Historical examination of culling of dairy cows from
- Slides: 57
Historical examination of culling of dairy cows from herds in the United States H. DUANE NORMAN, E. HARE, and J. R. WRIGHT Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory Agricultural Research Service, USDA Beltsville, MD 20705 -2350 dnorman@aipl. arsusda. gov 301 -504 -8334 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (1) 2005
Positive vs. negative terms Longevity Productive life Survival Stayability Herdlife ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (2) vs. Culling Disposals Replacement Turnover 2005
Selection Natural control Bos primigenius (extinct, 1672) ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (3) vs. Human control Bos taurus (Canadian Holstein true type, 1973) 2005
“Do we always do the right thing in selection? ” “We have created a bird that can’t mate naturally!” ADSA 8 th DISCOVER Conference (4) 2004
“Let’s make sure our dairy animals can continue to reproduce naturally!” ADSA 8 th DISCOVER Conference (5) 2004
Cow population vs. production ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (6) 2005
ADSA 8 th DISCOVER Conference (7) 2004
Production (quantity, quality) l l Producers have largely emphasized milk and component yields and type traits We could have selected for sustained production using more fitness traits (had more of the traits been recorded) ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (8) 2005
Maturity rate vs. survival “Has rate of maturity changed over time? How has it affected survival? ” ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (9) 2005
What impacts culling? l Milk production l Reproduction l l l Nutrition Conformation Overall health (e. g. mastitis) Management practices Business economics ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (10) 2005
Factors that impact culling rate l Management style (Hansen et al. , 1998; Washburn et al. , 2002; White et al. , 2002) l Herd expansion (Faust et al. , 2001) l Replacement cost l Culling decision software (Lehenbauer and Oltjen, 1998; Groenendaal et al. , 2004; de Vries, 2004) l b. ST ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (11) 2005
Low culling rates l Expanding herds (Weigel et al. , 2003) l Type traits (Caraviello et al. , 2003, 2004) l Bulk milk SCC (Barkema et al. , 1998) l SCS (Samore et al. , 2003) l Crossbreeding (Weigel and Barlass, 2003) l Theoretical analysis(Hill, 1980) l Economic evaluation(Korver and Remkena, 1979) ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (12) 2005
Longevity definitions l l True longevity = how long cows actually stay in the herd Functional longevity = how long cows stay in the herd after an adjustment is enacted for milk yield, and perhaps other traits ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (13) 2005
Longevity periods l Two phases: – Productive – Nonproductive l Nonproductive = Birth to first calving l Productive = First calving to disposal ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (14) 2005
Productive life l Culling dates needed for all animals l Genetic evaluation – First US national evaluation in 1994 – First international Holstein bull rankings for longevity in November 2004 l Indirect response from correlated traits ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (15) 2005
Days open phenotypic trend Lactation 1 2 3 4 5 Holstein ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (16) 2005
Economic value of longevity l Fewer replacement heifers needed to maintain herd size l Higher yield near maturity l Replacement heifers are better genetically l Higher proportion of cows in more profitable lactations ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (17) 2005
Health disorders l l l Big impact on voluntary culling Reproductive and udder problems most likely contributors Risk factors (dystocia, displaced abomasum, mastitis) ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (18) 2005
Reliable health information? ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (19) 2005
Objectives l Examine survival rates over time l Document how long cows remain in the herd l Examine when in the lactation cows are culled l Examine why cows are culled l Assess the impact of culling ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (20) 2005
Data edits l l Herds participating in DHI testing for 1 yr prior to first calving and remaining on test throughout the cow’s lactations Cows first calving 1980 to 1994 and remaining in same herd Cows culled for dairy purposes excluded No missing lactations (required 270– 650 d between lactations) ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (21) 2005
Opportunity group l l Subgroups created based on opportunity of each cow to calve at each lactation Cow’s herd must remain on test for an increment of 450 d per lactation after start of first lactation e. g. , 450 d for opportunity first group, 900 d for opportunity second group, 1350 d for opportunity third group, etc. ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (22) 2005
Cows eligible for opportunity groups Brown Parity Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein 1 71, 952 120, 158 173, 260 12, 773, 403 2 63, 931 106, 273 158, 650 11, 319, 316 3 56, 576 93, 592 137, 555 9, 971, 550 4 49, 736 81, 815 143, 649 8, 738, 975 5 43, 684 71, 802 129, 092 7, 602, 286 6 38, 487 62, 759 115, 606 6, 576, 598 7 33, 596 54, 798 102, 869 5, 693, 402 8 29, 172 47, 251 91, 234 4, 883, 776 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (23) Jersey 654, 024 570, 973 494, 967 429, 201 372, 088 322, 992 279, 335 239, 510 2005
Survival rate l l Defined as fraction of cows that had the opportunity to calve again that did Survival to parity 1 assumed to be 100% as no information was available for heifers ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (24) 2005
Survival to parity 2 Year 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 Brown Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 71. 7 66. 9 67. 1 77. 3 74. 7 69. 8 65. 0 66. 4 74. 6 73. 6 70. 1 66. 2 65. 5 72. 1 73. 8 69. 5 63. 6 60. 8 72. 4 74. 5 71. 7 66. 9 63. 6 72. 1 75. 2 71. 8 68. 8 66. 3 74. 1 76. 2 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (25) 2005
Survival to parity 3 Year 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 1999 Brown Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 50. 3 47. 4 44. 3 56. 6 56. 5 49. 2 46. 9 44. 1 52. 8 54. 5 47. 8 47. 1 42. 0 49. 9 55. 3 47. 7 45. 2 37. 0 49. 2 55. 4 50. 7 46. 1 39. 3 47. 6 55. 6 50. 8 47. 3 41. 8 49. 0 56. 7 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (26) 2005
Survival to parity 4 Year 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 1998 Brown Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 35. 3 33. 3 28. 0 38. 7 40. 9 33. 3 33. 5 27. 8 35. 4 39. 5 30. 3 33. 0 24. 9 31. 7 39. 1 31. 1 32. 0 21. 3 30. 2 39. 0 33. 5 30. 6 22. 0 28. 4 39. 0 34. 8 31. 6 21. 8 28. 4 38. 1 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (27) 2005
Survival to parity 7 Year 1980 1984 1988 1992 1995 Brown Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 8. 7 8. 4 5. 0 7. 5 11. 4 7. 3 8. 2 4. 1 6. 1 9. 8 6. 4 7. 6 3. 4 4. 4 8. 7 6. 0 2. 6 3. 5 7. 7 5. 3 5. 4 2. 5 3. 2 7. 5 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (28) 2005
Survival rates (1966– 83) Nieuwhof et al. , 1989 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (29) 2005
Survival rates (1980 -94) ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (30) 2005
Survival rates- Holstein (1980 -94) ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (31) 2005
Registered vs. grade survival Nieuwhof et al. , 1989 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (32) 2005
Herd composition by lactation Nieuwhof et al. , 1989 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (33) 2005
Herd composition by lactation ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (34) 2005
Holstein herd composition by parity 1966– 76 1980– 94 Nieuwhof et al. , 1989 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (35) 2005
Mean number of parities l l Additional measure of survival Sum of mean survival rates for parities 1 through 8 transformed to an overall indicator of number of parities (calvings) ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (36) 2005
Mean parities through parity 8 Nieuwhof et al. , 1989 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (37) 2005
Mean number of parities Year 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 Brown Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 3. 08 2. 96 2. 73 3. 22 3. 36 3. 05 2. 97 2. 67 3. 13 3. 31 2. 98 2. 93 2. 69 3. 05 3. 26 3. 00 2. 85 2. 61 2. 96 3. 20 2. 87 2. 93 2. 57 2. 88 3. 23 2. 88 2. 87 2. 44 2. 85 3. 19 2. 90 2. 82 2. 40 2. 81 3. 20 2. 89 2. 86 2. 41 2. 79 3. 20 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (38) 2005
Mean Holstein parities by herd size Cows (no. ) Year 5– 50 51– 100 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1994 3. 05 2. 95 2. 83 2. 82 2. 83 3. 02 2. 94 2. 85 2. 82 2. 79 2. 80 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (39) 101– 201– 501– 1001– 200 500 1000 2000 5000 2. 99 2. 92 2. 85 2. 82 2. 77 2. 75 3. 03 2. 95 2. 92 2. 85 2. 80 2. 79 3. 02 2. 96 2. 88 2. 89 2. 83 2. 87 2. 86 2. 83 2. 80 2. 81 2. 79 2. 82 2. 60 2. 73 2. 68 2. 76 2. 74 2005
US regions ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (40) 2005
Mean Holstein parities by region Year 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 Mideast 3. 24 3. 16 3. 03 2. 97 2. 90 2. 88 2. 80 2. 74 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (41) Midwest 3. 09 2. 91 2. 83 2. 74 2. 73 2. 71 2. 70 Mtn. - North- South. Prairie east west 3. 03 3. 43 3. 23 3. 14 3. 22 2. 96 3. 32 3. 11 3. 13 3. 17 2. 95 3. 23 3. 04 3. 01 3. 14 2. 89 3. 14 2. 99 2. 89 3. 03 2. 81 3. 06 2. 91 2. 82 2. 97 2. 78 3. 02 2. 90 2. 74 2. 91 2. 78 2. 95 2. 83 2. 67 2. 90 2. 74 2. 92 2. 84 2. 59 2. 89 2005
When are cows culled? l l Immediate – Milking prevented – Teat injury – Downer cow Delayed – Milking routine not affected – Treated cows – Reproductive disorders ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (42) 2005
DIM at lactation termination Termination codes: 0 = Lactation in progress or ended normally 2 = Sold for dairy purposes or testing discontinued 3 = Low production 4 = Reproductive problems 5 = Not specified 6 = Died 7 = Mastitis or high SCC 8 = Abortion ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (43) 2005
DIM at culling for Holsteins first calving 1998 – 99 by parity DIM 1– 29 30– 89 90– 179 180– 299 300– 449 >449 1 2 4. 1 13. 0 14. 0 20. 2 30. 0 18. 8 2. 4 10. 7 15. 3 26. 0 32. 7 13. 0 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (44) Parity 3 4 % of total 3. 3 4. 5 12. 8 14. 8 16. 2 18. 7 25. 6 25. 8 30. 5 27. 8 11. 6 8. 9 5 >5 11. 4 17. 9 20. 6 25. 3 20. 1 4. 4 25. 2 22. 0 22. 9 18. 4 10. 4 1. 0 2005
Culling probability for cows 1 st calving 1998– 99 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (45) 2005
Why are cows culled? Voluntary ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (46) Involuntary 2005
USDA termination codes assigned to Holsteins not calving again by parity (first calving in 1998 or 1999) Termination code 0 Lact. ended normally 3 Low production 4 Reproductive 5 Sold for beef 6 Died 7 Mastitis, high SCC ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (47) 1 2 26. 1 13. 3 17. 8 26. 1 8. 4 9. 4 24. 1 11. 5 17. 8 26. 3 8. 8 11. 6 Parity 3 4 % of total 21. 9 15. 1 9. 5 8. 3 15. 6 15. 1 28. 8 33. 1 10. 3 12. 0 13. 9 16. 5 5 >5 4. 9 7. 8 13. 8 38. 2 15. 7 19. 6 0. 2 7. 2 10. 1 39. 6 21. 2 21. 7 2005
Impact of culling ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (48) 2005
Mean calving age across all parities Year 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 Brown Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 57. 2 58. 9 54. 3 51. 8 54. 6 55. 0 55. 3 51. 7 50. 1 52. 5 53. 9 55. 8 49. 5 51. 7 53. 3 53. 8 48. 5 47. 8 49. 5 53. 4 53. 1 49. 1 46. 9 50. 1 54. 1 52. 0 48. 3 45. 7 48. 6 54. 3 51. 0 48. 5 44. 6 46. 6 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (49) 2005
Conclusions l l l Cows are replaced sooner than before Survival is primarily independent of herd size Survival is highest in Northeast and Southwest, lowest in the Southeast ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (50) 2005
Conclusions l l l Risk of exiting increases with parity Most cows (69 -72%) exit late (180 to 449 DIM) in early parities, but progressively earlier during later parities (50% by 149 DIM). Need better information on health traits and reason for culling in DHI ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (51) 2005
What dairy producers need l l Sound information so that producers can minimize cow losses Effective communication so that producers use the information Better software on who and when to cull Overall breeding objective that includes but isn’t limited to survival ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (52) 2005
Thank you ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (53) 2005
Survival to parity 5 Year 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 1997 Brown Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 23. 5 21. 8 16. 6 24. 2 27. 9 21. 2 22. 1 16. 4 21. 6 26. 8 18. 4 21. 9 13. 5 18. 4 25. 9 19. 5 19. 9 11. 4 16. 6 25. 0 21. 1 18. 0 11. 5 14. 7 24. 1 20. 2 19. 3 12. 1 14. 3 25. 4 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (54) 2005
Survival to parity 6 Year 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 Brown Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 14. 7 13. 8 9. 9 14. 3 18. 4 12. 8 13. 3 8. 4 12. 2 16. 8 10. 8 13. 5 6. 6 9. 5 15. 6 11. 9 12. 0 5. 8 8. 1 14. 7 11. 9 9. 7 5. 2 6. 9 13. 8 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (55) 2005
Survival to parity 8 Year 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 Brown Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 4. 4 4. 8 2. 5 3. 5 6. 4 3. 9 4. 4 1. 8 2. 7 5. 1 2. 9 3. 6 1. 4 1. 9 4. 4 3. 3 1. 0 1. 4 3. 8 3. 4 2. 9 1. 1 1. 3 4. 0 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (56) 2005
Mean lactations through 8 Nieuwhof et al. , 1989 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (57) 2005