A retrospective survey of the factors responsible for culling and mortality in dairy farms in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

• Main Authors: Yanga Simamkele Diniso, Ishmael Festus Jaja
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-07-01
• Series: Scientific African
• Subjects: Milk production; Culling; Mortality; Dairy animals; Lameness; Mastitis
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227621001423

Globally, the dairy industry estimates the production of 1077 million tonnes of milk by 2050, and this estimation is influenced by a fast-growing population. However, diseases and conditions leading to culling and mortality of dairy cows are limiting dairy production output. The objective of this study was to identify and document the factors responsible for culling and mortality in dairy farms in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. This was done using secondary data from the dairy farms’ records and computer software. The most frequent reason for culling dairy cows was reproduction problems such as infertility (7.9%), reproductive failure (89.9%), and dystocia (1%). Various factors such as stock-theft (3.6%), indigenous breed (8.2%), and age (2.7%) accounted for the second most prevalent factors for the culling of dairy cows. Poor milk yield and health-related factors such as redwater (33.8%), milk fever (23.3%), and heartwater (6.8%) were amongst the major factors responsible for the culling of dairy cows. A total of 1774 dairy cows died in the study farms from 2015 to 2019, and cause of death was not specified except for drowning (0.01%) and snake bite (1%). There was an association between the reasons for culling and the season of culling. This study provides baseline information on the leading causes of culling and mortality. Pathogens such as Brucella abortus and Coxiella burnetii need further investigation starting with the screening and testing methods, and frequencies of screening and testing to develop strategies to minimize the persistent issue of culling due to reproduction problems. Also, further research on strategies to combat the interference of nearby communities on dairy farms is recommended.