexa’s scanning service to our clients, we can sit down and review your pregnancy test report with you, possibly identifying key areas for further focus. We have a long list of Anexa vets that are InCalf trained (which means they are extra enthusiastic about repro) that can delve deeper into the data if you want further advice or support.
We try to be organised and contact you, but if you haven’t heard from us shortly after we scan your herd then feel free to give us a nudge to book in your free post-scanning review.
