Reproductive and Economic Efficacy of Three FTAI Protocols in Four Weather Seasons in a High-Yielding Dairy Farm from Romania.
- 1Clinics Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, "Ion Ionescu de la Brad" Iași University of Life Sciences, 700490 Iași, Romania.
- 2Research and Development Station for Cattle Breeding Dancu, 707252 Iaşi, Romania.
Abstract
This study evaluates the effectiveness and financial impact of three fixed timed artificial insemination (FTAI) protocols-an intensive Double Ovsynch (DO) protocol, OVS5D, a modified Ovsynch protocol incorporating GnRH administration on day 5 post-FTAI, and a standard Ovsynch (OVS) protocol, beginning with the first artificial insemination (AI) on a high-yielding dairy farm. For this study, three groups were assessed: the OVS group (n = 904), the OVS5D group (n = 830), and the DO group (n = 859). To assess the economic impacts of each protocol, the UW-Cornell DairyRepro$ decision tool was used. The results revealed that the DO group had a significantly higher conception rate (CR) at the first AI (53.08%, p < 0.05) compared to both the OVS (47.46%) and OVS5D (46.27%) groups, which showed similar results (p > 0.05). At the second AI, the CRs for the DO (45.18%) and OVS (44.97%) groups were comparable (p > 0.05), with both groups achieving higher CRs than the OVS5D group (35.67%, p < 0.05). Among the three groups, primiparous cows exhibited similar CRs (54.32 vs. 57.77 vs. 55.45, p > 0.05), while multiparous cows showed higher CRs (p < 0.05) in the DO group (52.64%) compared to the OVS (42.64%) and OVS5D (42.46%) groups. In our study, there is a clear interaction between synchronization protocols, parity, and seasonal variations on high-yielding dairy cows' CRs. Compared to the OVS group, the net present value (NPV) per cow per year was EUR 35 higher in the DO group and EUR 11.8 lower in the OVS5D group. Seasonal analysis across the four weather seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) revealed that all three protocols showed substantially reduced CRs during summer, confirming universal heat stress susceptibility in standard-cooled herds regardless of synchronization intensity. Based on these findings, the DO protocol is recommended for multiparous cows and standard OVS for primiparous cows; the OVS5D is not recommended due to inferior fertility and negative economic returns. These recommendations are specific to high-yielding Holstein herds managed under temperate continental climate conditions similar to this study farm and should not be over-generalized to other production systems or climates.
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BibTeX
@article{harbu2026reproductive,
title = {{Reproductive and Economic Efficacy of Three FTAI Protocols in Four Weather Seasons in a High-Yielding Dairy Farm from Romania.}},
author = {Amalia-Ioana Hârbu and Dan Drugociu and Silviu-Ionuț Borș},
journal = {Veterinary sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/vetsci13101042},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42944138},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Reproductive and Economic Efficacy of Three FTAI Protocols in Four Weather Seasons in a High-Yielding Dairy Farm from Romania.
AU - Amalia-Ioana Hârbu
AU - Dan Drugociu
AU - Silviu-Ionuț Borș
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/03
JO - Veterinary sciences
DO - 10.3390/vetsci13101042
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42944138
AB - This study evaluates the effectiveness and financial impact of three fixed timed artificial insemination (FTAI) protocols-an intensive Double Ovsynch (DO) protocol, OVS5D, a modified Ovsynch protocol incorporating GnRH administration on day 5 post-FTAI, and a standard Ovsynch (OVS) protocol, beginning with the first artificial insemination (AI) on a high-yielding dairy farm. For this study, three groups were assessed: the OVS group (n = 904), the OVS5D group (n = 830), and the DO group (n = 859). To assess the economic impacts of each protocol, the UW-Cornell DairyRepro$ decision tool was used. The results revealed that the DO group had a significantly higher conception rate (CR) at the first AI (53.08%, p < 0.05) compared to both the OVS (47.46%) and OVS5D (46.27%) groups, which showed similar results (p > 0.05). At the second AI, the CRs for the DO (45.18%) and OVS (44.97%) groups were comparable (p > 0.05), with both groups achieving higher CRs than the OVS5D group (35.67%, p < 0.05). Among the three groups, primiparous cows exhibited similar CRs (54.32 vs. 57.77 vs. 55.45, p > 0.05), while multiparous cows showed higher CRs (p < 0.05) in the DO group (52.64%) compared to the OVS (42.64%) and OVS5D (42.46%) groups. In our study, there is a clear interaction between synchronization protocols, parity, and seasonal variations on high-yielding dairy cows' CRs. Compared to the OVS group, the net present value (NPV) per cow per year was EUR 35 higher in the DO group and EUR 11.8 lower in the OVS5D group. Seasonal analysis across the four weather seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) revealed that all three protocols showed substantially reduced CRs during summer, confirming universal heat stress susceptibility in standard-cooled herds regardless of synchronization intensity. Based on these findings, the DO protocol is recommended for multiparous cows and standard OVS for primiparous cows; the OVS5D is not recommended due to inferior fertility and negative economic returns. These recommendations are specific to high-yielding Holstein herds managed under temperate continental climate conditions similar to this study farm and should not be over-generalized to other production systems or climates.
SN - 2306-7381
ER -