Reasons that cows in Dairy Herd Improvement programs exit the herd (2010)
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 (2010).
| Destination code | Termination code | Ayrshire | Brown Swiss | Guernsey | Holstein | Jersey | Milking Shorthorn | Red & White | CB90 | CB50 | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stayed in herd | Lactation ended normally (0) | 66.6 | 64.9 | 62.5 | 66.3 | 71.7 | 65.1 | 66.1 | 73.8 | 70.4 | 66.8 |
| Lactation ended with abortion (8) | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | |
| Sold for dairy (2) | 6.8 | 5.6 | 4.8 | 3.3 | 6.1 | 8.5 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 3.5 | |
| Sold for slaughter | Locomotion problems (1) | 1.4 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| Low production (3) | 3.1 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.7 | |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 5.8 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 4.8 | 2.6 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 3.3 | 4.5 | 4.6 | |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 8.6 | 7.9 | 10.5 | 9.2 | 6.9 | 9.4 | 8.5 | 6.4 | 7.0 | 9.0 | |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 4.8 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.8 | |
| 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 | 0.1 | <0.1 | |
| Died (6) | 4.6 | 5.8 | 7.9 | 5.7 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 5.6 | |
| Records (no.) | 9,929 | 23,163 | 8,269 | 3,228,799 | 242,055 | 3,693 | 4,537 | 73,857 | 22,954 | 3,655,871 | |
| Herds (no.) | 1,008 | 2,170 | 602 | 18,975 | 4,239 | 520 | 886 | 6,014 | 3,616 | 41,735 |
TABLE 2. Percentages of cows (ALL BREEDS and CROSSBREDS) leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and breed (2010).
| Termination code | Ayrshire | Brown Swiss | Guernsey | Holstein | Jersey | Milking Shorthorn | Red & White | CB90 | CB50 | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locomotion problems (1) | 5.3 | 7.1 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 8.1 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 5.4 |
| Low production (3) | 11.8 | 13.1 | 9.4 | 15.8 | 20.0 | 16.9 | 10.2 | 19.8 | 16.8 | 16.0 |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 21.9 | 21.7 | 18.3 | 15.8 | 11.6 | 20.1 | 19.8 | 14.4 | 17.8 | 15.6 |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 32.7 | 27.2 | 32.4 | 30.7 | 31.5 | 36.0 | 27.6 | 27.5 | 27.7 | 30.7 |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 10.6 | 10.8 | 11.0 | 12.8 | 12.6 | 8.7 | 15.6 | 14.6 | 14.7 | 12.8 |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | — | — | — | <0.1 | <0.1 | — | — | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 |
| Bad behavior (B) | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| Died (6) | 17.4 | 19.9 | 24.3 | 19.1 | 21.9 | 15.4 | 18.6 | 18.7 | 17.9 | 19.2 |
| Records (no.) | 2,617 | 6,735 | 2,673 | 970,750 | 53,157 | 965 | 1,396 | 17,145 | 5,802 | 1,071,312 |
| Herds (no.) | 597 | 1,344 | 420 | 18,272 | 2,907 | 261 | 486 | 3,630 | 1,970 | 31,877 |
TABLE 3. Percentages of HOLSTEIN cows completing lactations by reason for termination and parity (2010).
| 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) | 76.8 | 69.6 | 61.1 | 53.1 | 46.9 | 40.8 | 66.3 |
| Lactation ended with abortion (8) | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | |
| Sold for dairy (2) | 4.4 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 3.3 | |
| Sold for slaughter | Locomotion problems (1) | 0.7 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 1.7 |
| Low production (3) | 3.7 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 4.7 | |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 3.6 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 6.6 | 4.8 | |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 5.6 | 8.0 | 11.0 | 13.9 | 16.0 | 18.3 | 9.2 | |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 1.7 | 3.3 | 5.1 | 6.5 | 7.7 | 8.5 | 3.9 | |
| 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) | 3.1 | 4.8 | 7.2 | 9.3 | 10.7 | 11.7 | 5.7 | |
| Records (no.) | 1,113,784 | 858,926 | 595,921 | 349,428 | 175,411 | 135,329 | 3,228,799 |
TABLE 4. Percentages of JERSEY cows completing lactations by reason for termination and parity (2010).
| 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) | 78.9 | 76.6 | 70.4 | 63.5 | 57.1 | 49.5 | 71.7 |
| Lactation ended with abortion (8) | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | |
| Sold for dairy (2) | 8.1 | 5.9 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 6.1 | |
| Sold for slaughter | Locomotion problems (1) | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 0.5 |
| Low production (3) | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 6.4 | 6.6 | 4.4 | |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 1.8 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 4.3 | 2.6 | |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 3.5 | 5.2 | 7.6 | 10.6 | 13.0 | 16.0 | 6.9 | |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 1.3 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 5.4 | 6.5 | 2.8 | |
| 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 | |
| Died (6) | 2.4 | 3.4 | 5.6 | 7.8 | 9.3 | 9.7 | 4.8 | |
| Records (no.) | 79,835 | 59,032 | 43,101 | 28,332 | 16,063 | 15,692 | 242,055 |
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 (2010).
| 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) | 75.3 | 70.2 | 64.8 | 58.6 | 55.8 | 47.3 | 67.3 |
| Lactation ended with abortion (8) | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | |
| Sold for dairy (2) | 5.6 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 4.6 | |
| Sold for slaughter | Locomotion problems (1) | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 1.4 |
| Low production (3) | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 3.9 | |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 3.6 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 6.4 | 6.9 | 4.8 | |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 6.6 | 8.7 | 9.7 | 11.4 | 12.3 | 15.3 | 9.1 | |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 1.6 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 6.3 | 3.0 | |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | — | — | <0.1 | — | — | — | <0.1 | |
| Bad behavior (B) | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | 0.1 | <0.1 | — | <0.1 | |
| Died (6) | 3.0 | 4.4 | 6.9 | 8.5 | 8.9 | 11.1 | 5.6 | |
| Records (no.) | 28,317 | 22,667 | 15,244 | 9,462 | 5,600 | 5,484 | 86,774 |
TABLE 6. Percentages of CROSSBRED cows completing lactations by destination category, reason for termination, and parity (2010).
| 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) | 80.2 | 75.0 | 66.4 | 60.0 | 51.5 | 47.8 | 73.0 |
| Lactation ended with abortion (8) | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | |
| Sold for dairy (2) | 3.6 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 | |
| Sold for slaughter | Locomotion problems (1) | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 1.1 |
| Low production (3) | 4.0 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 4.5 | |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 2.7 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 6.6 | 3.6 | |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 4.2 | 5.9 | 8.6 | 10.9 | 13.2 | 15.2 | 6.5 | |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 1.8 | 2.9 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 7.9 | 8.4 | 3.5 | |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | — | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <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 | 3.8 | 6.1 | 7.7 | 10.3 | 9.9 | 4.4 | |
| Records (no.) | 40,724 | 26,255 | 15,764 | 8,140 | 3,499 | 2,429 | 96,811 |
TABLE 7. Percentages of HOLSTEIN cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and parity (2010).
| Termination code | Parity 1 | Parity 2 | Parity 3 | Parity 4 | Parity 5 | Parity ≥6 | All parities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locomotion problems (1) | 3.9 | 4.6 | 6.0 | 7.1 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 5.6 |
| Low production (3) | 20.1 | 17.4 | 14.6 | 12.8 | 12.3 | 12.7 | 15.8 |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 19.6 | 18.4 | 14.7 | 12.8 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 15.8 |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 30.4 | 29.6 | 30.5 | 31.5 | 31.8 | 32.5 | 30.7 |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 9.0 | 12.3 | 14.0 | 14.7 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 12.8 |
| 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) | 16.9 | 17.5 | 20.1 | 21.1 | 21.3 | 20.7 | 19.1 |
| Records (no.) | 204,543 | 232,586 | 214,702 | 154,133 | 88,503 | 76,283 | 970,750 |
TABLE 8. Percentages of JERSEY cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and parity (2010).
| Termination code | Parity 1 | Parity 2 | Parity 3 | Parity 4 | Parity 5 | Parity ≥6 | All parities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locomotion problems (1) | 1.3 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 2.3 |
| Low production (3) | 27.4 | 23.2 | 17.9 | 16.8 | 16.6 | 14.7 | 20.0 |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 14.4 | 13.8 | 12.0 | 9.6 | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.6 |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 27.3 | 30.1 | 31.1 | 33.2 | 34.0 | 35.6 | 31.5 |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 10.4 | 11.3 | 13.3 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 12.6 |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | — | — | <0.1 | <0.1 |
| Bad behavior (B) | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Died (6) | 19.2 | 19.6 | 23.0 | 24.5 | 24.4 | 21.7 | 21.9 |
| Records (no.) | 10,146 | 10,198 | 10,548 | 9,063 | 6,150 | 7,052 | 53,157 |
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 (2010).
| Termination code | Parity 1 | Parity 2 | Parity 3 | Parity 4 | Parity 5 | Parity 6 | All parities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locomotion problems (1) | 3.2 | 3.9 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 5.1 |
| Low production (3) | 17.9 | 15.4 | 12.3 | 12.1 | 11.9 | 10.9 | 14.0 |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 19.1 | 17.9 | 17.9 | 16.0 | 15.9 | 14.2 | 17.3 |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 35.0 | 35.2 | 31.3 | 30.3 | 30.4 | 31.5 | 32.8 |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 8.5 | 9.5 | 10.8 | 12.9 | 12.2 | 12.9 | 10.7 |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | — | — | <0.1 | — | — | — | <0.1 |
| Bad behavior (B) | 0.2 | 0.1 | <0.1 | 0.2 | <0.1 | — | 0.1 |
| Died (6) | 16.2 | 17.9 | 22.2 | 22.5 | 22.1 | 22.9 | 20.0 |
| Records (no.) | 5,320 | 5,599 | 4,706 | 3,558 | 2,269 | 2,660 | 24,112 |
TABLE 10. Percentages of CROSSBRED cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and parity (2010).
| Termination code | Parity 1 | Parity 2 | Parity 3 | Parity 4 | Parity 5 | Parity ≥6 | All parities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locomotion problems (1) | 3.6 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 8.0 | 4.8 |
| Low production (3) | 25.0 | 21.0 | 16.1 | 14.3 | 12.0 | 9.8 | 19.0 |
| Reproduction problems (4) | 16.9 | 17.2 | 14.4 | 11.7 | 12.0 | 13.4 | 15.3 |
| Unspecified reasons (5) | 26.4 | 26.6 | 27.6 | 29.3 | 29.2 | 31.1 | 27.5 |
| Mastitis or high SCS (7) | 11.5 | 13.3 | 16.9 | 17.5 | 17.5 | 17.2 | 14.6 |
| Undesirable conformation (A) | — | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | <0.1 |
| Bad behavior (B) | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Died (6) | 16.4 | 17.0 | 19.9 | 20.8 | 22.7 | 20.3 | 18.5 |
| Records (no.) | 6,481 | 5,783 | 4,876 | 3,031 | 1,586 | 1,190 | 22,947 |