DHIA/Records

Area dairy extension agents and specialists from Blacksburg have been busy in recent weeks planning the 2010 Area Dairy Conferences. Dates and general locations are below. We’ll get the word out on precise locations later in the fall.

January 12 – Southside – location TBA

January 13 – Rocky Mount

January 14 – Abingdon

January 19 – Rockingham County

January 20 – Culpeper County

Dr. Ray Nebel, Senior Reproduction and Herd Management Specialist for Select Sires and former extension specialist for reproduction in Virginia will be the keynote speaker at each location. Dr. Nebel has extensive experience solving herd reproductive problems across the country and is well known to many Virginia producers. His presentations are always on target and enjoyable as well. Other presentations will focus on genetic options, cow comfort, health, and management strategies to optimize reproductive performance of the dairy herd. The time appears to be right for an emphasis on reproductive management, as economic conditions are changing on Virginia dairy farms. The table shows that Virginia dairy farmers have improved interval to first breeding and days open compared to last year. Changes in these two averages are gradual, as days open for cows in herds a year ago was affected by reproductive management decisions dating back to 2007. That’s ancient history compared to what dairy farmers did to get cows bred last week. Reproductive performance has changed in response to public perception of bST use, synchronization programs, cull cow values, production costs, and the price of milk as well as other factors. The average dairy herd in Virginia in August 2009 is bigger by 7.5 cows, at 166.7, than a year ago. And there are 17 fewer of them, 308 total, on supervised DHI test.

DHI Notes...