The benefits of optimal udder health on longevity and farm profitability

By Marco Hoekstra & Anna Blair – AHV Product Management  

Cows can continue to produce quality milk for many years if given the opportunity. An older dairy herd is more economically beneficial. Several scientific studies have shown that 50% to 70% of cows are culled around the age of four or five years (Gosselink et al., 2008). The three most common culling reasons are poor udder health, reduced fertility, and lameness.  

Poor udder health is the main reason for involuntary culls 

One of the primary reasons for culling is poor udder health. Achieving optimal udder health is therefore one of the most important pillars when it comes to extending the lifespan of dairy cows. Reducing the incidences of udder health challenges leads to lower replacement rates, higher life expectancy, improved animal welfare, and better financial results. 

What is the optimal productive lifespan?  

On average, cows reach peak production after 5 lactations. Research has shown that achieving 8 to 9 lactations per cow is economically optimal. Herds with older, healthier cows will have a reduced replacement requirement (Pinedo et al., 2014). This highlights a problem; the current average culling age is less than the economically optimal replacement age. Having healthier animals and improving the longevity of the herd directly translates into more income.  

Costs associated with udder health challenges 

The direct costs associated with udder health challenges are due to the loss of revenue from withdrawn milk. There are also indirect costs such as loss of milk yield and the cow not being able to re-establish her original milking potential, pre-health challenge. There are other indirect costs associated with the requirement to replace cows earlier (Fernandes et al., 2021). 

Cows dealing with udder health challenges direct more energy to their immune system, which otherwise could have been utilised for milk production. Cows with a healthy udder reach a higher peak yield and have greater persistence of yield.  

Research has shown, revenue losses average $1.20/cow/day during the first month of an udder health challenge and can increase to as much as $2.06 per cow per day by month ten (Hadrich et al., 2018). The graph below shows an example revenue curve for a cow with SCC greater than or equal to 100 compared to a cow with SCC less than 100. This demonstrates the importance of keeping the udder healthy to maintain the financial position of the farm.  

Note: Test day refers to the day of each milk recording.

How can you optimise udder health?  

To support and optimise udder health, AHV has developed the Udder Health Programme. This approach focuses on early identification of potential health challenges. At AHV we consider the monitoring of herd performance data (milk recording) coupled with observations to be the most important tools for decision-making.  

Our AHV consultants will provide advice based on your herd’s performance, and help you to achieve better udder health and improve herd longevity.  

Bronnen:

Hadrich, J. C., Wolf, C. A., Lombard, J., & Dolak, T. M. (2018). Estimating milk yield and value losses from increased somatic cell count on US dairy farms. Journal of Dairy Science, 101(4), 3588–3596. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2017-13840

Fernandes, L., Guimaraes, I., Noyes, N. R., Caixeta, L. S., & Machado, V. S. (2021). Effect of subclinical mastitis detected in the first month of lactation on somatic cell count linear scores, milk yield, fertility, and culling of dairy cows in certified organic herds. Journal of Dairy Science, 104(2), 2140–2150.

Lavon, Y., Ezra, E., Leitner, G., & Wolfenson, D. (2011). Association of conception rate with pattern and level of somatic cell count elevation relative to time of insemination in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science, 94(9), 4538–4545. https://doi.org/1