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Reasons that cows in Dairy Herd Improvement programs exit the herd (2012)

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 (2012).
 
Destination code Termination code Ayrshire Brown Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey Milking Shorthorn Red & White CB90 CB50 All
Stayed in herd Lactation ended normally (0) 67.0 64.5 62.2 63.7 67.8 64.9 64.4 70.8 69.3 64.3
Lactation ended with abortion (8) 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.3
Sold for dairy (2)   5.0 5.3 6.8 3.3 7.1 6.3 3.2 2.8 3.6 3.6
Sold for slaughter Locomotion problems (1) 1.2 2.1 1.1 1.6 0.5 0.6 2.7 1.1 1.3 1.5
Low production (3) 4.2 5.0 3.3 6.6 6.1 7.3 4.6 7.0 6.7 6.6
Reproduction problems (4) 6.3 6.7 6.1 5.2 3.0 5.3 7.3 3.8 4.0 5.0
Unspecified reasons (5) 9.0 8.3 10.8 10.0 7.3 8.7 8.4 6.6 7.0 9.6
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 2.6 2.8 3.1 4.1 3.1 3.3 4.4 3.5 3.5 4.0
Udder problems (9) — — — — — — — — — —
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)   4.2 4.9 6.4 5.1 4.8 3.4 4.4 4.1 4.3 5.0
Records (no.)   8,895 23,060 7,474 3,335,680 283,320 3,365 4,002 102,490 39,288 3,850,023
Herds (no.)1   935 2,042 564 17,633 4,137 502 756 6,206 4,265 41,011
 
1Breed is determined from individual cow records, and cow's breed is used to determine the breed for herd counts. For example, a Holstein herd with a few Jersey cows would be included in the herd count for both Holsteins and Jerseys. The total number of herds across all breeds is much higher than the actual number of herds in Dairy Herd Improvement programs.



TABLE 2. Percentages of cows (ALL BREEDS and CROSSBREDS) leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and breed (2012).
 
Termination code Ayrshire Brown Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey Milking Shorthorn Red & White CB90 CB50 All
Locomotion problems (1) 4.3 6.9 3.7 5.0 1.9 2.0 8.4 4.1 4.7 4.8
Low production (3) 15.3 16.6 10.6 20.3 24.7 25.4 14.3 26.8 24.8 20.7
Reproduction problems (4) 22.9 22.6 19.7 15.9 12.2 18.5 23.0 14.4 15.0 15.7
Unspecified reasons (5) 32.6 27.8 35.1 30.5 29.4 30.5 26.3 25.3 25.9 30.3
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 9.5 9.5 10.0 12.5 12.6 11.7 13.8 13.6 13.2 12.5
Udder problems (9) — — — — — — — — — —
Undesirable conformation (A) — — — <0.1 <0.1 — — <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Bad behavior (B) 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 — 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.1
Died (6) 15.2 16.5 20.8 15.6 19.2 11.9 13.8 15.8 16.1 15.8
Records (no.) 2,464 6,890 2,301 1,090,107 70,481 960 1,279 26,741 10,572 1,224,502
Herds (no.)1 539 1,279 391 16,970 2,904 268 401 3,945 2,505 31,478
 
1Breed is determined from individual cow records, and cow's breed is used to determine the breed for herd counts. For example, a Holstein herd with a few Jersey cows would be included in the herd count for both Holsteins and Jerseys. The total number of herds across all breeds is much higher than the actual number of herds in Dairy Herd Improvement programs.


TABLE 3. Percentages of HOLSTEIN cows completing lactations by reason for termination and parity (2012).
 
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) 73.7 66.6 58.1 50.8 44.8 38.5 63.7
Lactation ended with abortion (8) 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3
Sold for dairy (2)   4.4 2.9 2.6 2.6 2.4 2.5 3.3
Sold for slaughter Locomotion problems (1) 0.8 1.3 2.2 2.9 3.5 4.0 1.6
Low production (3) 5.5 6.7 7.1 7.8 8.5 9.3 6.6
Reproduction problems (4) 4.1 5.5 5.7 6.0 6.4 6.9 5.2
Unspecified reasons (5) 6.4 8.8 12.1 14.7 17.0 19.4 10.0
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 1.9 3.7 5.5 6.8 7.8 8.7 4.1
Udder problems (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)   2.9 4.3 6.4 8.2 9.5 10.5 5.1
Records (no.)   1,179,072 905,666 601,869 348,700 176,282 124,091 3,335,680



TABLE 4. Percentages of JERSEY cows completing lactations by reason for termination and parity (2012).
 
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) 73.3 72.0 66.9 60.9 54.7 48.2 67.8
Lactation ended with abortion (8) 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
Sold for dairy (2)   11.0 6.4 4.8 3.8 3.7 4.1 7.1
Sold for slaughter Locomotion problems (1) 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.8 1.2 1.4 0.5
Low production (3) 5.0 6.3 6.5 7.0 7.4 8.1 6.1
Reproduction problems (4) 2.3 3.0 3.3 3.6 4.0 4.4 3.0
Unspecified reasons (5) 3.8 5.7 8.2 11.2 14.1 17.1 7.3
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 1.7 2.4 3.8 4.7 5.6 6.8 3.1
Udder problems (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)   2.5 3.6 5.6 7.8 9.2 9.7 4.8
Records (no.)   97,480 69,284 50,094 31,626 18,302 16,534 283,320



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 (2012).
 
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) 72.1 68.5 64.8 58.0 53.2 47.0 65.5
Lactation ended with abortion (8) 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3
Sold for dairy (2)   5.4 4.2 3.6 3.2 3.3 3.6 4.3
Sold for slaughter Locomotion problems (1) 0.7 1.0 1.5 2.1 2.9 3.5 1.4
Low production (3) 5.2 5.4 6.0 6.4 6.7 8.0 5.8
Reproduction problems (4) 4.4 5.4 5.4 6.0 6.4 6.5 5.3
Unspecified reasons (5) 6.7 8.5 9.7 11.7 12.9 14.9 9.2
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 2.0 2.6 3.8 4.9 5.8 6.7 3.4
Udder problems (9) — — — — — — —
Undesirable conformation (A) — <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)   3.0 3.9 4.8 7.3 8.6 9.5 4.8
Records (no.)   27,993 22,391 16,386 10,197 5,637 5,143 87,747



TABLE 6. Percentages of CROSSBRED cows completing lactations by destination category, reason for termination, and parity (2012).
 
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) 77.9 71.8 64.9 57.8 53.3 45.2 70.4
Lactation ended with abortion (8) 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.3
Sold for dairy (2)   3.3 3.0 2.7 2.7 2.5 3.2 3.0
Sold for slaughter Locomotion problems (1) 0.5 0.8 1.5 2.5 3.0 3.8 1.1
Low production (3) 5.9 7.3 7.7 7.8 8.0 8.0 6.9
Reproduction problems (4) 3.0 4.0 4.2 4.8 5.0 7.0 3.8
Unspecified reasons (5) 4.4 6.1 8.4 10.5 12.3 15.2 6.7
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 2.1 3.0 4.7 6.3 7.2 8.4 3.5
Udder problems (9) — — — — — — —
Undesirable conformation (A) — — — <0.1 <0.1 — <0.1
Bad behavior (B) <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 — <0.1
Died (6)   2.5 3.5 5.6 7.3 8.5 9.2 4.2
Records (no.)   56,739 38,458 23,971 13,012 5,904 3,694 141,778



TABLE 7. Percentages of HOLSTEIN cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and parity (2012).
 
Termination code Parity 1 Parity 2 Parity 3 Parity 4 Parity 5 Parity ≥6 All parities
Locomotion problems (1) 3.6 4.2 5.5 6.3 6.6 6.8 5.0
Low production (3) 25.5 22.0 18.1 16.7 16.2 15.9 20.3
Reproduction problems (4) 19.2 18.2 14.7 12.9 12.2 11.6 15.9
Unspecified reasons (5) 29.5 29.2 30.9 31.6 32.2 32.9 30.5
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 8.6 12.2 14.1 14.7 14.7 14.7 12.5
Udder problems (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) 13.4 14.1 16.5 17.7 18.0 17.9 15.6
Records (no.) 254,179 273,690 234,551 161,918 92,761 73,008 1,090,107



TABLE 8. Percentages of JERSEY cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and parity (2012).
 
Termination code Parity 1 Parity 2 Parity 3 Parity 4 Parity 5 Parity ≥6 All parities
Locomotion problems (1) 1.3 1.3 1.7 2.2 2.8 2.9 1.9
Low production (3) 32.3 29.4 23.3 20.0 17.8 17.1 24.7
Reproduction problems (4) 14.8 14.1 11.9 10.3 9.6 9.3 12.2
Unspecified reasons (5) 24.3 26.9 29.3 31.8 33.9 35.9 29.4
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 10.7 11.4 13.7 13.4 13.5 14.4 12.6
Udder problems (9) — — — — — — —
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) 16.5 16.8 19.9 22.2 22.3 20.4 19.2
Records (no.) 15,066 14,814 14,044 11,112 7,583 7,862 70,481



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 (2012).
 
Termination code Parity 1 Parity 2 Parity 3 Parity 4 Parity 5 Parity ≥6 All parities
Locomotion problems (1) 3.2 3.8 4.8 5.5 6.7 7.1 4.7
Low production (3) 23.5 20.3 19.3 16.6 15.4 16.4 19.5
Reproduction problems (4) 20.1 20.2 17.3 15.6 14.8 13.1 17.7
Unspecified reasons (5) 30.5 31.5 31.1 30.6 29.9 30.4 30.8
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 9.2 9.6 12.2 12.8 13.4 13.7 11.2
Udder problems (9) — — — — — — —
Undesirable conformation (A) — <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) 13.4 14.5 15.4 18.9 19.8 19.3 16.0
Records (no.) 6,175 6,019 5,136 3,917 2,442 2,527 26,216



TABLE 10. Percentages of CROSSBRED cows leaving the herd except for dairy purposes by reason for termination and parity (2012).
 
Termination code Parity 1 Parity 2 Parity 3 Parity 4 Parity 5 Parity ≥6 All parities
Locomotion problems (1) 2.7 3.4 4.7 6.2 6.9 7.4 4.3
Low production (3) 32.1 29.3 24.1 19.8 18.1 15.5 26.2
Reproduction problems (4) 16.3 16.1 13.1 12.4 11.3 13.5 14.6
Unspecified reasons (5) 23.7 24.7 26.1 26.8 27.9 29.4 25.4
Mastitis or high SCS (7) 11.2 12.1 14.7 16.0 16.4 16.3 13.4
Udder problems (9) — — — — — — —
Undesirable conformation (A) — — — <0.1 0.1 — <0.1
Bad behavior (B) 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 — 0.1
Died (6) 13.8 14.3 17.3 18.7 19.3 17.9 15.9
Records (no.) 10,445 9,567 7,692 5,106 2,597 1,906 37,313



Contact: Jan Wright, 301-504-8669, jan.wright@ars.usda.gov Last Modified: 05/22/2013