British Cattle Veterinary Association

Nutrition influences fertility of cattle in many ways and improved understanding of the mechanisms involved is leading to new strategies with potential to reverse the trend for declining fertility. The first priority is to minimise the degree and duration of negative energy balance in early lactation by restricting body condition at calving so that feed intake is not impaired. The second priority is to provide good quality diets that meet the animal's energy and nutrient requirements within its appetite limits. When these priorities have been addressed, diet composition can be altered to manipulate metabolic hormones, particularly insulin, which helps to coordinate ovarian function with changes in metabolic status.