Mating is a crucial time of year which is why we've added the MINDA guide to mating! Instead of wasting time trying to figure out which reports you'll need from MINDA, get a quick a refresher on what you need to know when it comes to mating time 🐄💻✔

Before mating gets underway, it's important to check that your records are up to date i.e. calvings, pre-mating heats etc. Why? The majority of graphs/insights in MINDA Repro uses Eligible Cows and for animals to be included in this group, they need to have calvings recorded BEFORE mating starts.

Pre-mating heats helps you identify animals that may need a little extra help during mating and could benefit from some reproductive intervention.

If you have cow wearables on farm i.e. collars, tags etc, you can set up an automatic Group that adds any animals that have had a heat alert (picked up by cow wearables) to your MINDA Group.

Create a Custom Report

Using the following Attributes, create a custom report which can help with heat detection, giving you an idea of when cows are expected to cycle or those that may need intervention.

If you use an LIC AB Technician, your mating information will be recorded for you but if you're a 'DIYer', it's important to record and approve mating Events in MINDA as soon as they happen. Recording your DIY matings will keep your Groups & Reports up to date, accurately reflecting what's happening on farm.

When a mating is recorded in MINDA, the mating date is used to determine when the cow is expected to calve. MINDA looks forward 282 days (+/- gestation length) to calculate the expected calving date. Mating info is also used to determine a sire when Pregnancy Diagnosis' are recorded.

You can record DIY Mating Events in MINDA via the:

Submission Rate

This helps you see whether enough cows have been submitted for a first mating to achieve a condensed calving pattern next season. It shows the percentage of your cows mated for the first time, targeting 90% at 3 weeks.

Summary of Matings

Use this report to see which cows have had more than one mating or short returns. Identifying short return intervals, or cows that have had mating dates close to natural mating can also show cows that may have uncertain sires recorded against them.

Cows without Matings

Use this report during mating and when you have finished mating to see a list of cows that have not had a mating recorded against them. You can also check this report when planning a vet check for non-cycling cows or to see if there are any recording errors which need attention.

Once mating has finished, it's important to review how successful the season has been, and identify any opportunities for following seasons. Using the Dashboard and Mating tabs in MINDA Repro, you can look back at the mating season and identify any areas of improvement. You can then use pregnancy diagnosis info for a more in depth analysis.

If you record pregnancy diagnosis (PD) results in MINDA, you instantly have access to a post-mating reproductive analysis of your herd. Aged PDs provide a more detailed herd analysis, compared to non-aged PDs. The type of PDs you record also impact the kind of Fertility Focus report you have access to.

You can record pregnancy diagnosis results via:

Pregnancy Test Worksheet

This report shows all the animals in the selected Group along with their most recent matings, and can be used to identify the pregnancy status of animals. It can be helpful in assisting your vet/scanner when pregnancy testing.

Fertility Focus Report

The Fertility Focus report (FFR) is a DairyNZ report which farmers have access to via MINDA. The FFR is produced using information from MINDA, and provides insights into the herds overall reproduction performance for a selected season.

Pregnancy Tab (MINDA Repro)

The graphs/reports in the Pregnancy tab will populate if at least 80% of the herd has aged PD results recorded. If the information is available, it'll allow you to track the in-calf and conception progress of animals during the mating period. There are 11 reports you can view that dive deeper into areas of in-calf and conception results: