Clinical Forum: Fertility in the dairy cow

There is little doubt that the combination of the heavy selection of the modern dairy cow for increased milk yield and then the trend to manage such cattle in larger herds and by housing and feeding a total mixed ration has made fertility a difficult problem for the farm and its veterinarian. This forum addresses these issues as dispassionately as possible and draws on the experience of both veterinarians working in first opinion practice as well as researchers as they debate the management and treatment regimes that one might employ in ensuring that the dairy farm maximizes the fertility rates of its cows.