What is P4 Gold?

An easy and accurate in-milk heat test for cows.

Accurate heat detection for well-timed insemination is the key to success in the dairy industry. The challenge is that 30% of cows that show no reliable signs or behaviours indicating they are in heat. The costs in lost production, and cost of the AI, are significant to the bottom line for dairy farms.

Now, a simple progesterone test with P4 Gold will confirm whether or not your cow is in heat. And, all it takes is a few minutes in the milk parlour, and a simple strip test with her milk. Simply stick the test in a small milk sample and read the results yourself.

P4 Gold gives you clear and accurate information to help you manage the fertility of your herd.

Used on its own or alongside other heat detection devices, P4 Gold will:

• Prevent mistimed insemination
• Prevent insemination of an already pregnant cow
• Prevent incorrect calving dates and mistimed dry periods
• Detect heat with 98% accuracy, even in your silent heat cows.
• Improve PD percentages
• Help you investigate poor fertility
• Help you investigate non-cycling cows
• Help you diagnose problems such as persistent corpus luteum
• Work alongside other heat detection methods to remove false positives
• Detect non-pregnant cows 19-23 days post insemination
• Please note P4 Gold is not a pregnancy or bPAG test and is not intended for use on its own as a diagnostic tool.

Why a milk test?

A healthy cow has a 21-day cycle involving six different hormones. One of these hormones is progesterone. Your cow’s progesterone levels show in its milk. So testing the milk will tell you if your cow is cycling and when she’s ready for AI.

The main external sign that a cow is cycling is standing heat. However, it’s only visible for short periods throughout the day so can be easy to miss. And some cows stand to be mounted when they’re not in heat so it’s not always reliable.

Another sign of oestrus is bulling. But false bulling is common so again, this is not reliable. And there are cows that go through their entire cycle and display no outward signs of oestrus at all, even though they are perfectly healthy and fertile.

Which is why tracking progesterone is the most reliable way for you to confirm heat. And so improve the fertility and productivity of your herd.