Auditing Beef Cow Herd Reproduction

The production of beef from the beef cow herd has been an important part of cattle production throughout the world. The primary denominator in auditing beef herd reproduction is the number of breeding females that are mated. The most obvious point of contact for the veterinary practitioner is the visit to carry out pregnancy diagnosis for the herd, and this opportunity should be used to collect and analyse the available production data for the herd. Chronic poor reproductive performance can be seen due to copper deficiency in association with molybdenum excess, and will result in high barren rates and long, flat calving distributions. In these situations, further investigation will be required. The methodology outlined here can form the foundations of a data-based approach to health planning, and to the fertility audit of the beef cow herd.