Making the most of Preg Testing Day

Pregnancy testing may be weeks away yet but making a small change to the ‘normal’ PD routine could reap big repro benefits for both your farmers and your practice in the season to come.

All farmers are focused on ‘learning their numbers’ on the day of scanning. At no other time is the link between cause and effect more apparent for reproductive performance, providing an invaluable chance for vets to quickly flag opportunities for follow up, while the result is still at the top of farmers’ minds.  

Pregnancy testing results are a snapshot that can be used to motivate farmers to act and improve in-calf rates. They provide an opportunity to start the planning process early and improve the chance of a successful outcome from their next mating.

Preg testing is a busy time for vets so the discussion on the day shouldn’t be in depth; it just needs to be quick chat about their initial reaction to their result, with a date set for the vet to come back and find out more about their goals and expectations.

AgriHealth veterinarian Steve Cranefield says pregnancy testing is a time when repro is extremely topical for farmers, so it’s a case of striking while the iron is hot. Putting some structure around the process to capture key results and farmers’ reactions will be beneficial for both vets and farmers.  

By using the AgriHealth Plan-to-Mate Tool at the time of pregnancy testing, vets can capture key results and farmers’ reactions, easily and quickly.

“The front page of Plan-to-Mate is a great way to collect the data and can be started with only a few details, then completed at the follow-up, so it doesn’t need to take a lot of time.”

Critical herd performance information for both heifers and cows – including submission rates, mating length and empty rates – can be quickly recorded and compared with industry targets using a traffic light system that clearly identifies areas of potential improvement.

When it’s time for the formal repro consult, details captured on the Plan-to-Mate Tool make it faster and easier for vets to have discussions around areas of improvement.

Steve Cranefield says using the Plan-to-Mate Tool encourages vets to feel like an integral part of their farmers’ enterprise.

This leads to greater involvement with farmer clients and stronger relationships and loyalty. The key outcome is strong vet–farmer partnerships focused on improving repro performance and farm productivity and maintaining momentum for further improvement year-on-year.

Gaining competency in this area often requires some training and commitment by vets to initiate conversations with target farmers. AgriHealth’s Plan-to-Mate Tool is the first step in that process.

For more information contact your AgriHealth area sales manager.