With good breeding and reproductive management underpinning profitability in Welsh cattle herds, farmers are being urged to sign up for a new Farming Connect workshop designed to help maximise herd fertility.
Master Fertility, the latest in a series of bespoke ‘masterclasses’ offered by Farming Connect, will be delivered by two leading dairy vets, Kate Burnby and Owen Atkinson.
Farming Connect Dairy Technical Officer Gwenan Evans said course members will get the chance to learn about the most up-to-date fertility management techniques for improving cow wellbeing, performance and increase profitability – and get advice on how to adopt these.
“The fertility of a breeding animal is influenced by a wide range of different factors and the course will cover these in detail,” she said.
These will include developing a good understanding of cow fertility and identifying the right parameters to measure and monitor fertility in different herd types and management systems.
Course members will be helped to develop a plan to improve their herd’s fertility performance, based on their own systems, data and objectives.
“There will be sections on nutritional management, including body condition scoring, on heat detection methods and semen handling and AI timing,” Ms Evans explained.
Advice will be given on how to handle cows in a stress-free environment to improve the chances of conception, the best protocols at pre-breeding and for pregnancy detection and how to get the most out of vet fertility visits.
The workshop will run as two evening webinars on 13 and 15 February 2023 and with a one day on-farm practical on 1 March 2023 at Gelli Aur College Farm, near Llandeilo.
Farmers have until 9 February 2023 to submit their applications by visiting https://businesswales.gov.wales/farmingconnect/skills-and-training/master-course/wales-master-fertility
Farming Connect, which is delivered by Menter a Busnes and Lantra, has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.
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