Herd Testing
Herd testing is an important on-farm management tool which enables farmers and advisors to record herd data and make more informed management decisions.
Some examples of management decisions which can be made based on herd testing data include:
- Which cows to dry off, using individual milk production data
- Which animals should be sold, using milk production data
- For which cows would selective dry-cow therapy be appropriate, using individual cow cell counts
- Assess the production level of first-calf heifers to see how well replacements are being reared, using milk production data
- Assess herd reproductive performance, using the InCalf Fertility Focus Report
- Identify actions to improve cell count, using the Mastitis Focus Report
- Select the best cows to breed from, using Australian Breeding Values
Herd Test Dashboard
DataGene has a Herd Test Dashboard to help farmers who herd test. The Herd Test Dashboard provides a picture of what is happening at the herd level with overviews of a number of key metrics, both within herd health and herd composition. It also helps to identify herd health issues and provides alerts on individual cows.
DataGene has a range of technical materials on herd improvement and herd recording. These can be downloaded from the DataGene website.
