Reproduction Isn’t Just Biology—It’s Business
- Denis Langlois
- Jul 1
- 3 min read
Boosting Reproduction Performance on Your Dairy Farm
Good reproductive performance is one of the most important drivers of profitability on a dairy farm. Whether you're milking 100 cows or 1,000, making small improvements in pregnancy rate can lead to thousands of dollars in extra income each year. This guide is designed to help you, the farmer, better understand your herd’s reproduction, using tools like Lely Horizon and good management practices.
Why Reproduction Matters
Fertility affects your bottom line. The sooner your cows get back in calf after calving, the more milk and calves you’ll get over their lifetime. A 1% improvement in pregnancy rate can be worth $25 per cow per year. For a 100-cow herd, just a 4% improvement could mean $10,000 more in income annually.
Focus on the Right Numbers
When evaluating your herd’s reproductive performance, there are three main numbers to keep an eye on:
Pregnancy Rate – the number one fertility KPI.
Insemination Rate – are cows being bred on time?
Conception Rate – are those inseminations resulting in pregnancies?
Horizon makes it easier to track these, and future updates will improve this even more.
If You’re Not Seeing the Results You Want, Ask Yourself:
1.Are cows being inseminated on time?
Use Horizon’s “Pregnancy Rate” report to check your insemination rate.
Not breeding cows? Check:
Are heats being detected? Use Horizon’s heat detection reports and check your tags are working and attached correctly.
Are cows actually cycling? The first heats should show up by 40 days in milk. If not, review your transition cow care.
Is insemination happening when needed? Talk with your inseminator. Sometimes cows are missed due to timing or logistics.
2.Are cows getting pregnant?
Poor conception rates might be tied to:
Heat stress
Poor nutrition or negative energy balance (NEB)
Improper body condition
Disease or health problems post-calving
Insemination timing, bull selection, or inseminator technique
Horizon can help you compare results across lactation stages, groups, bulls, and inseminators to spot weak points.
Understand the Cow’s Cycle
The average cycle is 21 days. Hormones like progesterone and estrogen need to work in balance. Things that can throw this off:
Feed quality and balance, especially energy and protein
Stress and housing conditions
Diseases after calving, like metritis or ketosis
Body condition score – too thin or too fat both cause problems
Talk with your veterinarian or herd advisor if you suspect cycle problems.
Make the Most of Horizon
Horizon is a great tool to support your breeding program—but only if it’s set up correctly:
Make sure your Voluntary Waiting Period is set to match your strategy.
Use the Repro Checklist and advanced filters to customize reports to your herd.
Keep heat detection and pregnancy checks recorded in Horizon.
Why does my report have an empty pregnancy rate?
The pregnancy rate = all animals that were eligible for insemination in those 21 days / all animals that have a confirmed pregnancy check * 100%. If the animal is there the entire 21 days, she should be included in the eligible animals. If she is culled after those 21 days, no result (pregnant/not pregnant) will become available -> the model considers the data from this cow missing for the pregnancy rate calculation. If more than 10% is missing, the pregnancy rate will not be calculated and this field will be empty! (there is a 90% certainty threshold).
The date in the column of the report represents the 21 day reproduction cycle and the calculation is based on the input 6 to 9 weeks before the presented date, meaning:
End date of 21 days is - 6 weeks
Start date of 21 days is -9 weeks + 1 day
For example, today is 25/1/2025. The newest date in the column is 19/01/2025, these numbers are based on the input of the data between 18/11/2024 and 8/12/2024. The next available date will be 9/2/2025. These dates are the same for every farm.
How Often Should You Review Reproduction?
Herds over 250 cows: every month
Smaller herds: every quarter
Use 6–12 months of data for a reliable view. A short 21-day report can give a quick update but may show unstable numbers.
Final Thoughts
Improving reproduction is one of the fastest ways to boost your farm’s profitability. Tracking pregnancy rate, insemination rate, and conception rate helps you focus your efforts. Horizon can guide you through this—especially if it’s aligned with your management style. Your advisor or veterinarian can help you make sense of the numbers and decide on the right steps for your farm. Even small changes—like improving heat detection or adjusting transition cow care—can make a big impact on your success.
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