Female calves born on a dairy farm will typically be raised as replacement stock to take the place of older cows that are no longer sufficiently productive. The life of a dairy cow is a cycle of pregnancy and lactation starting at puberty. The timing of these events is very important to the production capacity of the dairy. A cow will not produce milk until she has given birth to a calf. Consequently, timing of the first breeding as well as all the subsequent breeding is important for maintaining milk production levels.