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