Newsletter – 2022 – October

President's Message

From the DCRC President’s Desk
By Matt Utt

Hello DCRC Membership!

It is hard to believe that we are entering into the final quarter of 2022. This year has flown by! As I look back over the last nine months, we have continued to come out of pandemic mode and milk prices have increased; however, we have struggled with increased gas and feed costs, as well as turmoil in the stock market. Despite these struggles, we have a lot to be thankful for. I am more keenly aware of this as I look toward the month of November and celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday (in the United States) as well as the DCRC Annual Meeting. I am thankful for each of you, this organization and its leadership team.

The DCRC Annual Meeting will be held Nov. 15-17, in Middleton, Wis. Registration is open and details can be found on the DCRC website. The Program Committee has put together an interesting and diverse selection of presentations and posters – covering key aspects of dairy management and technology. We will have three panel discussions this year. A special highlight is a preconference tour of four award-winning dairy farms! Please register for the tour when you complete your general registration. Remember, the value of the DCRC Annual Meeting is not just the content and presentations, but also visiting with other industry professionals. I sincerely hope you will consider attending.

Furthering our international presence is part of the DCRC Strategic Plan. Next year will mark the first international event for DCRC. I will accompany a DCRC staff member along with Frank Mitloehner to participate in Dairy-Tech 2023 on Feb. 1, at Stoneleigh Park in the United Kingdom. Mitloehner, John Cook (UK) and I will give a series of presentations regarding dairy sustainability, profitability and management. At the DCRC booth, we will interact with attendees, show video footage of DCRC presentations and promote DCRC membership.

This is my final written communication to you as DCRC president. It has been an honor serving as your president and I look forward to my final year on the DCRC board – serving as past president. Next year marks my ninth year of service to DCRC. It has truly been a pleasure serving this organization and I hope you will consider taking on a leadership role in the future.

See you in Middleton!

Matt

Research Summaries

Effect of calving season on metritis incidence and bacterial content of the vagina in dairy cows
P.CC. Molinari, G.E. Dahl, I.M. Sheldon, and J.J. Bromfield

Elevated ambient temperature can intensify environmental bacterial growth and reduce cows’ immune competency, caused by detrimental impacts of heat stress. However, it is unclear if greater incidence of uterine disease during warm seasons is caused by increased presence of pathogens in the reproductive tract or solely due to impaired immunity. The objectives of this study were to establish whether there was a relationship of metritis incidence and seasonality, and if uterine disease establishment was associated with seasonal changes in vaginal presence of pathogenic bacteria.

Animals, seasons, and variables assessed

A total of 3,507 calving records (between 2012 and 2018) from a single Florida herd were included in a study to establish the impact of ambient temperature on metritis incidence:

  • Cool season: October through March
  • Warm season: April through September

To elucidate the link between uterine diseases, ambient temperature, and bacterial load in the vagina, a total of 102 cows were enrolled:

  • Cool season: February through March 2018 (n = 51)
  • Warm season: September 2017 (n = 51)
  • Vaginal mucus was collected on 7 and 21 days postpartum to evaluate metritis and endometritis incidence, respectively, and to quantify bacterial presence

Results

  • The incidence of metritis was greater for cows calving during the warm season (24.2%) in comparison to cows calving in the cool season (21.1%).
  • The proportion of cows that had both metritis and endometritis was greater during the warm season than during the cool season (58.8% vs. 29.4%).
  • Total vaginal bacterial content was greater at 7 days postpartum than 21 days postpartum, but no differences were observed between cool and warm seasons.

 In conclusion, metritis incidence and uterine disease persistence were greater in cows calving during warm seasons in comparison to counterparts calving during cool seasons. Associations between vaginal bacterial load and season of calving were not observed, suggesting that heat stress may be increasing the incidence of uterine diseases by impairing immune capacity, rather than increasing exposure to pathogenic bacteria.

Access the paper at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0093691X22002874

Changes in body condition score from calving to first insemination and milk yield, pregnancy per AI, and pregnancy loss in lactating dairy cows: A meta-analysis
Jeffrey S. Stevenson and Branko Atanasov

Changes in body condition score (BCS) naturally occur during lactation and can influence productive and reproductive performance, depending on management during late lactation and the dry period of dairy cows. In addition, prepartum BCS and its changes are associated with inactive ovaries, postpartum anestrus, reduced likelihood to conceive by 150 days in milk, greater incidences of retained placenta and metritis, and increased culling. Previous meta-analyses addressed the association between reproduction or milk yield and BCS in dairy cows. In those studies, however, body condition was scored on different scales, requiring transformations to a common scale. In addition, limited information is available about the effects of BCS on pregnancy per artificial insemination (AI) and pregnancy loss in cows exposed to presynchronization of estrous cycles and insemination after estrus or ovulation synchronization. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of BCS at calving, at first AI, and prebreeding change in BCS, using the same defined scale on pregnancy outcome, pregnancy loss, and milk yield in cows inseminated at first AI after detected estrus or timed AI.

Materials and methods

  • Data were obtained from 15 published studies that collected data from 17 Holstein herds during a period of 16 years.
  • Voluntary waiting period varied between 60 to 85 days in milk.
  • First service was performed by timed AI for most cows, with 26.7% of cows detected in estrus before or at the scheduled fixed time of AI.
  • In each study, pregnancy diagnosis was first performed at 30 to 45 days after first AI.
  • Second pregnancy diagnosis occurred at 60 to 85 days after AI to assess pregnancy loss.
  • BCS was assessed at calving and within 10 days of first AI, using a traditional 5-point scale (1 = severe under conditioning; 5 = severe over conditioning).

Results

  • Presynchronization treatments that included PGF2α (prostaglandin) and GnRH (gonadotropin releasing hormone) increased the proportion of cows with luteal function before AI compared with PGF2α alone.
  • Compared with no presynchronization treatment, those that included PGF2α or PGF2α and GnRH increased first pregnancy per AI.
  • Cows having BCS ≥2.75 at AI had greater first pregnancy per AI than cows with BCS <2.75.
  • As BCS at first AI increased, pregnancy per AI increased linearly.
  • Presynchronization had no association with pregnancy per AI for cows with BCS at calving <3.00 compared with those with BCS ≥3.00.
  • Multiparous cows tended to have greater pregnancy per AI when they calved with BCS ≥3.00 compared with <3.00.
  • Increasing BCS at AI was associated with decreased pregnancy loss.
  • Pregnancy per AI did not differ among cows according to the magnitude of prebreeding BCS loss.
  • More prebreeding loss in BCS was associated with more milk yield in first- and second-parity cows.

The authors concluded that greater BCS at first AI was associated with improved pregnancy per AI, but magnitude of prebreeding BCS loss was not associated with pregnancy per AI. In contrast, more pregnancy loss was associated with more prebreeding BCS loss in multiparous cows. Cows having a lower BCS at AI and greater prebreeding loss in BCS produced more milk than their herdmates of greater BCS and less prebreeding loss in BCS, respectively.

Access the paper at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2022.09.010

Assessing the consequences and economic impact of retained placenta in Holstein dairy cattle
Abolfazl Mahnani, Ali Sadeghi-Sefidmazgi, Saeid Ansari-Mahyari, and Gholam-Reza Ghorbani

Retained placenta (RP) is a reproductive-metabolic disease that causes significant economic losses in the dairy industry. The most commonly used definition of RP is the absence of fetal membranes delivery 24 hours and longer after parturition, and its incidence may range from 4% to 18%. Even though several studies have evaluated the negative impact of RP on profitability of dairy farms, most of them don’t accurately account for reproductive losses caused by RP. In addition, most studies have evaluated economic losses caused by RP for primiparous and multiparous cows combined. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the consequences of RP on milk production and reproductive performance of dairy cows, and to assess the economic losses of RP in Iranian dairy farms.

Materials and methods

  • Data were collected from Holstein cows from commercial dairy farms.
  • Herds housed lactating cows in freestall barns and had at least 600 milking cows.
  • Milk yield in the herds used was 12,460 kg (27,470 pounds).
  • In total, the study included 139,508 records from 58,086 cows.
  • Records included information on health, reproduction, and production of cows that calved between March 2011 and December 2018.

Results

  • Average incidence of RP was 12.3%.
  • Incidence of RP reduced milk, fat, and protein yields in primiparous and multiparous cows.
  • Estimated milk production losses caused by RP in 305 days were:
    • Primiparous: 282.1 + 43.0 kg (621.9 + 94.8 pounds) per cow
    • Multiparous: 295.7 + 40.8 kg per cow (651.9 + 89.9 pounds) per cow
  • Negative effect of RP on milk production was greater in early compared with mid or late lactation.
  • Days open increased in cows that had RP by:
    • Primiparous: 8.3 + 5.3 days
    • Multiparous: 19.8 + 7.1 days
  • Estimated economic losses per case of RP were:
    • Primiparous: $350.40
    • Multiparous: $481.20

In conclusion, results from this study demonstrated that the deleterious effects of RP on milk production and reproductive performance were less in primiparous compared with multiparous cows. This study highlights the economic importance of proper management to prevent RP.

Access the paper at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2021.08.036

Featured Column

Fostering a positive work environment to support a successful dairy business

Just because a person excels at his/her work (e.g., milker, feeder, breeder), doesn’t mean that person will succeed as a manager. To create a successful dairy operation, foster workforce development and offer effective training, explained Robert Hagevoort, New Mexico State University, at the 2021 Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council (DCRC) Annual Meeting.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic broke, labor posed a challenge for many dairy operations. Today’s unprecedented worker environment seems to have accentuated this challenge. Besides effective training and education, multicultural, multilinguistic and ergonomical challenges present dairy managers and owners with an interesting landscape in which to conduct business. Hagevoort shared some suggestions on how to get the most from employees.

Hagevoort encouraged dairy owners to take care of their people who take care of their cows. He admitted, “Managing people is simply much more difficult than managing cows.”

Often, those who work with cows gained knowledge from attending technical programs, schools or college, or simply through practical work experience. Most of the time, this education didn’t include information about managing people. “This is step one in becoming better (as a people manager),” Hagevoort stated.

Personality style may impede people management

“Typical cow people’s” personalities may hinder them from successfully managing people. Hagevoort noted that many dairy owners/mangers are “doers.” They’re flexible with common sense, based on experience, without a lot of patience for nonsense. “If it takes any more than 30 seconds to explain something, they likely will decide to take over and do it themselves. This contrasts with a “typical CEO personality,” in which coaching and delegating prevails.

Compounding these people manager challenges is the dairy industry’s workforce of which is primarily foreign born, speaks a different first language, is culturally different and often lacks agricultural and animal-handling experience when embarking on a dairy farm career. Hagevoort shared some U.S. dairy safety and animal husbandry training data and trends.

Over the past few decades, many dairy workers hailed from Mexico and identified as Hispanic. Hagevoort said that this has changed. Hagevoort’s recent trainings, on Southwest dairies, involved up to 45 percent of the workers originating from Central America, primarily Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. They identify as indigenous or from Mayan descent. Consequently, some of today’s dairy managers work with three cultures, three languages and three statures (people’s height).

Distinctive traits

What unique features do workers from Central America present? Hagevoort explained that they may not speak Spanish and they may not have received any schooling. Typically, they speak one of the many Mayan languages, with K’iche as the most prominent. In general, those of Mayan descent are significantly smaller than that of Hispanic or Anglo descent. “These workers, therefore, may have more difficulty as milkers reaching the udder or the parlor control panel, or as breeders inseminating cows, which are tasks more easily performed by taller workers,” he stated.

Being vertically challenged poses another risk. If short people must reach for a prolonged period, they may experience fatigue sooner. This is a potential safety concern.

Given the scenario of three cultures and languages, and extreme variation in stature, workforce development may present more questions than answers. Hagevoort listed a few. How well can workers perform their jobs if training is only provided in Spanish or English, and there is limited recognition for the differences between Hispanic and indigenous cultures? Hagevoort noted that until recently, most Mayan languages were not written in our alphabet but glyphic. Do you know if your workers read? What does that mean in terms of understanding or comprehending when managers provide written standard operating procedures in Spanish or English?

Validate values

Hagevoort posed another question. Do we really get the best from our employees if we do not know how to validate their values? “It is commonly accepted that the best work comes from workers who feel validated and respected by their superiors,” Hagevoort stated. “This translates into workers receiving appropriate feedback on their performance and encouragement or coaching in the process to become better at what it is they do.”

Despite the failed U.S. immigration system, which proliferates dairy worker training and development difficulties, Hagevoort offered several worker-related recommendations. Recognize differences, identify cultural, linguistic and ergonomic bottlenecks, learn more about the dairy workforce’s uniqueness, and validate people for who they are and the value they bring to the workplace.

“For most manager personalities, this means getting out of one’s comfort zone,” Hagevoort remarked. “It will likely bring many challenges associated with these cultural and linguistic differences to the surface, and can make us uneasy about how to handle them.” Without attempting to follow Hagevoort’s worker-related recommendations, you can only continue to do “business as usual.” This will yield predictable outcomes if you deny industry trends.

Additional employee management resources (with many available in English, Spanish and K’iche) may be found at https://nationaldairyfarm.com/producer-resources and https://dairy.nmsu.edu/index.html.

To read Hagevoort’s complete DCRC Annual Meeting proceedings paper, go to the DCRC Member Center. After you log in, click on the Proceedings icon.

Featured Member

Editor’s Note: For each issue, DCRC interviews a member to learn more about his/her career, involvement with DCRC and thoughts about dairy cattle and reproduction. We encourage you to recommend someone for this feature by contacting JoDee Sattler at: JoDee@dcrcouncil.org

Kim Egan
GENEX
Omro, Wisconsin
DCRC member since 2013

 Meet Kim Egan, GENEX director of strategic accounts – Midwest. In her role, she strives to maximize product and producer success. “Getting to know the farms, and what success looks like to them, is an important piece of my job,” Egan stated. GENEX Cooperative works globally to provide reproductive and genetic solutions to progressive beef and dairy producers.

Primarily, Egan focuses on herds in Wisconsin. However, she also assists teammates across the United States and gets involved with some training for domestic and international staff. “Maximizing performance can encompass everything from calf care to fresh cow starts to genetic values and breeding technician performance,” she commented “There are so many factors that can affect reproductive performance. My day-to-day work includes a lot of variety.”

Egan grew up on a 50-cow Holstein dairy farm in southern Wisconsin and was fascinated by veterinary work. During college, she worked as a veterinary assistant at the local veterinary clinic and also became interested in swine medicine.

A University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine graduate, Egan worked in a mixed animal practice and married her favorite client who co-owned a 400-cow dairy. In addition to clinical practice and the family farm, she worked as a staff veterinarian for a 5,000-head heifer facility and independently consulted prior to joining the GENEX team.

Through the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association, Egan was involved with the Drug Residue Task Force, which laid the foundation for the current Food Armor program to identify critical control points and avoid antibiotic residues. Her American Association of Bovine Practitioners membership has provided significant continuing education opportunities, including chairing the Genomics and Genetics Committee for the past two years. Committee members visited with many future bovine practitioners at U.S. veterinary schools to discuss the trends and impact of dairy genetics.

Nominates outstanding dairies

A perennial DCRC Excellence in Dairy Reproduction Awards program nominator, Egan wants to acknowledge dairies that have excellent management in many areas. “This results in great reproduction,” she remarked. “It takes diligence every day across management areas to have winning results. I think it is important to recognize and celebrate the efforts of these dairy teams and the work they do every day.”

Egan’s interest in dairy cattle reproduction stems from realizing that reproductive success is dependent on many factors, which keeps it interesting for her. “The long-term sustainability of farms really depends on financial success, which can be heavily affected by reproductive success,” she stated.

Egan shared how activity monitoring systems improve repro success. “I have witnessed improvement in reproduction on more than one farm that I work with as they incorporated activity monitoring systems. These systems alerted them to potential health concerns earlier, allowing for healthier cows getting to the breeding pens. These farms have significantly improved their service rates through use of activity systems.”

Egan noted that another benefit of improved service rate is reducing heat intervals on later services, which helps find open cows on their next natural heat. “As more cows are conceiving in an ideal window relative to their lactation curve, not only does reproduction improve, but the efficiency of the entire dairy is maximized,” she stated. “I’ve also seen a dairy that had struggled with high somatic cell counts with low conception on early services. By addressing not only parlor management but also dry-off routines and fresh cow health, they achieved improved early service conception.”

 Valuable info at meetings

A continual learner, Egan appreciates the opportunity to attend DCRC Annual Meetings. “The data presented, for example by Jose Santos (University of Florida), that tied fresh cow health events and their effect on reproduction is some of the most valuable information I’ve taken back to my daily work,” Egan remarked.

“Throughout the year, but especially at the annual conference, there is so much educational content that DCRC provides,” Egan explained. “I’ve really enjoyed the variety of material – from presentations focusing on economic benefits of voluntary waiting periods to heifer synchronization.”

Regarding DCRC’s membership value, Egan mentioned the importance of the synchronization protocol references available on the DCRC website. “These references are a staple to many people in the industry when coaching and refreshing reproductive teams,” she noted.

DCRC has played a key role in improving reproduction on many dairies over the last 10 to 20 years. “Genetics, nutrition, fertility programs and cow comfort are all part of this,” said Egan.

Despite progress, challenges remain. “Currently, the biggest challenge overall is attracting and retaining the skilled and dedicated labor needed to be successful. “The second biggest challenge, in my opinion, is in heifer management,” Egan noted. “As growth rates dictate maturity, individualizing optimum protocols and voluntary waiting periods for one farm or one heifer versus another and the financial implications – given feed and rearing costs – is an area that warrants more attention.”

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