CanWest DHI is pleased to announce that the company has hit the 10,000 samples mark for its newly introduced milk pregnancy test (ReCheck 60). CanWest achieved the 10,000 milestone in only the first 5 months of service offering.
“Since its launch, the milk pregnancy test has been very popular. Hundreds of producers have used the service and sample volumes have been very strong”, states Richard Cantin, Manager of Customer Service for DHI.
He adds, “Customers tell us that the convenience is a key selling point of this new test. Sample collection is already done as part of our regular service which means that there is no need to handle cows.” Most herds are using the milk test either as a recheck to supplement the early diagnosis by the herd veterinarian or as a last check before dry off.
Dairy producers know that improving Pregnancy Rates and reducing Days Open can have a significant economic impact, so a high priority is given to finding Open cows and quickly returning them to service. The DHI milk test is another tool to help them do that. The test is based on ELISA technology detecting the level of pregnancy associated glycoproteins (PAGs), which are produced when a cow is pregnant and rise in concentration in blood and milk as the gestation progresses. This technology is similar to what is being used in commercially available blood pregnancy tests.
Cantin concludes, “we’re very pleased by how popular the test has been and by the positive feedback we’re getting from our customers. We look forward to continued strong growth of this service.”
Source: CanWestDHI