Use of dairy herd improvement monthly summary data to monitor intervention strategies in a dairy herd experiencing suboptimal reproductive performance and reduced milk production

An 87-cow dairy herd with a history of high milk production was visited because of reduced reproductive performance and decreasing milk production. Cows that had recently delivered calves were thin, and many cows had evidence of previous episodes of laminitis. A ration that provided an unfavorable forage-to-concentrate ratio was being fed. In addition to various diagnostic efforts, management changes that were made included alteration of the ration and installation of a computer-operated feeder. After the initial visit, the herd was monitored for 30 months by the use of Dairy Herd Improvement monthly herd summary data. Several potential strengths and weaknesses of using selective production and reproduction monthly summary statistics were illustrated by this study. Milk production, as monitored by mature-equivalent production and average relative value-milk, continued to increase throughout the 30 months after intervention. Reproductive performance, as indicated by first-service conception rate, did not begin to improve until the final 6 months of the monitoring period. Overall, in addition to assisting in diagnostic efforts. Dairy Herd Improvement monthly herd summary data may be used to establish goals, provide comparisons, and maintain producer interest after practitioner intervention in herd management.