Click on the individual areas for detailed information
Block C
Average MUN by Lactation Group
You must be utilizing the milk urea nitrogen (MUN) testing option
(available to all members) and be receiving the MUN Summary Report
or Management MUN Summary to have data in this graph. MUN data is
very valuable in determining if your cows are efficiently using the
protein, energy and nonstructural carbohydrates in their ration. It
is also an excellent Quality Control tool for assuring that your
milking cows are actually eating the nutrients calculated on their
paper ration.
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Block D
Type Test
Test Day Results
The $ Value of production is the current average daily production
multiplied by the MILK PRICE PER CWT. (in the adjacent box).
The MILK PRICE PER CWT is either inputted by the
member or provided monthly by the Wisconsin Department of
Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection (WDATCP). If the WDATCP
values are used, a premium or deduction based on your component
values is used. Because of the wide variation in SCC premiums in our
member area, no allowance in the milk price is made for an
individual herd's SCC value.
The 305 DAY $ VALUE TOTAL HERD is the sum of
each individual cows' expected or actual 305 day dollar value for
the current lactation, this includes milk, fat, and protein
information where available. The milk price used in this calculation
is the current Milk Price per CWT (above).
305 DAY $ VALUE AVG. PER COW is calculated by
dividing the total herd 305 $ value by the number of cows
represented in the rolling herd average number of cows.
AVG. COW ME factors the average cow's projected
ME 305 Lactation total times this month's MILK PRICE PER CWT.
TEST DAY MILK TOTALS BULK TANK is calculated by
reporting the last three milk pick-ups and calculating a daily
average from them.
DHI WGT. - Totals of weights on your last test
day adjusted by A/P factors (where applicable). If a cow is tested
and her milk is withheld, she should be coded with a "W". This will
prevent her milk weight from being included in the DHI WGT. If a cow
is coded sick and down in production, she will be given an estimated
production. This estimated production is included in DHI WGT.
However, if you code her with a "W" also, this estimated production
will not be included in this box. This is important since DHI WGT.
is used to calculate the TEST DAY MILK TOTALS % OF
BULK. Included DHI Milk Wgt. not added to the bulk tank will skew
your Test Milk Totals-% Bulk totals.
Test Day Milk Totals - % of Bulk: The % Bulk is
the average of the last three shipments divided by the DHI weight.
DHI milk pounds are expected to be in the range of 96 to 110% of the
bulk tank milk weight. DHI measures milk from all cows, but some of
that milk is discarded because of antibiotics, fed to calves, or
used for other purposes. Therefore, bulk tank milk is expected to be
slightly less than DHI. Bulk tanks can shift, resulting in errors in
dipstick calibration and bulk tank pickup may not be synchronized
with the completion of milking, resulting in variance.
DAYS IN HERD - This figure represents the number
of cow days in your herd since your last test day. Instead of simply
the number of cows in your herd multiplied by your test day
interval, this figure is adjusted by cows sold or died and heifers
freshening since the previous test day.
HERD AVERAGES DIM (Days In Milk): The 12 month
rolling average DIM is quite dependent upon herd reproductive
performance. The industry goal for HERD AVERAGE DIM
is about 170 days. Cows milk less with increasing DIM, and are
expected to decline 0.12 to 0.17 pounds per cow per day for each day
over 170. Assuming a 50 day dry period, a Herd Average DIM roughly
equates to a thirteen month calving interval. If this number is
above 180, you may want to scrutinize your herd's reproductive
program.
% LST MILK - (% Last Milk) - This is a
persistency value and measures the production of all cows milking on
this test day and the previous test day. Only cows that were tested
both test days are included. Large differences may reflect weather
or management changes.
Previous 4 MO. % Bulk: This figure compares the
previous four test day DHI WGT. total versus the BULK TANK weights
for those dates. See description in Test Day Milk Totals - % of Bulk
for desired ranges.
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Block E
TEST DAY AVERAGE PRODUCTION
This block provides production information from the past year so
you can do comparisons and see trends. It is important to compare
the most recent month (on the top line) with the same month last
year (the bottom line) besides comparing with more recent months.
This block holds the data from the last 365 days, up to fifteen
tests.
The column on your far left shows what your test dates were.
Next, you can see the total number of cows in your herd (TOT) and
the number sampled on each test day (MLK).
Management Level Milk (MLM) or
150-day milk converts milk production to a common base: 150th day of
lactation, second lactation, 4.0% fat and 3.3% protein. The AgSource
MLM value does not make an adjustment for season as some other DRPCs
do. For each pound gain in MLM, expect an eventual 300-350 pound
increase in the RHA. MLM is not calculated for cows less than six
days or more than 305 days into their lactation.
As a guideline, a shift of two pounds in MLM due
to a feeding or other management change is significant. MLM
is a faster indicator of changes in your herd and
management than rolling herd average. Because of the adjustments, it
may be more accurate than Test Day Average Production
(below) as an indicator of your progress. It is a very good month to
month indicator for comparison of your herd's progress that removes
much of the effect of what stage of lactation your herd is in and
changes in components.
For a herd on a twelve month calving interval and a 60 day dry
period, the %DIM value would average about 83% over
the year. In the real world, %DIM will be somewhat
higher since you cull cows during lactation and they leave with 100%
of their days milking.
The TEST DAY AVERAGE PRODUCTION columns are
calculated using the average daily pounds of milk, fat, protein and
SCC of the milking cows only. Your average should equate fairly
closely to the actual bulk tank average production on test day.
Differences might be caused by mastitic cows being held out or
cows fresh too recently to be used by Agource(<5 DIM) that have milk
going into the tank.
Test Day Average Production and
Management Level Milk are the Herd Summary's fastest
indicators of which direction your herd is headed. If the
Test Day Average Production of Milk goes down and
MLM stays constant, it may mean the drop in milk production
was made up by an increase in butterfat and protein or that the herd
had reproductive problems nine months ago that are causing
Average Days In Milk to increase now.
All component values are weighted averages. There are a number of
factors that may cause these values to be more or less than milk
plant values. Most important is that you may not be sampling from
the same cows. You may be selling milk from cows that are too early
for DHI testing and you may be holding out high SCC or treated cows
that are tested.
AgSource to milk plant variation is reduced with larger herds
milked on a regular schedules versus small herds milked at irregular
intervals. Another example might be if the vacuum is not adequately
adjusted to compensate for having meters on the systems. Butterfat
may be lowered under this situation.
Larger herds using different milking personnel may find that some
shifts consistently do a better job of udder preparation. These
shifts will have consistently higher butterfat levels than milkers
who rush preparation.
A very high proportion of AgSource herds use A/P testing (sample
one time per day). DHI processing centers use a butterfat correction
factor for A/P herds that assumes cows will have higher butterfat
tests during a morning milking. This is due to cows lying down more
hours at night, raising their rumen pH and consequently producing
higher butterfat levels in their milk. It is important to recognize
that the A/P corrections are averages and apply for all herds. If
you use all night lighting, night feeding and other activities, your
herd may not respond in an "average" fashion. For many herds to get
the most accurate production and component information, it is a good
idea to alternate testing. For example a 3X herd may want to test in
the morning one month, the afternoon the next month and in the night
on the third month.
Your ROLLING HERD AVERAGES (RHA) is an important
indicator of historical progress. Since the RHA is a twelve month
running average, it is a measurement of long term performance and is
not nearly as accurate a parameter of recent management changes as
Management Level Milk (MLM), Test Day Average Production
or 305 Day ME Lactation Averages. If you make a
major management change, it may be several months before you'll see
a significant response in the RHA, where the other listed areas may
show a change on your next Herd Summary. If your herd has been on
test less than 365 days, the "Code" column will have an "E" in it.
This denotes that the herd average is an estimate.
The %DIM (days in milk) column should not be
confused with the DIM value in Block D. The Block D
DIM value is the average cow's lactation length on this specific
test day. The DIM value in the Rolling Herd Average section is
calculated by dividing the total 365 days in milk for the herd by
the average number of cows for the last 365 day period. This will
give you an approximation of how long the average lactation was for
cows over the last year.
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Block F
AVERAGE PTA OF SIRES
This block is an indicator of the genetic potential of your herd.
If your herd is making genetic progress, you should see your highest
genetic values in your herd's Service Sires, continuing downward to
the Later Lactation cows.
The values reported are Average Predicted Transmitting
Ability (PTA) for milk, fat and protein. PTA is an estimate
of genetic superiority, or inferiority, that an animal will transmit
to its offspring. High, positive values are critical for increasing
production of these traits. Net Merit$ and
Cheese Merit$ are based on the future anticipated average
milk price for all of the U.S. Cheese Merit$ is
calculated similarly to Net Merit$; however, the
emphasis on components is higher. This index places more emphasis on
protein yield compared to milk volume. Across the U.S., Net
Merit$ has the broadest appeal of the indexes. If you are
selling your milk to a cheese plant, Cheese Merit$
may be more appropriate for service sire selection.
The values displayed are for animals currently in the herd. If an
animal's sire or service sire's NAAB number is provided to AgSource,
the sire's PTA values are used in the calculation. If the bull is
not yet proven, his Parent Average (PA)values for milk, fat and
protein are used. PA values for Net Merit$ and
Cheese Merit$ are not available. Consequently,
animals whose sires or service sires are bulls with NAAB numbers
that are not yet proven are not be included in the herd's average
Net Merit$ and Cheese Merit$
averages. If an animal's sire or service sire is not reported to
AgSource, USDA's PTA values for "Unidentified Sires Born In the Last
Eight Years" are used for each breed. If the service sire or sire is
not reported and it is from a non-major breed that USDA does not
report data on, this animal's sire or service sire will not be
included in the averages. AgSource members not identifying any sires
will find their Average PTA values are the breed's "Unidentified
Sires Born In the Last Eight Years" value.
For many dairies, the most limiting factor to raising their
genetic level is the use of natural service bulls. Thirty percent of
a cow's milk production is based on genetics. Overall, no matter how
well managed your herd is, cows can only milk to their genetic
potential.
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Block G
YEARLY TURNOVER
This block summarizes trends in herd size and turnover. The
number and percent of cows entering the herd reflects your herd's
replacement animals. The calculation for each group in the COWS
ENTER and COWS LEAVE categories is the total number of animals in
each category that entered or left over the past 365 days. Dividing
these values by the average total number of cows (dry cows included)
calculated for each test day over the past 365 days yields the
percent values on the right side of the block..
The number and percent of cows leaving the herd summarizes your
culling rate. Culling, or exiting, is the departure of cows from the
herd because of sale, slaughter, or death, and therefore, includes
all cows that leave the dairy, regardless of their destination or
condition at departure. You can compare your herd to the Dairy
Records Processing Center average (DRPC AVG) at the
bottom of Block G.
While a combination of animals from all three lactation groups
may leave the herd, producers should be cautious if an excessive
number of these are first or second lactation animals. If a high
number of first lactation animals are leaving the herd, you should
review your heifer raising programs.
Dairy farm profitability is often improved through the removal of
lower producing cows and replacing them with higher producing ones.
There is no ideal replacement rate for any herd. A dramatic
reduction in calf mortality may lead to an increase in herd culling
and a major increase in profitability. Talk to your field technician
about using the DairyComp 305 Cow Value Report for monthly
individual replacement decisions. Over the long term, reviewing
replacement and culling rates contributing to your herd's yearly
turnover can help you identify problems while maintaining a
profitable herd.
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Block H
COWS CURRENTLY IN THE HERD - AVERAGES
The Lactation Group information in this block is broken down into
first, second and later lactation cows. A typical Holstein herd's
first lactation cows on an ME 305 basis should average 500 pounds of
milk higher than older cows. If this is not the case, first look at
the sires of this group in Block F. If the sires of first lactation
heifers have higher PTAs than other lactating animals, look at your
heifer raising and fresh heifer transition management for problems.
The next column "AGE MO" provides the average
age at last calving for each group. Pay special attention to the
average age of your first lactation group. For a 100 cow herd with a
34% replacement rate having a 24 month average age at first calving,
75 heifers (all ages) are needed to maintain cow numbers. If the
average calving age is 30 months, 94 heifers are needed. With the
older calving age, each heifer would need an extra three tons of
forage to reach freshening. If springing heifers are valued at
$1,800 each and forage at $75/ton, the total cost for this herd to
have first freshening at 30 versus 24 months is $40,410 annually.
Average MUN information is provided with average
PEAK LBS. MILK for each group. The peak pounds of
milk are dependent on testing frequency for accuracy. For example, a
herd on a regular monthly testing plan will have more accurate peak
milk production information than a herd testing every three months.
A rule of thumb used to be that one pound increase in PEAK
LBS. MILK will result in an extra 225 pounds of milk during
the lactation. However, with energy dense TMRs, frequent milkings
and BST, this peak milk to lactation production relationship may not
be as strong today as in the past.
The rest of this block contains lactation group persistency
factors presented by stage of lactation. Today's dairy cows have
flatter lactation curves with higher levels of persistency. If
several cows in a mid or late-lactation group are moved from a high
group TMR to a low cost one, the percent of last test (%LST) value
may drop significantly. If this occurs, evaluate ration cost savings
versus the opportunity cost of lost milk sales. Numerous cows with
longer than 305 day lactations will adversely affect LATE
(241+ DAYS) production levels.
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Block I
REPRODUCTIVE ANALYSIS
All breeding dates and pregnancy confirmations need to be
recorded with AgSource to make Block I an effective measurement tool
for managing reproductive performance.
This block contains an analysis of the reproductive performance
of your herd. PRE-BREEDING, ACTIVE-BREEDING
and PREGNANT group information is divided between
COWS and HEIFERS. DRY
PERIODS are evaluated for average days dry as well as
percentages of short and long dry periods. Target goals for
reproductive information for both groups are provided.
The PRE-BREEDING group is defined as cows up to
45 days post calving and heifers between 12 and 18 months old. If an
animal in either group is bred, she moves into the
ACTIVE-BREEDING group. The CURRENT animals
are those in the herd today while the HISTORY row
contains animals currently in the herd and those that were sold or
died in the last 365 days.
The ACTIVE-BREEDING group for cows' details the
number of animals, average days from calving to first breeding,
percent of first breedings after 90 days in milk and the percent of
heats detected. The heifer group includes the number of animals,
average age to first breeding, the percent first bred after 15
months and the percent heats detected. ACTIVE-BREEDING
cows are defined as those fresh and open greater than 45 days, or
those with a heat date or breeding date but not recorded pregnant.
ACTIVE HEIFERS are defined as those 18 months old
or bred but not recorded pregnant. For average days to first
breeding, the industry goal is approximately 75 days, but the
average AgSource Holstein herd now averages 97 days. The primary
factors in determining average days to first breeding are the
voluntary waiting period (VWP), heat detection efficiency or use of
a timed breeding program.
The PREGNANT group includes cows and heifers
recorded pregnant or those with a last breeding recorded at least 90
days ago. The CURRENT animals are those still in
the herd while the HISTORY animals includes all
animals in the herd over the last year. If a bred cow was culled and
did not have a breeding date reported for over 90 days before she
left, she drops into the PREGNANT History group.
She will remain in the group for twelve months after she was sold.
If an animal is coded "39" with AgSource, she is taken out of the
CURRENT and HISTORY pregnant
groups.
The PREGNANT groups analyze services per
conception (SERV. PER CONC), projected calving
intervals for cows (PROJ. CALV.) or age at first
calving for heifers, days open (AVG. DAYS OPEN) and
percent heats detected. A reasonable target for average services per
conception, pregnant cows, in higher producing herds is about 2.2.
An average days open of 100 days is required to maintain a 12.5
month calving interval, but AgSource's Holstein herds average 146.5
days open. Lowering the VWP to approximately 45 days may help
achieve a shorter calving interval. The %>120 D.O.
or percent of cows open more than 120 days is an important value. If
this number is significantly above 15%, seriously consider a timed
breeding or other major reproductive management change.
In heifers, the target age at first calving is 24 months;
however, the average age for AgSource herds is 27 months.
The DRY PERIOD analysis section provides average
dry period lengths (AV. DAYS). Perhaps more
important is the information on dry periods that are either very
short (less than 40 days) or very long (greater than 71 days). The
average AgSource herd has about 15.4% of cows <40 days dry and about
25.5%> than 70 days dry. Short dry periods may result in lower milk
production (especially if due to abortion) while long dry periods
result in high feed costs for maintaining unproductive dry cows. If
a cow is recorded as having aborted before ending her current
lactation, her dry days for this lactation are zero. She will go
into the section of dry days that are % 0-39 DAYS.
Her days dry will also be calculated into the herd's average days
dry section as zero.
Getting cows and heifers pregnant sooner increases your number of
replacement animals while at the same time reducing the number of
replacements you need to maintain your herd's size. This combination
may add an extra source of income from selling replacement
animals. Improving your herd's reproductive performance also means
you will have a higher proportion of your cows in early lactation.
This means more milk in your tank.
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Block J
REASONS FOR LEAVING THE HERD
This section illustrates the reason milking animals that left
your herd over the past 12 months. The numbers next to the
horizontal bars are the percent of animals culled in that category.
These numbers are the percent of the ALL LEAVE % in
Block G. If Died is the reason 20% of your
cows left the herd, this does not mean your herd's death rate is
20%. If the ALL LEAVE % in Block G is 40%, this
means that 20% of the cows that left you herd died. In this case,
the death rate is 20% of 40% or 8%.
Like all other sections of the Herd Summary, the information is
only as good as the data that is entered. Some thought needs to go
into recording reasons for why cows left. For example, if a cow with
poor feet and legs never showed a standing heat and wound up staying
open and eventually was culled when she dropped below 50 pounds/day
of milk, you have three reasons for culling her. However, the root
cause of her not staying in your herd was her Feet / Legs
and this is what should be inputted as her reason for leaving.
This table, along with Block G, provide
invaluable information about the level and reasons for turnover in
your herd.
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Block K
305 ME TREND BASED ON $VALUE
The graph in Block K provides a quick and accurate answer for the
question, "How is my herd doing now compared to where we were?" Many
people attempt to answer this question by looking at the Rolling
Herd Average (RHA) in Block E. Unfortunately, RHAs are calculated
over twelve months and consequently have a long lag time with lots
of momentum built up from months earlier. This makes them unsuitable
for answering if a management change made a month or two ago was
effective or if your cows are doing better this month than last
month.
Mature Equivalent 305 Day Projections (used in this graph) are
much more responsive to current management changes than Rolling Herd
Averages but give a longer term view of your herd's status than
Management Level Milk or Average Daily Milk Production.
The current month's test is always on the far right and is at $0.
The desired outcome is for the bars to be negative in preceding
months and progressing upwards to the $0. If previous month's values
are positive (above the $0) and they are dropping to $0, this
indicates problems. Milk price is constant over the period covered
in the graph and the ME 305$ value takes into account changes in the
herd's fat and protein levels at the twelve month average market
price for those components.
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Block L
REPRODUCTION
The herd's average days open is represented by the bars. This
value is the same as in Block I and is the average days open of
pregnant cows currently in the herd. Pregnant cows include animals
recorded pregnant or those with the last breeding recorded 90 days
or more ago. Data from thirteen months is represented in the graph.
The goal of 100 days open is delineated by the red line. An average
days open of 100 days is required to maintain a 12.5 month calving
interval.
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Block M
Days in Milk at First Breeding
Averages can be misleading. This graph provides valuable
information by illustrating the distribution of days after
freshening when cows were first bred. The industry goal
Average Days to First Breeding is usually about 75 days; however the
AgSource Holstein average is 99.7 days.
Rather than have an average composed of early and late first bred
animals, your goal should be to have a very high proportion of your
cows bred the first time between 50 and 100 days. Developing a
structured heat detection program can help attain this goal, however
to be most effective, consider using a timed breeding program
utilizing CIDRs (available from your DHI Field Technician).
Please Note: All breedings must be reported to your Field
Technician to maximize the value of this graph.
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Block N
UDDER HEALTH - % NEW INFECTIONS
This graph illustrates new infections on a monthly basis over the
last thirteen months. New infections are defined as any animal
having a LSCR of 4.0 or greater. This correlates to an SCC of
200,000 or higher. An animal can become a "new" infection multiple
times in the same lactation (on this graph) if she has a test day
below LSCR 4 and then goes over 4 again.
Monitoring new infection rates is one of the fastest indicators
of the direction of your mastitis control. Progress curing chronic
mastitis can be very slow and watching your entire herd's SCC level
may cause you to miss changes. However, if the rate of new
infections changes, this can have dramatic effects on future herd
SCC levels.
If you are receiving the Udder Health Management Summary or the
Udder Health Management Cow List, this section will have data,
otherwise it is blank.
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