Economic return of phantom cow intervention

What is it about?

Phantom cows are defined as cows that have been artificially inseminated, not subsequently detected in estrus, and then diagnosed as non-pregnant on pregnancy examination. Using decision-tree analysis, we demonstrated that identifying and treating phantom cows with a progesterone-based synchrony program was economically viable under specific conditions, but highly influenced by the accuracy of cow selection by the farmer and pregnancy diagnosis and the expected prevalence of phantom cows. Farmers, veterinarians and animal health advisors can use this information to determine whether intervention is economically feasible on a given dairy farm.

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Why is it important?

Phantom cows can be a substantial source of economic wastage on dairy farms. Identifying farms that are good candidates for intervention, and what the critical success factors are, will improve economic outcomes individual farmers and for the industry as a whole.