FURTHER funding for research into dairy cow infertility will be determined by the outcome of an industry meeting next month.
Dairy Australia animal performance manager Mick Blake said major issues associated with infertility, including many of the findings from InCalf research conducted over the past decade, would be looked at.
The meeting would also "tease out" the new issues which would be crucial for considering future funding.
"At the moment I don't have anything to direct money at," Mr Blake said.
"InCalf is a group of experts in fertility, fully funded by Dairy Australia. We recognise that fertility in its own right is a major issue, (but) we need to tease out what the issues are in 2010.
"If it does require further funding we will take it straight to the board."
Some farmers have flagged the move to split calving from seasonal calving, to carry over empty cows, as one of the drivers behind the perceived increase in rates of infertility in dairy herds.
InCalf project leader Barry Zimmermann said he understood more farmers had shifted from split to seasonal calving over the past five to seven years.
He said some of the anecdotal reasons behind the move included producers wishing to rejoin empty cows, the availability of irrigation to water pasture, and milk prices, as well as the preference to calve in autumn rather than winter.
Dr Zimmermann said some farmers had opted to keep cows and rejoin them, but he was concerned they had been "saying that without any sound science behind it".
He said farmers not selling the empty cows increased infertility rates.
Camperdown veterinarian John Penry said converting a herd to split calving because a portion of the herd was not in calf was completely different to converting a herd to split calving or moving the calving date to take advantage of higher milk prices.
"The decision on how a farm supplies to the milk price should be seen as a separate decision to necessarily how to deal with girls that are not in calf," he said.
Dr Penry said those farmers who swapped to a seasonal calving due to infertility should look at the underlying issues.
Issues such as bull management, bull power, heat detection management, maintenance of cow body condition and how well heifers are developed prior to entering the herd can contribute to infertility.
Dr Penry said the original messages of InCalf's research still "held water" and the industry should not "throw the baby out with the bathwater".
Some of the new issues associated with infertility included the higher number of farms employing labour in the past eight years. There was also an increase in artificial insemination but a drop in the availability of training.
