Risk Management Program

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Lecture Slides/Handout
The Handout for the slide set can be retrieved
by pulling up (or printing) the note page in
Power Point program .
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How to Monitor Your Herds Culling Program
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Ron Erskine, Phil Sears, Kathy Lee, Dann
Bolinger, Roxanne Pillars
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Monitoring Removal
Monitoring cows leaving the farm is important in
order to set goals and change management
practices that effect the removal (culling) rate.
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Monitoring Removal
Monitoring cows leaving the farm is important in
order to set goals and change management
practices that effect the removal (culling) rate.
Records are essential Written records
Computerized records
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Utilizing DHIA Records for Monitoring Turnover
Monitor
PCDART REPORT
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DHI-202 goes here
DHI-202
Raw Numbers (not percentages)
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DHI-202 goes here
DHI-202
Raw Numbers (not percentages)
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12345678 EXAMPLE FARM
PCDART REPORT
103 Animal Left Herd
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12345678 EXAMPLE FARM
12345678 EXAMPLE FARM
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EXAMPLE FARM
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EXAMPLE FARM
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Monitoring Removal
Records must be accurate must be uniform
(same terms) set goals (use benchmarks)
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BENCHMARKING

• Helps you evaluate your herds performance and
  set realistic goals for improvement
• Based on information from other herds
• Herds with similar management (e.g. environment,
  number of cows, production level)
• Herds with characteristics that you specify (e.g.
  based on management changes being considered on
  your farm--2x vs 3x, more cows, etc.)

or,
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DHI-202 goes here
DHI-202
Raw Numbers (not percentages)
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Distribution of Cows Leaving Herd
Michigan DHIA Herds - 2002
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Cows Left HerdBy Lactation
Cows left for each reason expressed as percentage
of total cows in herd. DRMS - MI DHIA herds
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Cows Left HerdBy Lactation
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Cows Left HerdBy Herd Production Level
Expressed as of total cows in the herd
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Cows Left Herd
Monitor
By Herd Production Level
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Cows Left Herd By Herd Size
Expressed as of total cows in herd
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Cows Left Herd
By Herd Size
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Dairy Metrics

• Benchmarking tool available through Dairy Records
  Management Systems (DRMS)
• DHIA members - 5 per month during months
  accessed
• Consultants - access based on fee that allows
  specified number of accesses
• More information www.drms.org

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Monitoring Culling

• Definitions and Concepts
• What should be recorded?
• Handy Information - Cows
• Handy Information - Heifers

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Definitions and Concepts

• Case Definition
• What do we mean when we say mean (average)?
• Pitfalls of calculating rates

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Case Definition

• Most important part
• Everyone agrees
• Must be accurate not based on a guess
• I dont know is a category, too!
• Should have a box to place all possible events

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What do we mean when we say average?

• Average Sum divided by the total number of
  animals
• If 9 cows culled last year
• 3 x 1st lact 3
• 3 x 2nd lact 6
• 3 x 3rd lact 9
• Average 18/92

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Culling average (lactation)
Average 2
3 cows
3 cows
3 cows
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What do we mean when we say average?

• Average Sum divided by the total number of
  animals
• If 9 cows culled last year
• 3 x 1st lact 3 4 x 1st lact 4
• 3 x 2nd lact 6 1 x 2nd lact 2
• 3 x 3rd lact 9 4 x 3rd lact 12

Sum 18 Average 18/9 2
Sum 18 Average 18/9 2
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Culling average (lactation)
Average 2
4cows
1 cows
4 cows
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What do we mean when we say average?

• Weighted average
• Bulk Tank SCC
• 100 lb cow has more impact than 40 lb cow
• Distribution
• Median The middle cow
• 50 above, 50 below

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What do we mean when we say average?
Average month of lactation 7.6 months
Number of cows culled
average
Months of lactation
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What do we mean when we say average?
Average month of lactation 7.6 months
Median 6 months
Number of cows culled
median
average
Months of lactation
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What do we mean when we say average?
Average month of lactation 7.6 months
Number of cows culled
average
Months of lactation
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What do we mean when we say average?
Average month of lactation 7.6 months
Median 3 months
Number of cows culled
median
average
Months of lactation
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Pitfalls of Calculating Rates

• Incidence (Rate)
• Number of cases/ animals at risk/ time
• Cases/ 100 cows/ year
• Who is at risk?

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Pitfalls of Calculating Rates

• Who is at risk?
• 200 cow dairy lost 2 cows to milk fever/down cow
  last year
• 2 cases / 200 cows/ year
• 1 case/ 100 cows/ year

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Who is at risk? Milk Fever
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Who is at risk? Milk Fever
Recently calved, older cows
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Pitfalls of Calculating Rates

• Who is at risk?
• 200 cow dairy lost 2 cows to milk fever/down cow
  last year
• 2 cases / 200 cows / year
• 1 case / 100 cows / year 1
• BUT, what if ..
• Only had 140 cows calve last year and only 50
  were 3rd lactation or greater?
• 2 cases / 50 cows at risk / year
• 4 cases / 100 cows at risk / year 4

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Monitoring Culling

• Definitions and Concepts
• What should be recorded?
• Handy Information - Cows

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What should be recorded?Cows

• Number of calvings/ month
• Number of cows milking/ month
• For each lost cow
• ID
• Date
• Cause
• Died, Culled
• DIM
• Lactation
• Health/ diagnostic history

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Monitoring Culling

• Definitions and Concepts
• What should be recorded?
• Handy Information - Cows
• Handy Information - Heifers

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What should be recorded?Heifers

• Number of births/ month
• For each lost heifer
• ID
• Date
• Dam
• Age
• Cause
• Died, Culled
• Health/ diagnostic history

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Case Study
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Case Study

• Goal of herd maximize use of current facilities
  (125 cows)
• Was last at capacity in May 1999
• Since then averaging 80-110 cows in the milking
  herd.
• Is there a culling problem?

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Is there a Culling Problem and what is causing it?

• Number of cows entering herd vs. number of cows
  leaving herd
• Which cows are leaving (1st Lactation vs 2nd and
  greater Lactation)?
• When are cows leaving?
• Why are they leaving?

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Cows entering herd vs Cows leaving herd
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When are Cows Leaving?
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Why are Cows Leaving?
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What is causing the culling problem in this herd?

• ???
• What is the next step?
• Where do you concentrate your efforts?
• What additional information do you need?

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Summary

• In most herds, culling is a symptom, or result,
  of some management problem
• The challenge is to determine what that problem
  is
• That means monitoring
• Remember--if you dont monitor it, you cant
  manage it!

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Baseline info needed to monitor culling

• Number of cows entering herd
• Are they purchased or raised?
• Number of cows leaving the herd
• When the cows are leaving
• DIM as well as month left
• Why the cows are leaving
• the more specific the better