Cull Rates and Turnover are starting to get a lot of
attention on some farms. Here is an explanation of the numbers to be found on
the Herd Summary Report. Look on the Consultant Summary side. There
is a box titled "Cows Entering and Leaving the Herd". % Cull Rate by
lactation is on the right end of the box.
Let's look at lactation one.
The % Cull
Rate is calculated by dividing the number of lactation one animals that left the
herd by the number of lactation one animals that were in the herd during the
year (add the current number of lactation one animals - see Inventory section,
and the number of lactation one animals that have left).
For example, if you have 24 first lactation animals in the
herd right now, and have sold 6 during the year, you Cull Rate would be 20% for
first lactation. 6 cows sold
/ 30 (24 still in the herd plus the 6 sold) = 20%
STATE AVERAGE CULL RATES:
First Lactation - 20%
All Cows -
25%
"Annual Turnover Rate" is below the box. Turnover Rate tells you the
percent of the herd that turns over. It is calculated by dividing the number of
cows sold in the last year by the average number of cows in the herd for the
year.
STATE AVERAGE TURNOVER RATE is 36%
The difference between
Cull Rate and Turnover Rate is that Turnover rate looks at the current herd, and
what percent turned over during the year, while Cull Rate looks at the cows in
the herd plus those that have left.
The other
statistic that some find useful is the % Left Herd line, which is sorted by
"Reason for Leaving". This can be very useful in understanding what is causing
high turnover. The key here is for you to report an accurate reason for selling
the cow. If you decided to sell the cow for Foot and Leg problems, so you didn't
breed her back, and you waited until she was a low producer to sell her, which
reason do you report for selling her? She's a low producer and isn't bred
because of her feet and legs, so choose the real reason she is leaving - feet
& legs. What is your #1 reason for culling?
4 Springing Holstein Heifers FOR SALE. This herd has been using AI for 20+
years.
If interested please call Jim Raymond at 320.543.3205.
(2/5/02)
Cows For Sale is a service of Minnesota DHIA.
Members can
advertise for just $2.50 per animal with a maximum of $50 per herd (good for 60
days).
For more
information, talk to your Field Rep on sample day or call us at
800.827.3442.
All members are welcome to attend the District Meeting. If you are a member, you are eligible to vote. Agenda items will include a review of the audit for 2001, election of delegates to the Annual Meeting scheduled for March 26, election of directors for 3-year terms in districts noted below, and new and old business.
| elect | Monday | February 18 | Stearns District | Community Center in Freeport |
| Tuesday | February 26 | Southwest District | Orchid Inn, Sleepy Eye | |
| Thursday | February 28 | Metro District | Kubes in Norwood | |
| Friday | March 1 | Southeast District | Branding Iron, Preston | |
| Monday | March 4 | Northwest District | Shooting Star Casino, Mahnomen | |
| elect | Tuesday | March 5 | South Central District | Diggers, Kasson |
| elect | Monday | March 11 | Northeast District | Embers, Milaca |
| elect | Tuesday | March 12 | West Central District | Pizza Ranch, Glenwood |
| Thursday | March 14 | Barron Washburn | Courthouse in Barron |
Call 800-827-3442 for answers, or to make a reservation.
For the calendar year 2001, here are the averages of all herds processed at ATA.
This data includes owner samplers, and a little over 200 herds from other states that now are using our system.
| Production | |||||
| Milk | 19,438# | down 201 pounds from 2000 | |||
| Fat | 3.8% | no change for years | |||
| Protein | 3.05% | ||||
| MLM | 66# | ||||
| Peak Lact 1 | 68# | ||||
| Peak Lact>1 | 88# | ||||
| Lactation One | |||||
| % of herd | 35% | ||||
| Age at fresh | 27 months | ||||
| Sire PTA | $ 249 | ||||
| Reproduction | |||||
| Waiting Period | 67 days | ||||
| Days Open | 181 days | ||||
| Pregnancy Rate | 12% | ||||
| 21 day Heat Detection Rate | 31% | ||||
| Management Calving Interval | 15 months | ||||
| % SCC Positive | 37% | ||||
| Age at Fresh | 45 months (All cows) | ||||
A comparison of herds using on-farm software to DHIA state averages from December of 2001 these comparisons:
| State | Software Herds | |||
| RHA milk | 19,438 | 21,683 | ||
| SCC | 412,000 | 334,000 | ||
| Age, Lact 1 | 27 months | 25 months | ||
| Dry 40-70 days | 66% | 73% | ||
| Minimum Calving Interval | 15.4 months | 14.8 months | ||
| Average Days Open | 181 days | 163 days | ||
Having the software
on-farm, and using it, leads to better cow accounting. That translates to a lot
of good things, including more income. Having good information at your
fingertips pays.
Think about your future records needs. You'll want
to track clinical mastitis and treatments. You'll need to track
Identification from the breeding of the dam on to the birth of the calf and the
eventual breeding of that animal. Then there will be the government
requirements to sell her.
Are you using BST or a timed breeding
program? Do you have a daily milk system?
Answer yes to any of
these and you will save time and use your money and technology wisely by
investing in software.
The mail service isn't getting any better.
Software means you can have your results faster by whatever length of time your
reports spend in the mail. Check the postmark printed on your report and the
date you received your report. How long was it? Would you benefit from
faster service?
Scout costs only about 55 cents per day for the whole
herd. We will come out and install the software on your computer and show
you how to use it. Then we will come back again to answer questions and
cover some more information. Scout is easy to use and it is very fast
software. You also have access to our toll free telephone support line, at
no charge.
Installation of Scout on your farm costs $100 (you supply the
computer).
If you are really serious about
herd analysis and complete cow tracking, Dairy Comp 305 is the industry standard
for dairy software. This is Scout's big brother, and it acts like
one. Dairy Comp 305 is powerful, fast, flexible and ready to help you with
the big job of dairy management. Dairy Comp 305 sells for $2000, leases
for $60 per month, and costs $250 to install on your farm. Most customers
think the return is well worth the investment.
There are some Chineese visitors coming into
Western Minnesota. They are looking to purchase 6-8 month old heifer
calves. Please call Tom Socha at NDSU if you are interested. 701-231-6565
is Tom's number.
In the coming months, you will be seeing articles about the outstanding
Field Representatives that provide service to herds in the Minnesota DHIA
system.
We have a number of Field Representatives that provide
outstanding service. Dedicated professionals that have their customers'
best interest at heart. They want you to succeed in dairy so that we have a
dairy industry that is strong and successful. They are willing to put in long
and sometimes (mostly) odd hours. We expect them to be sales people,
service people, to have records and software knowledge and to be our friends.
Many times these people become like family.
To become an outstanding
Field Representative, these people are put through some pretty strict
qualifications. We look at test interval, average sample to process timing,
number of new herds and number of herds using software. Also a willingness to
offer new services, take on new herds or do relief testing.
Watch in the next months to see if
you know any of these people, give 'em a pat on the back if you see them. The
Field Representatives highlighted are the best we have and we thank them for
their outstanding efforts. THANK YOU to all 108 Field Representatives in
Minnesota DHIA for the job you do in the dairy industry.
If you mistakenly freshen the wrong animal there is a simple way to
correct the error. Go to the cow card of the mistaken animal and using the mouse
put on the fresh event and then click the right hand button once. You will then
get a two-option menu. Select the option that says ERASE THIS EVENT click on
this option and it will erase the fresh event and heifer or bull calf and make
her as if the fresh event never happened. You can then go in and correctly
freshen her or the correct animal.
Please call us if you any questions
regarding Dairy Comp or Scout 1.800.827.3442