Fall 2012 ai24 Newsletter

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PUT TIME ON YOUR SIDE

ai24™’s HR-Tag™ Like X-Ray Vision on Vermont DairyJoe Allen of Allendale Holsteins in Vergennes, Vermont, doesn’t have x-ray vision when it comes to cow health. But he has the next best thing…. Rumination data through ai24™’s HR-Tag™.

Dairy producers, veterinarians and nutritionists have long relied on cud chewing (both the sights and sounds of rumination) as a key monitor of dairy cow health, and with good reason. Because cows ruminate 450 – 500 minutes per day, a drop in rumination time is a clear sign that there’s something impacting rumen function or animal well-being. Rumination monitoring can provide an early window for diagnosis.

This knowledge offers producers the opportunity to intervene and head off challenges before they would otherwise have realized a problem.

As Allen has learned, “The cow may look alright, but the thermometer will say differently when you check her.”

“During a recent pneumonia outbreak, we had a cow come up on the HR-Tag’s health report,” he

explains, noting that at first glance you wouldn’t think she was sick.

“She appeared healthy and was milking well, but we checked her anyway and found that she had a fever of 107˚ F. We treated her right away, she recovered quickly and she never lost any milk production. The system always picks up sick cows - I can give you about a dozen examples of this.”

“Cows that look perfectly healthy, but have reduced rumination data, will almost always

have a significant problem 24 hours later if you do nothing,” says Joe’s wife, Dr. Becky Allen, a veterinarian who has used the system with other clients, as well. “Usually, she’ll run a higher temperature if you check her, but you’d not know that she’s clinically ill just by looking at the cow.”

What Allendale Holsteins has experienced has been confirmed in university research. One research trial1 compared electronic rumination monitoring with visual observation of rumination monitoring, and found the electronic system results were highly correlated with those of visual observation. Monitoring rumination with an electronic system also provides a numerical value for each day’s rumen function, and compares it to the individual animal’s

average. This can prove especially effective when changes in rumination patterns occur before acute symptoms of a major health event are seen.

“The system helps us catch things much earlier and improve the odds of a successful outcome,” says Becky Allen. “We can intervene earlier and work with cows that are not as sick as if you’d waited for clinical signs to appear. You can also see the impact of ration changes using the data.”

“The health information we’ve been able to use since we installed the SCR Activity and Rumination Monitoring System in December 2011 has really been helpful,” says Joe Allen. The system features revolutionary technology that combines rumination, heat detection and cow identification functionality in one unit, giving dairy producers a tool to monitor their cows 24 hours a day.

This technology will allow dairy producers to shift the way they manage and interact with their herd, providing value through early detection of health problems and estrus, which can translate to increased production, higher pregnancy rates and fewer costs associated with disease treatment. The system enables the farmers to make decisions and manage their herd in an efficient and cost-effective way.

Adopting this technology has been a boost to

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Allen’s bottom line, as the activity monitoring component has helped the dairy cut synchronization protocol hormone costs by roughly $1,000 per month. Factoring in the amortized cost of the system, Allen estimates, “We are putting about $350-400 in our pocket each month, and we’ve seen a 10% increase in pregnancy rate.” Joe expects the system to pay for itself in 18 – 24 months.

“The system has really changed our reproductive management,” notes Becky Allen. “We can be more efficient with our herd check time. A lot of cows that would have been found open previously have been found in estrus by the system prior to the herd check and rebred. We can spend more time with cows that may have had a problem during transition or are non-cycling, meaning we can utilize our time better.”

Joe Allen adds that the system offers another bonus.

“I can work on other projects and spend about 15 minutes twice a day with the data to manage heat detection and herd health. It’s given us the freedom to not be so concerned about whether anyone’s catching cows in heat or identifying sick cows. We just check the report and the information is there. Once you get the collars installed (which isn’t difficult), it’s the easiest system in the world to use.”

“We can intervene earlier and work with cows that are not as sick as if you’d waited for clinical signs to appear...”

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“I work with eight herds of different sizes and management styles that have invested in ai24. They all have one common thread... ai24 is a game changer for their profitability and productivity. It’s given them the edge needed to sustain long term viability in an ever changing industry.”

Chris Kimball, District Sales Representative/Partner Development Manager

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L E T U S P U T T I M E O N Y O U R S I D E

As a herd manager you know how valuable your time is. You need time to feed cows, time to treat cows, time to milk cows and time to breed cows. Most importantly, though, you need that precious time away from the cows to do the things that mean most in your life. Semex’s ai24™ whole herd management solution with both rumination monitoring and heat detection capabilities can’t put more hours in your day, but it can put more time on your side!

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ROI less than18 months

Golden Oak Farm’s Ethan Heinzmann, Herdsman, and Nate Janssen, Dairy Operations Manager


Successful business managers know that carrying costs can negatively effect profitability. For dairy producers, inventory management comes in many different forms. You manage your feed, fuel and fertilizer inventories, knowing they’re critical to cash flow.

However, many dairymen might not realize that their heifer inventories may literally be eating away at their profits. Let’s take the example of a 100-cow milking herd and have a closer look. Using conventional AI semen, this herd will average four heifer calves born per month. If this herd’s average age at first calving is 27 months, we can estimate that they’re keeping an extra 12 heifers in inventory three months longer than they have to each year. Financially, calving heifers out at 27 months of age as opposed to the widely recommended 24 months costs this herd an estimated $15,000/year. This estimate is based on extra heifer rearing costs and reduced culling opportunity.

As feed availabilities tighten and hit pocket books following this summer’s drought, managing your heifer inventory and related reproduction program is critical. Key to this is timely heifer breeding.

The first place to look at is the age your heifers are when first bred. In order to get heifers calving in at 24 months of age you must begin breeding at 13 months. This decision alone directly influences when your heifers will start to make you money. The sooner they’re bred, the sooner they’ll be pregnant, calving and paying you back!

Recently, the University of Guelph, OMAFRA, CanWest DHI, and EastGen (Semex’s partner) initiated the Calf-ETERIA project. The goal of this project was to get a sense of the decisions and tools dairymen are using when raising their heifers. In the winter of 2011, a survey was distributed asking participants questions about all aspects of

their heifer-raising program, from newborn to first lactation. A total of 901 Ontario dairy producers responded.

The survey asked producers what age they planned to start breeding their heifers. The majority stated 14 or 15 months, answering 30% and 32% respectively. Only 20% of respondents indicated that their goal was to start breeding their heifers at 13 months of age or younger.

Using a small sub-group of 68 survey participant herds, early analysis compared when the producers said they planned to start breeding to when their their CanWest DHI data that had actually breeding dates. This information showed that 49% of these 68 participants bred their heifers at least one month later than their stated goal. When you break this information down even further, 22% of these herds bred their heifers two or more months later than they had planned.

This shows that many producers are not reaching their goal of getting semen into heifers when they plan to and they’re letting their heifers ‘drift’ a month or more past their target start date. The financial effect of this ‘drift’ adds up quickly as these heifers will be literally eating away at profits, calving well beyond the desired 24 months of age at first calving.

Another tool we could use to improve our heifer reproduction management is utilize pregnancy rates.

The pregnancy rate essentially measures the speed at which heifers eligible to become pregnant actually became pregnant over a given period of time. Producers and consultants have used this figure effectively when assessing reproductive performance and in making the necessary changes to improve the lactating herd’s profitability.

Conception rates are higher in heifers, easily reach 60%, making a 35-40% heifer pregnancy rate achievable. Using this statistic in heifer programs will help herds assess if their heifers are being bred in a timely manner, and also if they’re getting pregnant from those breedings.

Mark Carson, MSc., BSc. Agr., EastGen, Reproductive Strategy Manager

eating away at your profit?

Are heifer inventories


• �Make�sure�heifers�regularly�move�into�your�breeding�pen. Scheduled pen moves ensure the right heifers get the right amount of attention.

• If you’re using visual heat detection, remember�that�you�need�to�dedicate�30�minutes�twice�a�day�(morning�and�night). Visual heat detection should not be done during other activities such as feeding.

• Systems�such�as�ai24™’s�Heatime®�need�to�be�used�correctly.�Make sure you’re putting collars on heifers approximately 10 days before the breeding period starts to ensure maximum benefit.

• Quickly�identify�heifers�you�have�not�seen�in�heat. Work with your veterinarian to establish a protocol for heifers not seen in heat after the first 21 days of the breeding period.

• Regularly�scheduled�pregnancy�checks�are�a�must.�This quickly identifies open heifers and allows you to deal with them appropriately.

Considerations to avoid the ‘drift’:

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Attach collar Collect data Assess data Take action

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How does it work?It’s easy. Just listen to your cows.


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Rumination and activity information on the cows in the herd is collected in order to determine their normal activity level. Once this base level has been established, the control unit identifies cows that are displaying above average or below average activity.

Information is recorded and monitored in the neck tag every two hours and stored for 24 hours. When the cow or heifer passes under the ID station (at least once every 24 hours) the tag is triggered to send data back to the control box. For cows, the ID station should be mounted at the parlor exit and for heifers, it should be mounted near watering stations.

Research has shown that it’s just not a cow’s steps that help identify estrus and illness. Rubbing movements between cows, body movements and unusual behavior like additional head and neck movements are indications of estrus, while monitoring rumination is your earliest detection of illness.

The system enables the user to view each cow’s rumination and activity history in a graphical display for at least one year.

Put TimeOn Your Side


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C: 0M: 46Y: 73K: 0

C: 0M: 79Y: 100K: 11

C: 0M: 69Y: 100K: 4

PMS: 173

Whole herd management solutionswith both rumination monitoring and heat detection capabilities we can’t put more hours in your day, but we can put more time on your side!



C: 0M: 46Y: 73K: 0

C: 0M: 79Y: 100K: 11

C: 0M: 69Y: 100K: 4

PMS: 173

877-545-ai24 (2424) | www.semex.com

Fall 2012 ai24 Newsletter

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