You can have both high production and high fertility, according to Dr. Paul Fricke, Professor of Dairy Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
On a recent episode of The Dairy Podcast Show, Fricke shared research that he said disproves the myth that fertility will always suffer in high-producing cows. The key factor: change in body condition score in early lactation.
Fricke explained the “Britt Hypothesis,” based on the work of retired North Carolina State University researcher Jack Britt. His research-based theory is that the oocytes that are developing early in lactation are significantly impacted by changes in body condition score of the dams. Cows that lose a great deal of body condition early in lactation were proven to have significantly impaired fertility of the oocytes that were developing during that period of negative energy balance.
By MAUREEN HANSON
December 15, 2023
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