Culling Policies in Dairy Herds. A. Review

The culling decision is one of the most complex decisions in farm animal management. This article reviews concepts of culling, risk factors for cows to be culled, different culling policies and the present knowledge on how to develop an optimal culling policy. It is pointed out that there are major interactions between other management complexes and culling that influence the result of field research concerning risk factors for culling. The estimated importance of risk factors for culling varies widely in literature. Culling decisions are part of the overall herd management. They cannot be analysed independently. Future research should analyse the interactions between management practices, cow health, economy, and culling in more detail.