The department’s dairy development specialist in animal performance, Sarah Chaplin, said the blog was the creation of dairy extension officer Ee Cheng Ooi.

“Ms Ooi is a young veterinarian and passionate about dairy cow fertility,” Ms Chaplin said.

“She is writing this blog to help farmers keep on top of new developments in the world of dairy reproduction, and to find out what other farmers are doing to improve their herd reproductive performance.

“This blog is a means of communicating new and relevant information directly to Victorian dairy farmers in a way that’s responsive, and can adapt to meet farmer requirements.

“With so much information available it can be difficult for farmers to keep on top of new or alternate ways of doing things, exciting technological developments and the outcomes of recent research. We encourage Victorian dairy farmers to take the opportunity to have a look at the new website and tell us what they would like to see in dairy digital communication in the future.”

The Dairy Fertility Investigator features:

• The latest research on dairy fertility issues;

• “Featured farmers” — stories of farmers doing reproduction right; and

• Industry news on breeding and fertility.

Example articles and information available at the site include:

• How the latest research on subclinical ketosis is revealing its effects on fertility;

• One farmer’s experiences with a five-week weaning period — how to reduce your workload in the calving season without sacrificing heifer growth and healthy calves;

• Take home messages from the most recent conferences; and

• The latest news about Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme new breeding objectives and links to their YouTube clip. See dairyfertility.com.au.