Veterinary advice: Dairy breeding priority areas are BCS, heat detection, and stock bull fertility

The cost of poor reproductive performance in the dairy herd can be quite significant, arising from reduced milk production, increased costs for replacement of culled animals, and veterinary intervention and medicine costs.

In order to maximise the benefits of optimal fertility, the following areas are of great importance.

* Achieving a body condition score (BCS) target between 2.75 and 3.0 at the mating start date (MSD) for milking cows, is the most important factor in dairy fertility.