Lactations Less than 305 Days

Reference ID:627

Whereas…

Whereas it is difficult for cows bred before 80 days in milk to make it to 305 days in milk without a short dry-off period which, in general, is not successful.

Whereas the profitability of a farm operation increases thanks to the reduction of the calving interval and that reproduction is one of the main reasons for culling in Québec.

Whereas BCAs are used for several prizes such as Star Cow, Master Breeder, Best Herd Average, etc. and that a cow who does not complete 305 days in milk will be penalized by 1 point each 2 days not completed, and that therefore cows with good reproductive performance are penalized.

Whereas the BCA results are lowered for cows who were superior in the herd, it becomes unnecessary to use BCAs to carefully select the best animals in the herd.

Therefore…

Therefore, it is proposed to no longer penalize cows that are dried off before having reached 305 days in milk and to keep the BCAs according to the projection of the last recording provided that they calve again within 70 days following the dry-off date.

*In those cases, only the BCA projections would be used for reports and prizes. The quantity of milk, fat and protein would be the quantity actually produced on the number of days at the end of the lactation.

Reference information provided by Lactanet:

An analysis of the 2019 data indicates that 78% of the cows that dried off between 280 and 304 DIM calved again within 70 days of dry off. This is an idea previously discussed by the Industry Standards Committee.