Synchronized breeding programs in Canadian dairy herds: attitudes and opportunities

A synchronized breeding program (SBP) is any protocol that uses exogenous hormones to synchronize the estrous cycle and is routinely applied to groups of cows. SBPs are designed to assist producers in obtaining pregnancies in cohorts of cows, primarily by restricting the periods during which producers need to detect estrus, or by eliminating the need to detect estrus. Recent survey results suggest that SBPs are underutilized in Canadian dairy herds. There is a continuing reliance on traditional approaches to solving reproductive problems, with an emphasis on treating individ- ual or problem cows after veterinary examination. This approach does not take advantage of the potential economic benefits that systematic SBPs can offer in many herds. The decline in repro- ductive efficiency in North American dairy herds is well-documented and economic modeling suggests that most herds would benefit from some form of systematic SBP. Veterinarians should encourage wider use of SBPs as a means to enhance herd profitability. This issue of Large Animal Veterinary Rounds examines the background and the results of the First Canadian Consensus on Synchronized Breeding Programs in Dairy Herds, 2003