GEORGE F.W. HAENLEIN Extension Dairy Specialist University of Delaware NEWARK, Del. The great est success stoiy in the animal industry in the last SO years is arti ficial insemination (AI), particu larly of daily cattle. It has led to a phenomenal in crease in milk production, from less than 10,000 pounds milk per cow per year average per herd, to exceeding 20,000 pounds. FARM COVER A competitive Insurance program for (arms In Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. Qoodville Mutual has served the community since 1926. We offers fermownerapackage policy for dairy, swine, poultry and crop farms. We also offer insurance packages for homes, vehicles, businesses and churches. fry ■»; Patz Ask About Our Special Financing Program Model 2100 Ring Drive Silo Unloader with new Polar Claw™ chain Blower for easy servicing • Replaceable lower blower band with extra thick, 1/4-incn steel. • 4 swinging, adjustable, cupped paddles with stainless steel pins. • Double-groove pulley with taper boar hub. An optional independent electric motor rotates the unloader and distributor while filing. Chain guide wheel mounting to track silo wall closely. Big 9-foot drive ring flanged to the inside for added strength The Polar Claw is ideal for frozen and hard-packed silage. The cutters-and claws chain aggressively tears silage loose and quickly moves it to the blower. Fast (634 ft/min.) chain speed for high-volume delivery, Ideal replacement unloader for your suspension • 3-cable tripod • 3-cable hexapod Add these new features to your Model RD-820 unioader easily with a RD-2100 K.I.P. (Keep It Patz) package. MAX ISENBERG 814-669*4027 Witmer Implement Service, Inc. Bmnnere Daily Equipment 717-532-6139 814-684-7309 BAWIY, PA - Longacre Electric 610-845-2261 LEBAMOHJEtA Cedar Equipment 717-270-6600 MEAPVIUS, EA Holafeaugh Sales & Svc, 814-382-8180 In addition to AI, some dairy farms still have bulls, so-called “ketch-up" bulls, for the purpose of catching those cows that have not become pregnant with A.I. Why? It’s the nose! Bulls can smell when and which cow is in cstrus. People can only observe whether a cow is in estrus through change in her beha vior. However, estrous behavior is frequently missed because of in To got the name of a Goodville farm agent in your area call 1-900-446-4022 or 717-354-4921 locally and ask for a farm underwriter. Look for our display at the Keystone Farm Show, January S and 6,1099, Memorial Hall, York Fair Grounds, York, PA, Booth 4145. Stop by our booth for your free gift, and if you are a Goodville policy holder, please Introduce yourself. GoodvlU© Mutual Casualty Company 625 W. Main StnMt, P.0.80x 489 How Holland, PA J7587-OW9 Rdfcart Smith & Sons 814-825-5828 Uongeneckers Inc. 814-793-3731 Clouser Farm Ent. 814-349-5715 New Technologies May Advance Dairy Cow Reproduction Franklin Hass 717-925-6939 complete observations or that some cows have “silent" estrus, especially on hot summer days. As a result, fewer than half of our dairy cows conceive when they should. More cows are culled from a herd for reproductive failure than for any other reason. This situa tion leads back to cstrus again and again, as reported from studies at the University of New Hampshire recently (Journal of Dairy Science <?*► Je* I See Your Local Dealer [ LITITZ. PA Lancaster Dairy Farm Auto 717-627-4824 Springfield Equipment 717*297-2442 Elders Sales & Svc 724-376-3390 Tri-State Farm Automation 301-790-3698 * » Keystone Farm Show Section 1, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 2, 1999—Page 1998, 81:2299-2305), and points out why attention to estrus ob servation and detection can make great differences in dairy farm in come and losses. The technical industry has tried many devices and procedures to make estrous detection by people easier and more successful. Yet even the farms on which ketch-up bulls are found have a conception rate no better than 1 in 2 cows bred. A method used for years is marker patches on the rump of cows. Pedometers attached to the legs of cows were developed to re cord the different levels of restless behavior on estrus days. Changes in milk and body temperature to gether with decreased feed intake and milk yield have been fol lowed. Progesterone contents in milk have been tested. One clever approach by Dr. Charles Kiddy of the Beltsville USDA Research Station was to train dogs to sniff and detect cows in estrus. That was 15 years ago. These methods are neither simple nor reliable. Now, finally, there is new British research with an “electronic” nose! Scientists, working with two groups of five and eight Holstein cows, used cotton swab to take samples from the cows’ vulva. These samples were presented to a machine equipped with 12 elec tronic sensors to quantify the odors on different days during en tire reproduction cycles of the cows. 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For easy financing, ask about Patz Credit. 3-Auger Mixer PA Bences Farm Equipment 814-623-8601 Graham Dairy Supply 724-834-3162 aeumiE. pa Miller-Lake, Inc. 717-935-2335 KENNEDYVIM-E, MC Finder Service 410-348-5263 EBIEM.O&.PA Knepper Enterprises 814-445-2858 It was discovered, for the first time (Journal of Daily Science 1998, 81:2145-2150, that a strong correlation exists between con centrations of circulating repro ductive hormones and quantities of different odors from the repro ductive tract of cows. This exciting news could mean fewer reproductive losses on United States dairy farms, because it would make estrus detection and accurate timing of AI possible, thereby significantly increasing fertility in cows. Why is accurate timing of AI critical? For successful conception, sperm from bull’s semen straws, or ampules, must meet the cow’s ovum at a certain optimum time. Otherwise there is one more cow bred but not pregnant From the time of actual AI until that crucial rendezvous time, the semen takes 8 hours to travel up the reproductive tract. This illustrates why accurate timing of AI is so important, be cause the release of the ovum is independent of the act of AI; it happens at ovulation, which is re lated only to estrus and happens 24 to 32 hours after the onset of estrus. Detecting estrus when it starts is critical, because the ovum does not wait If the ovum becomes old (in terms of hours), it becomes a major contributor to a lower preg nancy rate. New research using a large (Turn to Page 40) WHITEFORD. MD Deer Creek Equipment 410-452-5252 EGIQN.WV Upcornb Equipment 304-735-5239 CPU Ed Range, Inc, 908-459-4350 DISTRICT MANAGER; James Smith 717-485-9176 79
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