Challenging the norm – cull rates and farm economics
Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Culling has often been seen as removal of cows from the herd that were either too broken or did not pay for their feed cost anymore. This norm on cull rates may be challenged in several different ways. First, cow replacement rates are primarily the result of how many heifers have been raised to enter the herd. In closed herds, this decision starts at breeding with the assignment of semen types (sexed or conventional, dairy or beef) some 33 months before the heifer calves. Second, continuous improvements in health, fertility and milk production through management and genetics remain important. This makes for more profitable cows that can stay in herds longer. However, if there is sufficient variation among cows, it will remain a good decision to replace the least profitable cows sooner rather than later. A longer productive life (lower replacement rate) is therefore not necessarily better. Third, there is still quite a bit of work to be done to better support the most profitable replacement decisions. Better replacement decisions, in turn, will drive how many heifers are needed and therefore what the optimal cull rate will be.
Author: Albert DeVries
Institution: University of Florida
Language: English
Subfield: Agronomy and Crop Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4408889561