The Benefits of Pregnancy Testing
- Planning drying off dates
Cows that have too long or too short a dry period cost money. If you know the expected calving dates of the cows accurately, you can dry cows off according to these dates, maximising the milk yield from later calving cows whilst ensuring all cows have an adequate dry period.
- Planning induction programs
Late calving cows can be identified well in advance, and an induction program planned before the start of drying-off. This allows the most effective induction program to be used on selected cows that have been well prepared.
- Detect empty cows
An empty cow will start to be a cost on the system once she is dried off. The cost of not knowing that she is empty is the extra feed she consumes during her dry period until she is finally discovered to be empty, and the cost of lost milk which would have been produced if she had been milked through.
- Feed budgeting
A knowledge of the expected calving pattern will assist in the planning of feed budgets; eg- the purchase of extra feed such as hay or silage.
- Purchase or Sale
Preg testing cattle for sale provides both the vendor and the purchaser a level of security. Preg testing results enable the purchaser to select which cattle are suitable for purchase, and the vendor is provided with the guarantee that the cattle up for sale are pregnant.
If you are planning to sell cattle ensure that the stock are preg tested and you get a certificate of the results.