Veterinary herd health and production control on dairy farms III. Index list on reproduction and lameless

Abstract

In a previous paper an introduction was presented to a veterinary herd health and production control program consists of a coupled basic system and a flexible system. The basic system is built up from farm visit activities and a standard registration system. In the latter, four index lists play a key role. These index lists cover all relevant farm aspects with regard to the efficiency of milk production, calf production and cow replacement. Index figures are built up or calculated from data collected by both the farmer and the veterinarian. Their function is to signalize unwanted situations or problems at an early stage and to serve as basic information for analysis, solving and prevention of problems. Problem analysis is performed by means of the flexible system, which indicates to what extent actions are needed. After a previous paper concerning index list 1 on milk production and udder health, this paper presents index list 2 on reproduction and lamenes. Both farm aspects are related to the economic results achieved on the farm. The development, significance and implementation of the index figures in list 2 are presented. Relationships with figures in other index lists are discussed. Reference values are given where applicable.