Estimates of the Economic Cost Caused by Five Major Reproductive Problems in Dairy Animals in Assam and Bihar, India

Abstract

Reproductive problems in dairy animals reduce fertility, prevent conception, create problems in the delivery of healthy calves, lead to postpartum complications, increase inter-calving periods, reduce milk yield, and lower overall lifetime productivity. This study aimed at understanding the incidence of reproductive problems and the cost caused by these. The study covered 954 dairy animals in Bihar and 1348 dairy animals in Assam that were selected using a multi-stage random sampling method. The costs were calculated as the sum of income losses and expenditures incurred. The major cost incurred resulted from extended calving intervals (46.1% of the total cost), followed by loss through salvage selling (38.1%), expenditure for treatment of repeat breeders (5.9%), loss of milk production (5.3%) and expenditure for extra inseminations (2.0%). About one fifth of the selected reproductive problems were left untreated. The estimated cost of reproductive problems was Indian Rupees (INR) 2424.9 (USD 36.1) per dairy animal per year (of the total dairy animal population) which represented approximately 4.1% of the mean value loss of dairy animals (INR 58,966/USD 877) per year. Reproductive problems were significantly (p < 0.001) higher among improved (exotic breed or cross-bred) dairy animals than indigenous (native breed or nondescript indigenous) dairy animals. The study suggests that with the increase of improved dairy animal population, the loss may further increase. The study concludes that any economic estimation of reproduction problems based on aetiology without confirmatory diagnoses could be highly misleading because of the complex nature of the problems.

Using Pregnancy-Associated Glycoproteins (PAGs) to Improve Reproductive Management: From Dairy Cows to Other Dairy Livestock

“…In dairy production, reproductive performance and profitability are strongly associated. Declining fertility is a globally recognized problem that represents a major source of economic loss and culling in large ruminants [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Many factors contribute to the decline in reproductive efficiency.…”

Risk factors for repeat breeder dairy cows and their impacts on reproductive performance

“…Moreover, the OR of pregnancy in repeat compared with non-repeat breeder cows was 0.73 [5]. The higher incidence of repeat breeder cows increased the interval from calving to conception and increased culling in dairy herds, leading to severe economic losses [4,17,32].…”

Financial losses related to placental retention in dairy herds in Turkey

“…The incidence rate of PR was reported as 12.3% in Iran (Mahnani et al, 2021b), 10.4% in Tanzania (Komba and Kashoma, 2020), 8.8% in France (Fourichon et al, 2001b), 7.8% in USA (Goff, 2006), 6.6% in Netherlands (Joosten et al, 1987), 6.5% in Denmark (Bruun et al, 2002), 6.1% in India (Deka et al, 2021), 3-6% in England (Esslemont and Kossibati, 1996), 3.1% in Australia (Stevenson, 2000). So, the incidence rate of PR in Turkey is nearly at an average level.…”