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Reasons that cows in Dairy Herd Improvement programs exit the herd (2011)


TABLE 1. Percentages of cows (ALL BREEDS and CROSSBREDS) completing lactations.
 
TABLE 2. Percentages of cows (ALL BREEDS and CROSSBREDS) leaving the herd except for dairy purposes.
 
TABLE 3. Percentages of HOLSTEIN cows completing lactations.
 
TABLE 4. Percentages of JERSEY cows completing lactations.
 
TABLE 5. Percentages of AYRSHIRE, BROWN SWISS, GUERNSEY, MILKING SHORTHORN, and RED & WHITE cows completing lactations.
 
TABLE 6. Percentages of CROSSBRED cows completing lactations.
 
TABLE 7. Percentages of HOLSTEIN cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes.
 
TABLE 8. Percentages of JERSEY cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes.
 
TABLE 9. Percentages of AYRSHIRE, BROWN SWISS, GUERNSEY, MILKING SHORTHORN, and RED & WHITE cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes.
 
TABLE 10. Percentages of CROSSBRED cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes.
 

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 (2011).
 
Destination code Termination code Ayrshire Brown Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey Milking Shorthorn Red & White CB90 CB50 All
Stayed in herd Lactation ended normally (0) 65.7 65.5 60.1 64.9 69.3 68.2 63.1 71.3 69.1 65.4
Lactation ended with abortion (8) 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.3
Sold for dairy (2)   6.6 5.5 7.2 3.1 6.7 6.7 4.1 3.6 4.5 3.4
Sold for slaughter Locomotion problems (1) 1.2 2.0 1.3 1.7 0.5 0.9 2.3 1.1 1.2 1.6
Low production (3) 3.8 4.0 3.6 5.5 5.4 4.6 3.6 5.5 5.1 5.5
Reproduction problems (4) 5.9 6.2 6.2 5.1 2.9 5.5 6.7 3.7 4.4 4.9
Unspecified reasons (5) 9.4 8.2 10.8 9.6 7.1 7.4 9.4 6.7 7.0 9.3
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 2.3 3.0 3.0 4.0 2.8 2.3 4.7 3.4 3.7 3.9
Udder problems (9) <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
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
Died (6)   4.9 5.2 7.4 5.7 5.0 4.0 5.5 4.4 4.7 5.6
Records (no.)   9,385 23,369 8,158 3,282,006 259,714 3,549 4,275 89,508 29,934 3,750,831
Herds (no.)   998 2,130 600 18,393 4,228 506 851 6,163 3,945 41,673




TABLE 2. Percentages of cows (ALL BREEDS and CROSSBREDS) leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and breed (2011).
 
Termination code Ayrshire Brown Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey Milking Shorthorn Red & White CB90 CB50 All
Locomotion problems (1) 4.3 6.9 4.0 5.5 2.1 3.6 7.0 4.6 4.4 5.3
Low production (3) 13.7 13.9 11.1 17.4 22.6 18.7 11.1 22.1 19.7 17.8
Reproduction problems (4) 21.5 21.5 19.0 16.0 12.3 22.2 20.7 14.9 16.7 15.9
Unspecified reasons (5) 34.3 28.8 33.3 30.3 30.0 30.0 29.2 26.9 26.7 30.3
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 8.3 10.5 9.3 12.6 11.8 9.4 14.6 13.6 14.1 12.6
Udder problems (9) <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Undesirable conformation (A) <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Bad behavior (B) 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.1
Died (6) 17.9 18.2 22.9 18.0 21.1 16.0 17.0 17.8 18.2 18.2
Records (no.) 2,584 6,695 2,646 1,038,782 61,834 879 1,379 22,313 7,815 1,156,522
Herds (no.) 593 1,321 413 17,748 2,949 263 468 3,841 2,262 32,129




TABLE 3. Percentages of HOLSTEIN cows completing lactations by reason for termination and parity (2011).
 
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 67.9 59.2 52.0 45.7 39.7 64.9
Lactation ended with abortion (8) 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.4
Sold for dairy (2)   4.1 2.8 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.3 3.1
Sold for slaughter Locomotion problems (1) 0.8 1.4 2.2 3.1 3.8 4.2 1.7
Low production (3) 4.4 5.5 6.1 6.7 7.0 8.0 5.5
Reproduction problems (4) 3.9 5.4 5.7 5.9 6.2 6.8 5.1
Unspecified reasons (5) 6.0 8.4 11.5 14.1 16.3 18.6 9.6
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 1.8 3.5 5.3 6.6 7.7 8.6 4.0
Udder problems (9) <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
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 7.2 9.1 10.6 11.5 5.7
Records (no.)   1,150,483 879,530 594,192 351,924 177,585 128,292 3,282,006




TABLE 4. Percentages of JERSEY cows completing lactations by reason for termination and parity (2011).
 
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 74.4 68.7 62.1 55.7 48.1 69.3
Lactation ended with abortion (8) 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
Sold for dairy (2)   10.1 6.0 4.9 3.8 4.0 4.5 6.7
Sold for slaughter Locomotion problems (1) 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.8 1.1 1.7 0.5
Low production (3) 4.4 5.1 5.5 6.4 7.0 8.1 5.4
Reproduction problems (4) 2.2 2.8 3.1 3.6 3.9 4.4 2.9
Unspecified reasons (5) 3.9 5.5 7.9 10.4 13.5 16.6 7.1
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 1.6 2.0 3.2 4.4 5.1 6.5 2.8
Undesirable conformation (A) <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)   2.7 3.8 6.0 8.1 9.4 9.8 5.0
Records (no.)   86,531 65,372 45,427 29,418 17,189 15,777 259,714




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 (2011).
 
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) 72.8 70.4 63.3 57.5 52.5 46.8 65.9
Lactation ended with abortion (8) 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.3
Sold for dairy (2)   6.4 4.8 4.3 3.6 3.6 4.2 5.0
Sold for slaughter Locomotion problems (1) 0.7 0.9 1.4 2.3 3.1 3.6 1.4
Low production (3) 3.8 4.9 4.9 5.6 6.0 6.8 4.8
Reproduction problems (4) 3.8 4.7 5.3 6.1 7.6 7.1 5.0
Unspecified reasons (5) 7.1 8.1 10.5 12.4 13.3 14.8 9.4
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 1.9 2.1 3.6 4.2 4.8 6.0 2.9
Undesirable conformation (A) <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 3.9 6.3 8.0 8.8 10.6 5.2
Records (no.)   28,319 23,228 16,296 9,804 5,335 5,320 88,302




TABLE 6. Percentages of CROSSBRED cows completing lactations by destination category, reason for termination, and parity (2011).
 
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 73.2 65.8 58.1 52.4 44.9 70.7
Lactation ended with abortion (8) 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.3
Sold for dairy (2)   5.0 3.4 2.4 2.5 3.0 3.3 3.8
Sold for slaughter Locomotion problems (1) 0.5 0.9 1.5 2.4 3.1 3.7 1.1
Low production (3) 4.8 5.6 6.0 6.3 6.4 5.6 5.4
Reproduction problems (4) 3.0 3.9 4.4 5.2 5.6 6.6 3.9
Unspecified reasons (5) 4.6 5.9 8.8 10.9 12.6 15.4 6.8
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 2.0 3.0 4.7 6.0 7.2 9.0 3.5
Udder problems (9) <0.1 <0.1
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)   2.7 3.7 6.1 8.3 9.3 11.2 4.5
Records (no.)   48,301 33,176 19,788 10,320 4,817 3,040 119,442




TABLE 7. Percentages of HOLSTEIN cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and parity (2011).
 
Termination code Parity 1 Parity 2 Parity 3 Parity 4 Parity 5 Parity ≥6 All parities
Locomotion problems (1) 3.9 4.7 5.7 6.8 7.3 7.2 5.5
Low production (3) 21.7 18.9 16.0 14.7 13.6 13.9 17.4
Reproduction problems (4) 19.4 18.6 14.9 13.0 12.0 11.8 16.0
Unspecified reasons (5) 30.0 29.0 30.4 31.1 31.5 32.3 30.3
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 9.1 12.2 13.9 14.4 14.9 14.9 12.6
Udder problems (9) <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
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) 15.7 16.4 19.0 20.0 20.5 19.9 18.0
Records (no.) 231,680 254,794 225,876 160,294 92,034 74,104 1,038,782




TABLE 8. Percentages of JERSEY cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and parity (2011).
 
Termination code Parity 1 Parity 2 Parity 3 Parity 4 Parity 5 Parity ≥6 All parities
Locomotion problems (1) 1.2 1.4 2.0 2.5 2.8 3.7 2.1
Low production (3) 29.3 26.1 21.0 19.0 17.5 17.1 22.6
Reproduction problems (4) 15.0 14.6 11.7 10.7 9.8 9.4 12.3
Unspecified reasons (5) 26.2 28.1 30.1 30.9 33.6 35.2 30.0
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 10.4 10.2 12.4 12.9 12.8 13.7 11.8
Undesirable conformation (A) <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) 17.9 19.5 22.8 24.0 23.4 20.7 21.1
Records (no.) 12,948 12,720 11,882 9,939 6,897 7,448 61,834




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 (2011).
 
Termination code Parity 1 Parity 2 Parity 3 Parity 4 Parity 5 Parity ≥6 All parities
Locomotion problems (1) 3.4 3.7 4.5 5.9 7.1 7.4 4.8
Low production (3) 18.7 19.8 15.4 14.6 13.7 13.9 16.7
Reproduction problems (4) 18.6 19.1 16.4 15.7 17.5 14.5 17.3
Unspecified reasons (5) 34.7 33.0 32.8 32.1 30.5 30.3 32.7
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 9.1 8.5 11.1 10.9 11.0 12.2 10.2
Undesirable conformation (A) <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Bad behavior (B) 0.2 0.1 0.1 <0.1 0.1 <0.1 0.1
Died (6) 15.2 15.8 19.7 20.8 20.3 21.6 18.2
Records (no.) 5,783 5,686 5,233 3,789 2,326 2,598 25,415




TABLE 10. Percentages of CROSSBRED cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and parity (2011).
 
Termination code Parity 1 Parity 2 Parity 3 Parity 4 Parity 5 Parity ≥6 All parities
Locomotion problems (1) 3.1 3.9 4.7 6.1 7.1 7.2 4.5
Low production (3) 27.1 24.2 19.1 16.0 14.4 10.9 21.5
Reproduction problems (4) 16.9 17.0 14.1 13.3 12.7 12.7 15.3
Unspecified reasons (5) 26.1 25.4 27.9 27.9 28.5 29.8 26.9
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 11.1 13.2 14.9 15.4 16.3 17.4 13.7
Udder problems (9) 0.1 <0.1
Undesirable conformation (A) <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 <0.1
Bad behavior (B) 0.1 0.2 <0.1 0.1 <0.1 0.3 0.1
Died (6) 15.6 16.1 19.3 21.1 20.9 21.6 17.9
Records (no.) 8,499 7,658 6,216 4,044 2,139 1,572 30,128



Contact: Jan Wright, 301-504-8669, jan.wright@ars.usda.gov Last Modified: 10/24/2012