Pregnancy diagnosis in dairy herds in England and Wales

A survey of 1692 dairy farmers in England and Wales in 1979 revealed that 14.2 per cent had veterinary pregnancy diagnoses carried out on more than half their cows, 43.8 per cent on less than half and 42.0 per cent had none. The results showed a considerable increase in the use of pregnancy diagnosis since a survey in 1969. Farmers with larger herds tended to make more use of pregnancy diagnosis and there were also some regional differences. In 64.6 per cent of herds pregnancy diagnosis was carried out during the third and fourth months of pregnancy; 93.3 per cent of herds in which more than half the cows were diagnosed were examined before the fourth month. Owners of pedigree herds used pregnancy diagnosis more than commercial herd owners. The milk progesterone assay pregnancy test was used by 4.3 per cent of farmers on more than half their cows, and by a further 1.9 per cent of farmers on some cows. More than 75 per cent of farmers using the milk progesterone test also used veterinary pregnancy diagnosis in their herds.