49 Promotional Supplement Focus On Dairy | June/July 2024 For the life of your dairy™ Contact Your BouMatic Dealer Today! STREAMING MORE THAN MILK The MagStream™ milk meter is wirelessly streaming data as it provides a 100% free flow of the milk stream. The meter ensures a continuous and completely free milk and air flow, making vacuum drops and fluctuation caused by milk meters a thing of the past. Cows are milked Gently, Quickly and Completely™, improving milk quality - and the life of your dairy. Learn more about this ICAR freeflow meter at BouMatic.com/MagStream Dortmans Bros. Strathroy-Salford Jarvis-Wellesley 800-265-3435 Partner Ag Services Tara-Mount Forest 519-934-2343 519-323-2405 You can track heifer growth to make informed decisions of when to breed using simple tools Steady growth early in life plays a crucial role in preparing a heifer for future lactations and age at first calving. Body condition score, body weight, average daily weight gain, wither height and girth measurements can all be used to assess heifer growth. Age at first calving is a good indicator of how your heifer management program is performing. In Ontario, the average age at first calving has declined slightly in the last five years, from 27.2 months to 26.3 months. However, there is room for improvement since the goal is to reach 24 months for age at first calving (DHI, 2016). The size and weight of a heifer indicates whether she is ready to be bred. Heifer age can give you a rough guideline as to when your heifers are ready for breeding, but knowing height and weight will assure you they are ready to be bred. Shortening the period from puberty to first calving can decrease rearing costs, while maintaining healthy heifers through their first calving. According to the Nutritional Requirements of Dairy Cattle (NRC, 2001), a heifer is ready for breeding when it reaches 55 per cent of its mature body weight, which for most animals occurs by 14 months of age. Why has there been little change in age at first calving over the past decade? According to Duplessis et al., 2014, dairy producers did not have the tools available to help predict heifer growth and weight at breeding and first calving. Some questions to consider when assessing your heifer management program: • Do I know when my heifers reach 55 per cent of mature body weight? • What is the mature body weight of multiparious (two or more lactations) cows on my farm? • When should I be breeding my heifers? How early is too early? • What is the average daily gain on my herd? • What are my breeding goals and current age at first calving? Quebec researchers were hoping to answer some of these questions by assessing body weight and wither height before and after 15 months IMPROVE YOUR DAIRY HEIFER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM Learn ways to track heifer growth to make informed decisions of when to breed. Supplied by Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. FOCUS ON DAIRY
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