Is every dairy striving to build a herd of high-producing, healthy cows that can last through multiple lactations? This should indeed be a key focus. We must determine what steps to take in order to achieve this goal.

One important aspect is the reduction of involuntary culling. It can be challenging to distinguish between voluntary and involuntary culling at times. For instance, if a cow fails to conceive until 200 days into her lactation and has low production, which category does she belong to? John Fetrow introduced a more clear way to understand this concept by classifying culls as either economic or biological. 

While not exactly the same as Fetrow's definition, the idea of a biological cull implies that a cow's biology prevents her from rejoining the herd in the future due to issues like mastitis, lameness, infertility, delayed reproduction, or abortion. On the other hand, an economic cull involves removing a healthy cow solely to enhance the economic performance of that spot in the herd. This means replacing a cow capable of lasting through multiple lactations with a higher-producing, healthy animal. 

Biological factors should not be the primary reason for culling. While cows may leave a herd for dairy-related reasons, such as being sold to another milking herd, this accounts for a small portion of culling and is not typically factored into turnover rates or cull rates. Efforts should be made to reduce the instances of cows leaving the herd due to biological issues. 

Cows exit a herd through death, salvage, or slaughter. Ideally, all cows should end up in the slaughter category, providing high-quality meat for consumers. Ensuring that cows contribute to a quality meat supply aligns with the dairy industry's core mission of delivering top-quality milk to the public. While this aspect may be overlooked at the farm level, consumers are sensitive to the idea of problematic cows entering the food chain, and it should also concern us. 

Death is part of a life cycle. Maintaining a low death rate is crucial, with a 5% mortality rate generally deemed acceptable. Adopting a goal of 1% can offer consumers a positive perception of our cows' welfare. Achieving this extremely challenging target should be a long-term goal for the industry. This gives the farm a focal point to work toward and creates conversation within the team, and with the public, on the efforts being adopted to reach this target. Health, wellness, and genetics are all valuable parts of this strategy. 

Salvage cows have experienced events that diminish their value to the farm, similar to a shipwreck, where salvage operators recover only a fraction of the original value. These cows lose their milk production value and a significant portion of their slaughter value, leaving both dairy farmers and consumers dissatisfied. 

As cull rates decrease, on-farm mortality rates tend to rise, especially among older cows undergoing multiple lactations. Managing these risks within the economic framework of dairy operations is essential. 

Approximately half of cow deaths occur within the first ten days post-calving, primarily due to physical trauma, metabolic issues like milk fever, excessive fat leading to fatty liver, reduced immune function, and the heightened risk of diseases such as mastitis. Beyond transition issues come other tangible challenges of lameness, injury, mastitis, and digestive problems, which significantly contribute to cow mortality. 

Fortunately, these issues are controllable through targeted interventions. Let me state that again - these are all controllable issues. Strategies such as precise diet and transition feeding to combat milk fever, breeding cows to appropriate sizes to reduce stillbirths and calving trauma, ensuring timely pregnancies to prevent fatty liver, implementing mastitis vaccination programs, providing comfortable bedding to reduce injuries and lameness, maintaining proper flooring and cattle handling to prevent injuries, and offering ideal diets daily to prevent digestive issues can effectively mitigate these risks. 

Reducing losses from biological culls benefits dairies by enhancing production and longevity. While certain interventions may incur costs, such as coliform mastitis vaccines, the potential reduction in mortality rates may justify these investments from a public perspective. Achieving high fertility cycles by ensuring cows become pregnant at the right time (before 130 days) is pivotal for productivity and health. 

It is vital to clearly communicate both goals and strategies to all farm personnel. Often, farms set targets without providing adequate guidance on how to reach them. A goal to keep a parlor efficient without full understanding of other goals may lead to rushed cattle movements and increased injuries due to the pressure of maintaining a full parlor. Building a dedicated team focused on achieving excellent results in all areas is essential. 

Strategic investments in genetics can enhance the herd's resilience and resistance to various health issues. Regardless of the management approach, prioritizing health traits can yield significant differences between cows with superior genetics and those with lesser genetic quality. As a veterinarian, I see immense value in breeding cows with reduced reproductive and health risks to promote longevity. True genetic expression occurs with the right environment and management. 

By shifting our focus to creating a supportive environment that minimizes risks, we empower cows to thrive and perform consistently. This approach benefits not only the dairy industry and individual cows but also our communities as a whole. Let us change the rules of the game, redefine the standards, and accept the challenge. If we work towards a future where our cows can excel, it will bring prosperity to all stakeholders. 

Our goal: if she has done it once she can do it again! Longevity occurs by removing obstacles from a productive life cycle. 

Resources

Culling: Nomenclature, Definitions, and Recommendations J. Fetrow et al. J. Dairy Sci. 89:1896–1905