MICHAEL O’CONNOR Dairy and Animal Science Extension Pennsylvania State University STATE COLLEGE (Centre Co.) Below is a list of the likely causes of poor con ception. 1. Improper timing of in semination: are cattle insemin ated based on secondary signs of estrus. It has been docu mented that between 10 and 20 percent of the cattle are not in or near estrus when insemin PA DHIA Revises Regions SCOTT WILLIAMS Training Coordinator STATE COLLEGE (Centre Co.) Pennsylvania DHIA is proud to announce two new ad ditions to their Held staff. PA DHIA is making changes in re gion 4 and 6. Due to the ex tended illness of Dave Shenk, Diane Mcllwain was been named to head the newly formed region 6. Diane has been with DHIA for 18 years. She recently worked as a senior technician in region 3 and more recently was attending to the daily duties of managing re gion 4. Please help welcome Diane to her new position. Erie Crawford Wojhini iton Payette 26 Greene Region 1 Dean Aden Route 2 Dayton PA 16222 814-257-8572 2301 rmgr@dhia.psu .edu Director of Field Dean Amick Marketing Manager David Bigelow Training Coordinator Scott Williams ated. Critically evaluate your estrous detection program. High incidence of uterine in fection: recent evidence sug gests there may be a higher in cidence of subclinical infection during the initial breeding per iod than was originally be lieved to exist. Is the dry cow environment and calving area relatively clean? Are the early dry cows and the transitional group fed a balanced radon? Cows inseminated when not in estrus are more likely to devel- George Cashed will now as sume the responsibilities of managing region 4. George has been with DHIA since 1985. He maintains a circuit in Franklin County of about 18 herds and until his recent pro-” motion was also a senior tech nician for region 4. Pennsylva nia DHIA would like everyone to welcome George to his new position. Contact PA DHIA at 1-800-344-8378 if you have any questions or would like a representative of PA DHIA to stop by your farm to explain how PA DHIA records can help you. Region Managers Warren fores Jefferson Clarion 16 Armstrong Westmoreland somerset Region 2 Larry Hay RR 3 Box 39A Berlin PA 15530 814-267-4754 2302rmgr@vm.dhia.psu.edu Trouble-Shooting The L * nc,l * tef F,fmln 9» Satufda y» December 19, 1998-D3 Causes Of Low Conception New York 2 7 (Vic Kean - m 24 Clearfield Cambi Mton Region 3 Linda Sticklin RR 6 Box 115 WeUsboro PA 16901 717-724-7173 grandma@epix.net Service Center RR'2 Box 263 Service Center op an infecdon. Periparturienf problems such as retained pla centa frequently result in uter ine infection. One secondary benefit of an estrus synchron ization program using prostag landin is that it may help to clear a uterine infecdon or en hance uterine health. 3. Nutritional factors: exces sive weight loss, deficient en ergy and crude protein or ex cess degradable protein intake, gross over conditioning, imbal ance of calcium, phosphorous, vitamins, A, D, E and intake of moldy feeds. You should evaluate your feeding program, check basic feeding practices, avoid overfeeding of grain, and analyze milk samples for Milk Urea Nitrogen. Obviously, avoid feeding moldy forages or grains. 4. Heat stress: high tempera ture has been shown to increase uterine temperature and thus increase embryonic death. Consider methods ro reduce thermal stress and improve cow comfort. 5. Disease; leptospirosis, BVD, IBR/IPV, haemophilus, ureaplasma, vibriosis are the major diseases causing embry onic mortality. In consultation with your veterinarian develop Potter llogo 59 Cumberland i 21 ftanKlin 28 Adams i Region 4 David Shenk RR 2 Box 5 Newport PA 17074 717-567-9100 2304rmgr@dhia.psu.edu University Park PA 16802 800-344-8378 Williamsburg PA 16693 814-832-1907 University Park PA 16802 800-344-8378 a strategy to test for these dis eases, especially BVD and lep tospirosis, and develop an ef fective vaccination program. Vibriosis and trichomoniasis are venereal diseases that can be spread by natural service. 6. Improper insemination technique and use of semen damaged during storage or handling; improper semen placement, exposure of frozen semen to elevated temperatures and cold shock of thawed se men can severely affect con ception rates. Attend a retrain- SCOTT WILLIAM Training Coordinator STATE COLLEGE (Centre Co.) Producers in the mas sive Chesapeake Bay area could save themselves $5O per cow in reduced protein costs and improved production, and reduced nitrogen loading of the bay at the same time. How? By routinely using milk urea nitro gen (MUN) testing. Jonker, with the Uni versity of Maryland, estimates overfeeding protein results in (radford 8 Sullivan 57 Lycoming YorK 67 Maryland MUN Saves Money And Environment Susquehanna 58 iming J 5 lack Uuneme Lancaster Chester Region 5 Gary Williams RR 1 Box 1015 Starrucca PA 18462 717-727-3158 droogles@nep.net ing session for artificial in serhination technique and purchase semen from reputable sources. Through the use of proper testing and critical evaluation of management practices and techniques the cause of low conception rates can be identi fied. It generally requires a team approach involving the nutritionist, veterinarian, AI personnel, the management team and persistence to resolve the problem. 4,400 terns of excess non point nitrogen loading to the bay an nually, or roughly 2 percent of the nitrogen flowing into the bay. By routinely using MUN test and adjusting rations ac cordingly, that overfeeding can be reduced. Milk production for the 760,000 cows in the bay drainage area would also likely increase, says Jonker. That's because digesting excess nitro gen requires energy that could otherwise be used for improv ing milk production. giijg Wayne New Jersey Region 6 Diane Mcllwain RR 1 Box 219 A Liberty PA 16930 717-324-5160 cow@epix.net dda@dhia.psu.edu dab@dhia.psu.edu scw@dhia.psu.edu
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