Expand cow lifespan to improve Lifetime Daily Yield

Enhancing cow lifespan - with which we mean a cow's productive lifespan - is most crucial for improving efficiency and total milk yield on a dairy farm^1,2. Increasing the average life span of a cow has more impact than increasing milk production per lactation, decreasing the age of first calving or changing the calving interval. According to Dr. Römer from the Institute of Livestock Farming of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Research Centre for Agriculture and Fisheries, cow lifespan can be increased by focusing on health and well-being of the dairy herd, which involves implementing tailored health plans for each farm to increase cow average lifespan, enabling cows to reach their genetic production potential.

What is the best way to increase milk production on a dairy farm? Extending the productive average cows lifespan through comprehensive health management and ensuring suitable living conditions. Milk production per cow can be increased in different ways, such as decreasing the age of first calving, increasing daily milk yield and prolonging the average lifespan of a cow. However, increasing the dairy cow lifespan has the biggest effect on total milk yield.

To calculate efficiency of milk production, both milk yield and lifespan of a cow need to be included into the calculation. Two parameters could be calculated: Lifetime Daily Yield and Productive Life Daily Yield. Farmers who rear calves and heifers by themselves should use Lifetime Daily Yield, as it includes not only productive time but rearing time too. Farmers without their own reproduction should use Productive Life Daily Yield. Lifetime Daily Yield (LDY) is calculated by dividing lifetime milk yield by the number of days of life. It can only be calculated after a cow has been culled, but while it is living, it could be a useful parameter to monitor efficiency of each cow and the whole herd. LDY can be increased by decreasing age of first calving, increasing milk yield and prolonging average lifespan of a cow. Increasing cow lifespan has the biggest effect on LDY.

Farmers in Germany use the parameter Lifetime Daily Yield (LDY) to monitor their productivity and to compare it with other dairy farms. In a study by Dr. Römer¹ a total of 43,245 records of culled Holstein cows in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern were analysed, provided by local breeding organisation (RinderAllianz). The average German herd size was 1,013 cows with a production of 10,532 kg milk per cow per year. Cattle lifespan was recorded, all culling reasons were documented by farmers and all veterinary treatments were documented with ICAR diagnosis keys.

What is the average lifespan of a dairy cow in Germany? 3 years of productive life + 2.4 years of rearing = 5.4 years of age. (Römer, 2014).

And what should the average lifespan of a cow in Germany be? Although the average productive life of dairy cows in Germany has increased in the last few years, an average of 3 lactations with an average culling age of 5.4 is still insufficient, according to Dr. Römer. Cow lifespan needs to be improved further, farmers should and aim at an average cow lifespan with at least 5 lactations.

There are three main take-aways from Dr. Römer’s video about how to increase cow lifespan for more profit.

1. To increase a cow’s lifespan, ensure a healthy transition period with high levels of hygiene in the calving area, excellent health management and feeding control and a high water intake
2. Aim at longer voluntary waiting periods (especially for young cows and for high yielding cows) to reduce the risk of involuntary culling due to fertility problems and thus have a positive impact on cow lifespan.
3. Motivate others by discussing the importance of increasing the cow average lifespan and ensure you enjoy your work.

Professor Dr. Santos at the University of Florida performed a trial with Selko IntelliBond hydroxy trace minerals in transition cows. Feeding Selko IntelliBond increased production of colostrum and energy corrected milk³, improved health⁵ and fertility⁴ and increased survival rate at 305 days in lactation⁵, which will increase the average lifespan of a cow.

According to Professor Santos, the increased survival rate at 305 days is related to:

• An improvement of health which is known to reduce involuntary culling early in lactation, which increases average lifespan of a cow.
• Better fertility which is known to reduce involuntary culling later in lactation, which also increases cow lifespan.
• A higher milk production, which increases dairy cow lifespan, because the farmer is less likely to replace the cow with a heifer.

During a recent webinar, Professor Dr. Santos presented the results of a trial^3,4,5 he carried out at the University of Florida in which he compared feeding Selko IntelliBond hydroxy chloride trace minerals or sulfates to transition dairy cows from 30 days before calving until 105 days into lactation. Cows fed Selko IntelliBond improved lactational performance³, health⁵ and fertility⁴, and an increased survival rate at 305 days in milk⁵, which will increase cow lifespan.

Increasing cow lifespan by switching from sulfate trace mineral supplements to Selko Intellibond will generate at least an extra income of $ 5,995 per cow. The average lifespan of a cow should be at least 3 lactations. During her first lactation, she will produce 11-12,000 kg of ECM, in subsequent lactations 13-15,000 kg of ECM. During her productive cow lifespan, she will therefore generate an income of at least $ 6,000-7,000.

Moving from sulphates to Selko IntelliBond will increase costs per lactation by about $ 1.50. This is without taking relative bioavailability into account. With relative bioavailability of hydroxy trace minerals in ruminants being higher compared to sulphates^7,8,9,10, the difference in cost will therefore go down a bit further. Increasing lactational performance and lifespan of a cow by implementing or switching to Selko Intellibond is therefore a good investment for a farmer.