Culling and replacement rates in dairy herds in Canada

Culling Reasons

Culling Reasons

Culling Reasons	2014 Number of cows	2014 Total (%)	2015 Number of cows	2015 Total (%)	2016 Number of cows	2016 Total (%)	2017 Number of cows	2017 Total (%)	2018 Number of cows	2018 Total (%)	2019 Number of cows	2019 Total (%)
Reproductive	47,689	17.4%	44,016	17.1%	42,251	16.6%	39,772	16.9%	44,646	16.8%	39,993	15.9%
Mastitis	30,569	11.2%	29,151	11.3%	27,708	10.9%	24,695	10.5%	27,562	10.4%	23,832	9.5%
Feet and leg problems	19,666	7.2%	18,833	7.3%	17,643	6.9%	16,084	6.8%	17,861	6.7%	16,151	6.4%
Low milk production	19,159	7.0%	18,870	7.3%	17,650	6.9%	16,174	6.9%	19,785	7.5%	18,872	7.5%
Sickness	13,171	4.8%	12,677	4.9%	12,140	4.8%	11,841	5.0%	11,352	4.3%	10,521	4.2%
Injury to udder/teats	11,564	4.2%	11,123	4.3%	10,801	4.2%	7,655	3.3%	10,799	4.1%	10,063	4.0%
Injury/Accident	9,768	3.6%	9,667	3.8%	9,414	3.7%	9,161	3.9%	9,134	3.4%	8,321	3.3%
Old age	5,199	1.9%	5,088	2.0%	4,785	1.9%	4,498	1.9%	5,334	2.0%	5,006	2.0%
Difficult calving	1,754	0.6%	1,508	0.6%	1,520	0.6%	1,438	0.6%	1,434	0.5%	1,367	0.5%
Bad temperament	2,197	0.8%	1,847	0.7%	1,758	0.7%	1,501	0.6%	1,784	0.7%	1,902	0.8%
Conformation	1,767	0.6%	1,585	0.6%	1,502	0.6%	1,254	0.5%	1,550	0.6%	1,646	0.7%
Displaced abomasum	1,011	0.4%	892	0.3%	848	0.3%	841	0.4%	838	0.3%	816	0.3%
Milk fever	1,259	0.5%	1,165	0.5%	1,085	0.4%	1,075	0.5%	1,016	0.4%	1,005	0.4%
Slow milker	1,447	0.5%	1,348	0.5%	1,277	0.5%	1,076	0.5%	1,352	0.5%	1,254	0.5%
Arthritis	887	0.3%	838	0.3%	746	0.3%	709	0.3%	778	0.3%	700	0.3%
Pneumonia	786	0.3%	799	0.3%	903	0.4%	912	0.4%	970	0.4%	913	0.4%
Staph aureus	707	0.3%	570	0.2%	537	0.2%	458	0.2%	535	0.2%	458	0.2%
Leukosis	698	0.3%	627	0.2%	565	0.2%	511	0.2%	549	0.2%	457	0.2%
Low fat	57	0.0%	57	0.0%	71	0.0%	65	0.0%	111	0.0%	82	0.0%
Paratuberculose	89	0.0%	77	0.0%	57	0.0%	41	0.0%	48	0.0%	25	0.0%
Low protein	31	0.0%	21	0.0%	16	0.0%	8	0.0%	21	0.0%	23	0.0%
Unknown	50,555	18.5%	46,408	18.0%	50,524	19.9%	50,012	21.2%	60,552	22.9%	59,819	23.7%
Total culling reasons	220,030	80.3%	207,167	80.4%	203,801	80.1%	189,781	80.6%	218,011	82.3%	203,226	80.6%
Culling Rate	31.58%	0.0%	29.84%	0.0%	29.46%	0.0%	26.99%	0.0%	32.95%	0.0%	32.70%	0.0%

Other Reasons

Other Reasons for replacement - Sold for Production

Culling Reasons	2014 Number of cows	2014 Total (%)	2015 Number of cows	2015 Total (%)	2016 Number of cows	2016 Total (%)	2017 Number of cows	2017 Total (%)	2018 Number of cows	2018 Total (%)	2019 Number of cows	2019 Total (%)
Dairy production	37,491	13.7%	35,085	13.6%	34,358	13.5%	30,861	13.1%	31,046	11.7%	33,699	13.4%
Exported	2,276	0.8%	2,239	0.9%	2,291	0.9%	1,488	0.6%	1,502	0.6%	1,606	0.6%
Transfers	976	0.4%	1,021	0.4%	859	0.3%	927	0.4%	788	0.3%	769	0.3%
Rented out	621	0.2%	420	0.2%	521	0.2%	598	0.3%	556	0.2%	435	0.2%
Poison	240	0.1%	190	0.1%	218	0.1%	193	0.1%	204	0.1%	181	0.1%
Peritonitis	296	0.1%	260	0.1%	232	0.1%	273	0.1%	252	0.1%	257	0.1%
Bloat	110	0.0%	75	0.0%	79	0.0%	93	0.0%	82	0.0%	73	0.0%
Electrocution	12	0.0%	11	0.0%	11	0.0%	24	0.0%	13	0.0%	18	0.0%
Others	11,893	4.3%	11,061	4.3%	11,941	4.7%	11,233	4.8%	12,534	4.7%	11,783	4.7%
Total other reasons for replacement	53,915	19.7%	50,362	19.6%	50,510	19.9%	45,690	19.4%	46,977	17.7%	48,821	19.4%
Total Replacement Rate [1]	-	39.32%	-	37.09%	-	36.76%	-	33.49%	-	40.05%	-	40.55%

- Nil
[1] Includes total culling reasons and total other reasons
Source: CanWest DHI and Valacta Calculations done by Agriculture and Agrifood Canada - Animal Industry Division, Market Information Section

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Date modified:

2020-04-22