{"id":4209,"date":"2020-09-17T11:28:24","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T16:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/?p=4209"},"modified":"2020-09-17T11:28:25","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T16:28:25","slug":"top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/","title":{"rendered":"Top tips for a successful block calving herd"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Technical Block Management<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 28-day pre-breeding period is an ideal opportunity to prepare for a successful breeding season. Confirm with farm staff involved in breeding the cow eligibility criteria including planned start of mating date, voluntary wait period and do not breeds. Agree heat detection protocols and use of tools to aid submission for artificial insemination. Seek out staff refresher training needs and equipment checks ahead of identifying non-cycling animals working with veterinary advice to address issues, as well as monitor body condition score compared to calving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Setting goals with a focus on the detail of how success will be achieved during the breeding season ensures a reproductive management plan delivers results. Maintain good data records and use it to track relevant metrics, allowing insights and action. Key drivers of success; focus on 3-week submission rate and conception rate to deliver a high 6-week in-calf rate (target 72%+) and low empty rate (less than 10%) for a 12-week block. Plan to track weekly submission rate and analyse the submission rate after 3 weeks, focus on picking up the repeats thereafter. Do monitor pregnancy inventories by breed and sex to ensure replacement needs and genetic improvement goals are being met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Huw Lloyd, Genus ABS EMEA Technical Services Director<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Selecting the right genetic indexes<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u00a3ACI and \u00a3SCI have been specifically designed for autumn and spring block calvers, respectively, in the UK to breed profitable animals.\u00a0 These indexes have a strong emphasis on fertility to keep a tight calving block as well as the other health traits evaluated by AHDB for UK dairy farmers.\u00a0 The \u00a3SCI differs from the \u00a3ACI by breeding for smaller animals and more components in the milk whereas \u00a3ACI has slightly more weighting on kg than the \u00a3SCI.\u00a0 These indexes should be used as an initial filter to consider only bulls who will improve your herd\u2019s genetic merit by removing those with an \u00a3ACI or \u00a3SCI lower than your best animal (depending on your calving system).\u00a0 Once you have shortlisted on either \u00a3ACI or \u00a3SCI then look into the individual bull traits to make sure those you are selecting are enhancing your herd\u2019s genetic strengths and improving your weaker areas, including helping to meet your milk contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Fern Pearston, AHDB Animal Genetics Manager<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Technical Block Management The 28-day pre-breeding period is an ideal opportunity to prepare for a successful breeding season. Confirm with farm staff involved in breeding the cow eligibility criteria including planned start of mating date, voluntary wait period and do not breeds. Agree heat detection protocols and use of tools to aid submission for artificial [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":301,"featured_media":4210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,27,50,41],"tags":[],"abs_type":[],"abs_industry":[],"class_list":["post-4209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-farm-profitability","category-genetic-strategy","category-genetics","category-reproduction"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.6 (Yoast SEO v25.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Top tips for a successful block calving herd - ABS Global UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top tips for a successful block calving herd\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Technical Block Management The 28-day pre-breeding period is an ideal opportunity to prepare for a successful breeding season. Confirm with farm staff involved in breeding the cow eligibility criteria including planned start of mating date, voluntary wait period and do not breeds. Agree heat detection protocols and use of tools to aid submission for artificial [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ABS Global UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GenusABSUK\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-17T16:28:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-17T16:28:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-1175073239.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"5973\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"3982\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/\",\"name\":\"Top tips for a successful block calving herd - ABS Global UK\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-1175073239.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-17T16:28:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-17T16:28:25+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-1175073239.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-1175073239.jpg\",\"width\":5973,\"height\":3982,\"caption\":\"A herd of Holstein heifers grazing on a sunny evening in Northern Ireland\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Top tips for a successful block calving herd\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/\",\"name\":\"ABS Global UK\",\"description\":\"Profit From Genetic Progress\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/#organization\",\"name\":\"ABS Global UK\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2020\/03\/cropped-genu-abs.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2020\/03\/cropped-genu-abs.png\",\"width\":2542,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"ABS Global UK\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GenusABSUK\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Top tips for a successful block calving herd - ABS Global UK","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Top tips for a successful block calving herd","og_description":"Technical Block Management The 28-day pre-breeding period is an ideal opportunity to prepare for a successful breeding season. Confirm with farm staff involved in breeding the cow eligibility criteria including planned start of mating date, voluntary wait period and do not breeds. Agree heat detection protocols and use of tools to aid submission for artificial [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/","og_site_name":"ABS Global UK","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GenusABSUK\/","article_published_time":"2020-09-17T16:28:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-09-17T16:28:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":5973,"height":3982,"url":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-1175073239.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/","url":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/","name":"Top tips for a successful block calving herd - ABS Global UK","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-1175073239.jpg","datePublished":"2020-09-17T16:28:24+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-17T16:28:25+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-1175073239.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-1175073239.jpg","width":5973,"height":3982,"caption":"A herd of Holstein heifers grazing on a sunny evening in Northern Ireland"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/top-tips-for-a-successful-block-calving-herd\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Top tips for a successful block calving herd"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/","name":"ABS Global UK","description":"Profit From Genetic Progress","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/#organization","name":"ABS Global UK","url":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2020\/03\/cropped-genu-abs.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2020\/03\/cropped-genu-abs.png","width":2542,"height":1080,"caption":"ABS Global UK"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GenusABSUK\/"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-1175073239.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4209"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/301"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4209"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4295,"href":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4209\/revisions\/4295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4209"},{"taxonomy":"abs_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/abs_type?post=4209"},{"taxonomy":"abs_industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/abs_industry?post=4209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}