1. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (1) 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

2. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (2) Positive vs. negative terms Longevity Productive life Survival Stayability Herdlife Culling Disposals Replacement Turnover vs.

3. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (3) Selection Natural control vs. Human control Bos primigenius (extinct, 1672) Bos taurus (Canadian Holstein true type, 1973)

4. 2004 “Do we always do the right thing in selection?” ADSA 8 th DISCOVER Conference (4) “We have created a bird that can’t mate naturally!”

5. 2004 ADSA 8 th DISCOVER Conference (5) “Let’s make sure our dairy animals can continue to reproduce naturally!”

6. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (6) Cow population vs. production

7. 2004 ADSA 8 th DISCOVER Conference (7)

8. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (8) Production (quantity, quality) l Producers have largely emphasized milk and component yields and type traits l We could have selected for sustained production using more fitness traits (had more of the traits been recorded)

9. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (9) Maturity rate vs. survival “H as rate of maturity changed over time? How has it affected survival?”

10. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (10) What impacts culling? l Milk production l Reproduction l Nutrition l Conformation l Overall health (e.g. mastitis) l Management practices l Business economics

11. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (11) 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 bST l Culling decision software (Lehenbauer and Oltjen, 1998; Groenendaal et al., 2004; de Vries, 2004) l Replacement cost

12. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (12) 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)

13. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (13) Longevity definitions l True longevity = how long cows actually stay in the herd l Functional longevity = how long cows stay in the herd after an adjustment is enacted for milk yield, and perhaps other traits

14. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (14) Longevity periods l Two phases: – Productive – Nonproductive l Nonproductive = Birth to first calving l Productive = First calving to disposal

15. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (15) 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

16. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (16) Days open phenotypic trend 1 2 3 4 5 Lactation Holstein

17. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (17) 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

18. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (18) Health disorders l Big impact on voluntary culling l Reproductive and udder problems most likely contributors l Risk factors (dystocia, displaced abomasum, mastitis)

19. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (19) Reliable health information?

20. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (20) 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

21. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (21) Data edits l Herds participating in DHI testing for 1 yr prior to first calving and remaining on test throughout the cow’s lactations l Cows first calving 1980 to 1994 and remaining in same herd l Cows culled for dairy purposes excluded l No missing lactations (required 270–650 d between lactations)

22. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (22) Opportunity group l Subgroups created based on opportunity of each cow to calve at each lactation l 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.

23. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (23) Cows eligible for opportunity groups Brown Parity Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 1 71,952 120,158 173,260 12,773,403 654,024 2 63,931 106,273 158,650 11,319,316 570,973 3 56,576 93,592 137,555 9,971,550 494,967 4 49,736 81,815 143,649 8,738,975 429,201 5 43,684 71,802 129,092 7,602,286 372,088 6 38,487 62,759 115,606 6,576,598 322,992 7 33,596 54,798 102,869 5,693,402 279,335 8 29,172 47,251 91,234 4,883,776 239,510

24. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (24) Survival rate l Defined as fraction of cows that had the opportunity to calve again that did l Survival to parity 1 assumed to be 100% as no information was available for heifers

25. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (25) Survival to parity 2 Brown Year Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 1980 71.7 66.9 67.1 77.3 74.7 1984 69.8 65.0 66.4 74.6 73.6 1988 70.1 66.2 65.5 72.1 73.8 1992 69.5 63.6 60.8 72.4 74.5 1996 71.7 66.9 63.6 72.1 75.2 2000 71.8 68.8 66.3 74.1 76.2

26. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (26) Survival to parity 3 Brown Year Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 1980 50.3 47.4 44.3 56.6 56.5 1984 49.2 46.9 44.1 52.8 54.5 1988 47.8 47.1 42.0 49.9 55.3 1992 47.7 45.2 37.0 49.2 55.4 1996 50.7 46.1 39.3 47.6 55.6 1999 50.8 47.3 41.8 49.0 56.7

27. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (27) Survival to parity 4 Brown Year Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 1980 35.3 33.3 28.0 38.7 40.9 1984 33.3 33.5 27.8 35.4 39.5 1988 30.3 33.0 24.9 31.7 39.1 1992 31.1 32.0 21.3 30.2 39.0 1996 33.5 30.6 22.0 28.4 39.0 1998 34.8 31.6 21.8 28.4 38.1

28. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (28) Survival to parity 7 Brown Year Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 1980 8.7 8.4 5.0 7.5 11.4 1984 7.3 8.2 4.1 6.1 9.8 1988 6.4 7.6 3.4 4.4 8.7 1992 6.7 6.0 2.6 3.5 7.7 1995 5.3 5.4 2.5 3.2 7.5

29. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (29) Survival rates (1966–83) Nieuwhof et al., 1989

30. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (30) Survival rates (1980-94)

31. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (31) Survival rates- Holstein (1980-94)

32. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (32) Registered vs. grade survival Nieuwhof et al., 1989

33. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (33) Herd composition by lactation Nieuwhof et al., 1989

34. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (34) Herd composition by lactation

35. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (35) Holstein herd composition by parity 1966–76 Nieuwhof et al., 1989 1980–94

36. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (36) Mean number of parities l Additional measure of survival l Sum of mean survival rates for parities 1 through 8 transformed to an overall indicator of number of parities (calvings)

37. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (37) Mean parities through parity 8 Nieuwhof et al., 1989

38. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (38) Mean number of parities Brown Year Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 1980 3.08 2.96 2.73 3.22 3.36 1982 3.05 2.97 2.67 3.13 3.31 1984 2.98 2.93 2.69 3.05 3.26 1986 3.00 2.85 2.61 2.96 3.20 1988 2.87 2.93 2.57 2.88 3.23 1990 2.88 2.87 2.44 2.85 3.19 1992 2.90 2.82 2.40 2.81 3.20 1994 2.89 2.86 2.41 2.79 3.20

39. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (39) Mean Holstein parities by herd size Cows (no.) 51– 101– 201– 501– 1001– 2001– Year 5–50 100 200 500 1000 2000 5000 1985 3.05 3.02 2.99 3.03 3.02 2.87 2.82 1987 2.95 2.94 2.92 2.95 2.96 2.86 2.60 1989 2.85 2.85 2.85 2.92 2.88 2.83 2.73 1991 2.83 2.82 2.82 2.85 2.89 2.80 2.68 1993 2.82 2.79 2.77 2.80 2.89 2.81 2.76 1994 2.83 2.80 2.75 2.79 2.83 2.79 2.74

40. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (40) US regions

41. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (41) Mean Holstein parities by region Mid- Mid- Mtn.- North- North- South- South- Year east west Prairie east west east west 1980 3.24 3.09 3.03 3.43 3.23 3.14 3.22 1982 3.16 2.99 2.96 3.32 3.11 3.13 3.17 1984 3.03 2.91 2.95 3.23 3.04 3.01 3.14 1986 2.97 2.83 2.89 3.14 2.99 2.89 3.03 1988 2.90 2.74 2.81 3.06 2.91 2.82 2.97 1990 2.88 2.73 2.78 3.02 2.90 2.74 2.91 1992 2.80 2.71 2.78 2.95 2.83 2.67 2.90 1994 2.74 2.70 2.74 2.92 2.84 2.59 2.89

42. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (42) When are cows culled? l Delayed – Milking routine not affected – Treated cows – Reproductive disorders l Immediate – Milking prevented – Teat injury – Downer cow

43. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (43) 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

44. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (44) DIM at culling for Holsteins first calving 1998–99 by parity Parity 1 2 3 4 5 >5 DIM % of total 1– 294.12.43.34.511.425.2 30– 8913.010.712.814.817.922.0 90–17914.015.316.218.720.622.9 180–29920.226.025.625.825.318.4 300–44930.032.730.527.820.110.4 >44918.813.011.68.94.41.0

45. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (45) Culling probability for cows 1st calving 1998–99

46. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (46) Why are cows culled? Voluntary Involuntary

47. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (47) USDA termination codes assigned to Holsteins not calving again by parity (first calving in 1998 or 1999) Parity 1 2 3 4 5 >5 Termination code % of total 0 Lact. ended normally26.124.121.915.14.90.2 3 Low production13.311.59.58.37.87.2 4 Reproductive17.817.815.615.113.810.1 5 Sold for beef26.126.328.833.138.239.6 6 Died8.48.810.312.015.721.2 7 Mastitis, high SCC9.411.613.916.519.621.7

48. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (48) Impact of culling

49. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (49) Mean calving age across all parities Brown Year Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 1980 57.2 58.9 54.3 51.8 54.6 1984 55.0 55.3 51.7 50.1 52.5 1988 53.9 55.8 49.8 49.5 51.7 1992 53.3 53.8 48.5 47.8 49.5 1996 53.4 53.1 49.1 46.9 50.1 2000 54.1 52.0 48.3 45.7 48.6 2004 54.3 51.0 48.5 44.6 46.6

50. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (50) Conclusions l Cows are replaced sooner than before l Survival is primarily independent of herd size l Survival is highest in Northeast and Southwest, lowest in the Southeast

51. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (51) Conclusions l Risk of exiting increases with parity l Most cows (69-72%) exit late (180 to 449 DIM) in early parities, but progressively earlier during later parities (50% by 149 DIM). l Need better information on health traits and reason for culling in DHI l Survival is highest in Northeast and Southwest, lowest in the Southeast l Overall breeding objective that includes but isn’t limited to survival

52. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (52) What dairy producers need l Sound information so that producers can minimize cow losses l Effective communication so that producers use the information l Better software on who and when to cull l Overall breeding objective that includes but isn’t limited to survival

53. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (53) Thank you

54. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (54) Survival to parity 5 Brown Year Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 1980 23.5 21.8 16.6 24.2 27.9 1984 21.2 22.1 16.4 21.6 26.8 1988 18.4 21.9 13.5 18.4 25.9 1992 19.5 19.9 11.4 16.6 25.0 1996 21.1 18.0 11.5 14.7 24.1 1997 20.2 19.3 12.1 14.3 25.4

55. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (55) Survival to parity 6 Brown Year Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 1980 14.7 13.8 9.9 14.3 18.4 1984 12.8 13.3 8.4 12.2 16.8 1988 10.8 13.5 6.6 9.5 15.6 1992 11.9 12.0 5.8 8.1 14.7 1996 11.9 9.7 5.2 6.9 13.8

56. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (56) Survival to parity 8 Brown Year Ayrshire Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey 1980 4.4 4.8 2.5 3.5 6.4 1984 3.9 4.4 1.8 2.7 5.1 1988 2.9 3.6 1.4 1.9 4.4 1992 3.4 3.3 1.0 1.4 3.8 1994 3.4 2.9 1.1 1.3 4.0

57. 2005 ADSA/ASAS/CSAS meeting (57) Mean lactations through 8 Nieuwhof et al., 1989