Reasons that cows in Dairy Herd Improvement programs exit the herd (2009)
TABLE 1. Percentages of cows (ALL BREEDS and CROSSBREDS) completing lactations.
NOTE: Crossbreds were categorized into 2 groups depending on the extent of heterosis: those with heterosis of >90% (CB90) and those with heterosis of 50 to 90% (CB50). The CB90 group was primarily first-generation (F1) crosses between 2 breeds or offspring of a third-breed sire and an F1-crossbred dam of 2 other breeds; the CB50 group was backcross offspring from an F1 dam and a sire from 1 of the F1 parent breeds.
For additional background information, see AIPL Research Report CULL1 (9-09).
TABLE 1. Percentages of cows (ALL BREEDS and CROSSBREDS) completing lactations by reason for termination and breed (2009).
| Destination code | Termination code | Ayrshire | Brown Swiss | Guernsey | Holstein | Jersey | Milking Shorthorn | Red & White | CB90 | CB50 | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stayed in herd | Lactation ended normally (0) | 69.1 | 66.5 | 62.5 | 66.4 | 69.4 | 67.5 | 67.3 | 72.4 | 71.6 | 66.8 |
| Lactation ended with abortion (8) | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | |
| Sold for dairy (2) | 5.5 | 5.7 | 6.0 | 3.3 | 8.0 | 8.4 | 3.2 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.7 | |
| Sold for slaughter | Locomotion problems (1) | 1.3 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.3 |
| Low production (3) | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.8 | |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 5.5 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 4.7 | 2.9 | 4.6 | 6.4 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.5 | |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 7.7 | 7.7 | 10.4 | 9.5 | 7.3 | 8.7 | 8.0 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 9.3 | |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 2.7 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.5 | |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | — | — | — | <0.1 | <0.1 | — | — | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | |
| Bad behavior (B) | — | 0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | — | 0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | |
| Died (6) | 4.7 | 5.6 | 7.7 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.8 | |
| Records (no.) | 9,858 | 23,979 | 8,597 | 3,241,018 | 241,221 | 3,893 | 4,606 | 59,065 | 18,334 | 3,642,628 | |
| Herds (no.) | 1,005 | 2,225 | 630 | 19,892 | 4,324 | 506 | 950 | 5,776 | 3,241 | 42,021 |
TABLE 2. Percentages of cows (ALL BREEDS and CROSSBREDS) leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and breed (2009).
| Termination code | Ayrshire | Brown Swiss | Guernsey | Holstein | Jersey | Milking Shorthorn | Red & White | CB90 | CB50 | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locomotion problems (1) | 5.2 | 6.8 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 8.0 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.5 |
| Low production (3) | 12.9 | 13.2 | 10.4 | 16.4 | 17.9 | 15.5 | 10.8 | 19.3 | 18.0 | 16.5 |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 21.9 | 20.7 | 17.6 | 15.7 | 13.1 | 19.3 | 22.0 | 15.2 | 15.9 | 15.6 |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 30.4 | 28.0 | 33.4 | 31.8 | 32.8 | 36.4 | 27.5 | 27.9 | 27.1 | 31.8 |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 10.7 | 10.6 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 11.7 | 8.7 | 12.6 | 13.8 | 14.4 | 11.8 |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | — | — | — | <0.1 | <0.1 | — | — | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 |
| Bad behavior (B) | — | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | — | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Died (6) | 18.8 | 20.6 | 24.7 | 19.6 | 22.4 | 18.3 | 18.9 | 19.6 | 20.9 | 19.8 |
| Records (no.) | 2,483 | 6,566 | 2,679 | 970,396 | 53,760 | 935 | 1,343 | 13,406 | 4,361 | 1,064,111 |
| Herds (no.) | 588 | 1,322 | 410 | 19,026 | 2,895 | 236 | 459 | 3,256 | 1,585 | 31,591 |
TABLE 3. Percentages of HOLSTEIN cows completing lactations by reason for termination and parity (2009).
| Destination code | Termination code | Parity 1 | Parity 2 | Parity 3 | Parity 4 | Parity 5 | Parity ≥6 | All parities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stayed in herd | Lactation ended normally (0) | 76.3 | 70.0 | 61.3 | 53.6 | 48.3 | 43.0 | 66.4 |
| Lactation ended with abortion (8) | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | |
| Sold for dairy (2) | 4.3 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 3.3 | |
| Sold for slaughter | Locomotion problems (1) | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 1.4 |
| Low production (3) | 4.0 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 5.8 | 6.3 | 7.2 | 4.9 | |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 3.7 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 6.6 | 4.7 | |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 5.9 | 8.3 | 11.5 | 14.1 | 15.8 | 17.7 | 9.5 | |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 1.6 | 3.0 | 4.6 | 6.0 | 6.9 | 7.6 | 3.5 | |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | |
| Bad behavior (B) | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | |
| Died (6) | 3.2 | 4.8 | 7.5 | 9.6 | 10.8 | 11.6 | 5.9 | |
| Records (no.) | 1,107,063 | 872,845 | 596,347 | 346,140 | 177,974 | 140,649 | 3,241,018 |
TABLE 4. Percentages of JERSEY cows completing lactations by reason for termination and parity (2009).
| Destination code | Termination code | Parity 1 | Parity 2 | Parity 3 | Parity 4 | Parity 5 | Parity ≥6 | All parities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stayed in herd | Lactation ended normally (0) | 77.1 | 73.4 | 68.8 | 61.5 | 56.3 | 49.1 | 69.4 |
| Lactation ended with abortion (8) | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | |
| Sold for dairy (2) | 9.4 | 8.9 | 6.5 | 6.2 | 6.8 | 7.4 | 8.0 | |
| Sold for slaughter | Locomotion problems (1) | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 0.5 |
| Low production (3) | 3.2 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 5.8 | 4.0 | |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 2.3 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 2.9 | |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 3.8 | 5.3 | 8.0 | 11.3 | 12.8 | 16.2 | 7.3 | |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 1.2 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 2.6 | |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | |
| Bad behavior (B) | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | |
| Died (6) | 2.6 | 3.5 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 9.4 | 5.0 | |
| Records (no.) | 75,621 | 60,054 | 43,696 | 27,984 | 16,545 | 17,321 | 241,221 |
TABLE 5. Percentages of other purebred cows (AYRSHIRE, BROWN SWISS, GUERNSEY, MILKING SHORTHORN, and RED & WHITE) completing lactations by destination category, reason for termination, and parity (2009).
| Destination code | Termination code | Parity 1 | Parity 2 | Parity 3 | Parity 4 | Parity 5 | Parity ≥6 | All parities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stayed in herd | Lactation ended normally (0) | 74.7 | 70.9 | 65.7 | 60.5 | 54.2 | 50.9 | 67.6 |
| Lactation ended with abortion (8) | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 | |
| Sold for dairy (2) | 6.4 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 5.2 | |
| Sold for slaughter | Locomotion problems (1) | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 1.3 |
| Low production (3) | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 3.9 | |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 3.5 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 4.7 | |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 6.3 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 10.7 | 12.6 | 13.8 | 8.6 | |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 1.6 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 5.6 | 2.7 | |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | — | <0.1 | — | — | — | — | <0.1 | |
| Bad behavior (B) | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | — | 0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | |
| Died (6) | 3.2 | 4.5 | 6.7 | 8.0 | 9.3 | 9.6 | 5.5 | |
| Records (no.) | 26,436 | 20,765 | 14,482 | 9,357 | 5,372 | 5,123 | 81,535 |
TABLE 6. Percentages of CROSSBRED cows completing lactations by destination category, reason for termination, and parity (2009).
| Destination code | Termination code | Parity 1 | Parity 2 | Parity 3 | Parity 4 | Parity 5 | Parity ≥6 | All parities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stayed in herd | Lactation ended normally (0) | 79.2 | 74.6 | 65.6 | 57.4 | 53.7 | 50.1 | 72.2 |
| Lactation ended with abortion (8) | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | |
| Sold for dairy (2) | 5.1 | 3.6 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.6 | |
| Sold for slaughter | Locomotion problems (1) | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 0.9 |
| Low production (3) | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 5.9 | 4.4 | |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 2.7 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 5.2 | 4.9 | 3.5 | |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 4.1 | 5.8 | 8.2 | 11.2 | 12.4 | 12.6 | 6.4 | |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 1.6 | 2.8 | 4.5 | 6.6 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 3.2 | |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | — | <0.1 | — | — | <0.1 | — | <0.1 | |
| Bad behavior (B) | <0.1 | <0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | <0.1 | |
| Died (6) | 2.6 | 4.0 | 6.3 | 8.2 | 9.8 | 11.1 | 4.6 | |
| Records (no.) | 32,461 | 21,051 | 12,458 | 6,270 | 3,030 | 2,129 | 77,399 |
TABLE 7. Percentages of HOLSTEIN cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and parity (2009).
| Termination code | Parity 1 | Parity 2 | Parity 3 | Parity 4 | Parity 5 | Parity ≥6 | All parities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locomotion problems (1) | 3.0 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 5.9 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 4.6 |
| Low production (3) | 21.2 | 18.0 | 14.8 | 13.3 | 12.8 | 13.3 | 16.4 |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 19.4 | 18.0 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 12.1 | 12.2 | 15.7 |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 31.1 | 31.0 | 32.1 | 32.4 | 32.4 | 32.8 | 31.8 |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 8.4 | 11.1 | 12.8 | 13.7 | 14.2 | 14.1 | 11.8 |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 |
| Bad behavior (B) | 0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | <0.1 | 0.1 |
| Died (6) | 16.7 | 18.0 | 21.0 | 22.1 | 22.1 | 21.4 | 19.6 |
| Records (no.) | 209,775 | 233,444 | 213,410 | 150,738 | 86,957 | 76,072 | 970,396 |
TABLE 8. Percentages of JERSEY cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and parity (2009).
| Termination code | Parity 1 | Parity 2 | Parity 3 | Parity 4 | Parity 5 | Parity ≥6 | All parities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locomotion problems (1) | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 2.1 |
| Low production (3) | 23.9 | 20.8 | 17.2 | 14.8 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 17.9 |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 17.4 | 16.8 | 11.6 | 10.3 | 9.7 | 10.2 | 13.1 |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 28.5 | 30.2 | 32.9 | 35.2 | 35.0 | 37.3 | 32.8 |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.6 | 12.5 | 13.8 | 13.8 | 11.7 |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 |
| Bad behavior (B) | <0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Died (6) | 19.7 | 20.1 | 24.5 | 25.0 | 24.4 | 21.6 | 22.4 |
| Records (no.) | 10,057 | 10,480 | 10,696 | 8,961 | 6,066 | 7,500 | 53,760 |
TABLE 9. Percentages of other purebred cows (AYRSHIRE, BROWN SWISS, GUERNSEY, MILKING SHORTHORN, and RED & WHITE) leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and parity (2009).
| Termination code | Parity 1 | Parity 2 | Parity 3 | Parity 4 | Parity 5 | Parity ≥6 | All parities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locomotion problems (1) | 3.0 | 3.4 | 4.7 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 8.3 | 4.7 |
| Low production (3) | 18.5 | 16.0 | 13.3 | 13.2 | 11.9 | 10.9 | 14.7 |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 18.6 | 19.9 | 18.1 | 15.6 | 15.4 | 14.6 | 17.6 |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 34.1 | 33.3 | 30.5 | 30.9 | 31.1 | 31.5 | 32.2 |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 8.3 | 8.5 | 10.6 | 11.1 | 12.7 | 12.8 | 10.1 |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | — | <0.1 | — | — | — | — | <0.1 |
| Bad behavior (B) | 0.1 | 0.2 | <0.1 | — | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Died (6) | 17.2 | 18.6 | 22.8 | 23.1 | 22.8 | 21.9 | 20.6 |
| Records (no.) | 4,915 | 4,993 | 4,256 | 3,248 | 2,178 | 2,254 | 21,844 |
TABLE 10. Percentages of CROSSBRED cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and parity (2009).
| Termination code | Parity 1 | Parity 2 | Parity 3 | Parity 4 | Parity 5 | Parity ≥6 | All parities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locomotion problems (1) | 2.7 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 5.8 | 3.9 |
| Low production (3) | 25.3 | 20.2 | 16.0 | 14.0 | 12.1 | 13.1 | 19.0 |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 17.5 | 17.5 | 14.1 | 12.0 | 12.3 | 10.9 | 15.4 |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 26.5 | 27.1 | 28.1 | 29.7 | 29.4 | 28.0 | 27.7 |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 10.6 | 13.0 | 15.2 | 17.6 | 17.7 | 17.4 | 14.0 |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | — | <0.1 | — | — | 0.1 | — | <0.1 |
| Bad behavior () | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Died (6) | 17.2 | 18.7 | 21.7 | 21.7 | 23.1 | 24.5 | 19.9 |
| Records (no.) | 4,979 | 4,534 | 3,647 | 2,364 | 1,280 | 963 | 17,767 |