The Season and Decade of Birth Affect Dairy Cow Longevity

Abstract

Dairy cow longevity is associated with three key areas: animal welfare, the economy, and the environment. In pastoral dairy systems, cows are exposed to environmental hardships and variations in feed supply associated with the seasonal growth of pastures. The objectives of this study were to generate base parameters for longevity and evaluate the effect of season and decade of birth on herd life (HL) and length of productive life (LPL) for dairy cows in pasture-based production. Records from the Dairy Herd Improvement Database at the Instituto Nacional para el Control y Mejoramiento Lechero (Uruguay) were extracted. The dataset contained 313,146 cows born between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2019, classified by decade and season of birth. HL and LPL were calculated for each cow. The effects of season of birth, decade of birth, and the interaction between them on HL and LPL were evaluated using a generalized mixed model. The mean HL was 73.4 and mean LPL was 42.0 months. Cows born in spring had longer LPL and HL (p < 0.001). Cows born in the 2010s had significantly shorter HL (12.8 months) and LPL (9.14 months) (p < 0.001). In conclusion, the season and decade of birth have an impact on the longevity of cows in pastoral-based systems. This study is the first to demonstrate the effect of season of birth on long-term longevity.