Survey of facility and management characteristics of large, Upper Midwest dairy herds clustered by Dairy Herd Improvement records

Abstract

A survey of management practices was conducted to investigate potential associations with groupings of herds formed by cluster analysis (CA) of Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) data of 557 Upper Midwest herds of 200 cows or greater. Differences in herd management practices were identified between the groups, despite underlying similarities; for example, freestall housing and milking in a parlor. Group 6 comprised larger herds with a high proportion of primiparous cows and most frequently utilized practices promoting increased production [e.g., 84.4% used recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST)], decreased lameness (e.g., 96.9% used routine hoof trimming for cows), and improved efficiency in reproduction [e.g., 93.8% synchronized the first breeding in cows (SYNCH)] and labor (e.g., mean ± SD, 67 ± 19 cows per 50-h per week full-time equivalent worker). Group 1 had the best mean DHI performances and followed most closely group 6 for the rate of adoption of intensive management practices while tending to outperform group 6 despite a generally smaller mean herd size (e.g., 42.3 ± 3.6 kg vs. 39.9 ± 3.6 kg of energy-corrected milk production; 608 ± 352 cows vs. 1,716 ± 1,405 cows). Group 2 were smaller herds with relatively high levels of performance that used less intensive management (e.g., 100% milked twice daily) and less technology (33.3 vs. 73.0% of group 1 used rbST). Group 4 were smaller but poorer-performing herds with low turnover and least frequently used intensive management practices (e.g., 39.1% SYNCH; 30.4% allowed mature, high-producing cows access to pasture). Group 5 used modern technologies and practices associated with improved production, yet had the least desirable mean DHI performance of all 6 groups. This group had the lowest proportion of deep loose-bedded stalls (only 52.2% used sand bedding) and the highest proportion (34.8%) of herds not using routine hoof trimming. The survey of group 3 herds did not reveal strong trends in management. The differences identified between herd groupings confirm significant variation in management practices linked to variation in overall herd performance measured by DHI variables. This approach provides an opportunity for consultants and outreach educators to better tailor efforts toward a certain type of dairy management philosophy, rather than taking a blanket approach to applying recommendations to farms simply because of their larger herd size.

Invited review: Academic and applied approach to evaluating longevity in dairy cows

“…Regulatory bans on the use of rBST, therefore, have likely reduced the risk of health disorders and premature culling. In the United States, rBST use at the herd level has been as high as 60% (Brotzman et al, 2015) but is now much lower due to processors banning its use.…”

Symposium review: Selection for fertility in the modern dairy cow—Current status and future direction for genetic selection

“…These programs effectively address many of the limitations of the modern dairy cow by controlling the development of follicles and their time of ovulation after insemination (Wiltbank and Pursley, 2014;Carvalho et al, 2018). Current estimates are that approximately 70% of cows in the United States are treated with a TAI program for first postpartum insemination (Brotzman et al, 2015).…”

Management characteristics, lameness, and body injuries of dairy cattle housed in high-performance dairy herds in Wisconsin

“…This process was applied to year 2011 DHI mean test day data for 557 Upper Midwest dairy herds of ≥200 cows on test, creating 6 cluster groups. A follow-up survey of management practices revealed relationships between management practices and overall group DHI performance for milk production, udder health, reproduction, and health (Brotzman et al, 2015b). For the current survey, 66 herds from the 5881 3 groups with highest overall DHI performance were chosen.…”