Gloria Hafemeister
Correspondent
WAUPUN
Dr. Monty Belmer, Waupun Veterinary Services, embraces new technology and says most successful dairy producers welcome ways to use technology to enhance what they are doing on their farms. Testing services for components in milk, somatic cell counts, various pathogens or diseases and mastitis are all possible because of advances in technology and help to make the supply of milk safe and in abundant supply.
Sexed semen and embryo transfers help producers make genetic improvements more rapidly in their herd.
One of the latest technologies available to farmers is gaining in popularity. Blood testing is now being used as a method to pregnancy test cows and heifers. The laboratory at Waupun Veterinary Services became the newest affiliate lab earlier this year, adding the BioPRYN® test to the list of other lab services it offers.
The lab is operated by Belmer, one of eight veterinarians in the practice. It is one of only 22 laboratories doing this test and just the second one located in Wisconsin.
“We get blood samples from producers in other states as far away as Nebraska,” he says. “Producers can take the blood samples themselves and mail them to us. They can have results within 27 hours of sampling.”
BioPRYN® is an acronym for a ruminant-specific pregnancy test developed by Dr. Garth Sasser at the University of Idaho back in the 1980s. It became available commercially six or seven years ago, Belmer says. “Some dairies in Wisconsin have been using it for quite a few years but they had to send it to Idaho.”
The Idaho company that manufactures the expensive machine that processes the blood samples has limited the production and distribution of the equipment in order to maintain quality control. Like other laboratory equipment, it must be checked and certified on a regular basis.
The BioPRYN® test specifically looks for the level of bovine pregnancy protein B in serum. The Elisa reader calculates the optical density of the individual cow and compares this value with known controls including both open and pregnant cows. Based on this comparison, the results are reported as open, pregnant and pregnant-recheck. These reports can be transferred electronically into on-farm software if the client chooses or results can be mailed to the producer, or in some cases reported by phone.
The test requires an overnight incubation period.
In the past it took 90 days after calving before any residual protein B from the previous gestation was gone. Cows also need to be 30 days post-insemination. Virgin heifers should be at least 30 days past breeding in order to get accurate test results.
The program is generally used to compliment other methods of pregnancy-checking cows including ultrasound or palpation. Belmer says, “It is 99.9 percent accurate on calling a cow open and 95 percent accurate on calling her pregnant.”
The reason for the slight decrease in accuracy for indicating a pregnancy is that there are times when a cow may be pregnant for a very short time but then has an early embryonic loss. She may be pregnant at the time of the test but may not remain pregnant.
He says the most important benefit, however, is knowing for sure if a cow is not pregnant or open. That allows the producer to follow a reproduction protocol that is in place on the farm to attempt to get the animal pregnant.
He explains that many farms, especially the larger ones, have synchronization programs in place. With this test available they will take a blood sample and send it in and then give the cow the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). When the results come back, if she is confirmed open they can then follow through with a treatment of Lutylase as the next step in the synchronization program.
“You wouldn’t want to give that to a pregnant cow,” Belmer points out. “That’s why it’s important to be very certain. If the test shows she is pregnant all the producer is out is the GnRH shot. If she is not, he has saved some time and has the assurance he is not hurting her.”
The cost of the blood sampling is $3 or less, he says. The test itself costs $2.40 per sample but the producer must purchase the blood tube and needle and there are mailing costs.
“The cost is comparable to arm service though,” he says. “We expect to see more use of this test in the future because producers don’t have to wait to get on the veterinarian’s schedule to have the pregnancy testing done.”
He continues, “Some farms do this because they don’t want their cows standing in headlocks so long while they wait for the vet to come to do preg tests. This way they take a blood sample and let the cow go back to the barn.”
He estimates that since the technology was introduced one-half million samples have been processed and that number is going up quickly as the idea catches on. Right now about 340 samples are processed each week at the Waupun lab.
The service is not limited to customers of the Waupun Veterinary Service. He says, “Farmers can use our testing service and then work with their own vet.”
Belmer is a native of Michigan and says he saw the test used in Pennsylvania and New York dairies and got the idea a few years ago that it would be good to have it available in the dairy state.
While some veterinarians may shy away from the test because they are afraid that the technology may take work away from their clinic, Belmer says, “We see this technology as a way to enhance our service to our clients.”
