Fresh cow KPIs

Definition

Fresh cow KPIs are a set of measures of how well cows come through calving and the first weeks of lactation. They are reported per calving cohort: the cows that calved in a given week or month, followed forward for a fixed number of days in milk (DIM). The usual windows are 0–30 DIM and 0–60 DIM.

The core set:

Fresh-cow disease incidence: the share of the cohort with at least one case of retained placenta (RP), metritis, clinical milk fever, ketosis, displaced abomasum (DA) or clinical mastitis within the window. Each is a lactational incidence risk (see clinical disease rates). Metritis is often counted only to 21 DIM.
Early-lactation removals: the share of the cohort that died, and separately that was sold, within 30 and within 60 DIM.
Early milk: average milk at first test (e.g. 5–40 DIM), peak milk, or milk at a fixed DIM, split into first-lactation vs older cows.

Removals in early lactation are almost always involuntary: a cow is rarely sold at 20 DIM by choice. A high early-removal share points at the transition period, whatever the reason coded.

Transition Cow Index

The Transition Cow Index (TCI), developed at the University of Wisconsin, compares each cow’s projected 305-day milk in the new lactation with the yield predicted from her previous lactation and other cow factors. The result is a deviation in lb; a herd average above zero means cows did better than expected through the transition. It applies only to second and later lactation cows and is calculated by some DHI processing centers, not by DC305 itself.

How to pull it in DC305

Start from the calving cohort, then look for events within the window. Event names (FRESH, RP, METR, MF, KETOSIS, DA, MAST, SOLD, DIED) vary by herd; check the herd’s private dc305-vocab mapping.

COUNT FOR FDAT>-90 FDAT<-60                       cows in a completed 60-DIM cohort
COUNT\B FOR FDAT>-90 FDAT<-60                     the same, including cows that have since left
EVENTS\B ID LACT FDAT DIM FOR FDAT>-90 FDAT<-60   their events, including cows that left
EVENTS\UD                                         transition events table
EVENTS\UDR                                        transition events table with sold/died
EVENTS\6                                          events table by DIM
LIST ID LACT FDAT MILK DIM FOR LACT>0 DIM<40      early test-day milk

COUNT, LIST and EVENTS cover live animals only by default, so a cohort pulled without \B drops the cows that died or were sold early, which are the ones the KPIs are about. Limit EVENTS to specific events by naming them (EVENTS DA ...) or with \I (prompt for which events, as in EVENTS\2SI).

Count a cow once per disease, using her first event of that type in the window.
Take DIM at the SOLD or DIED event for removals. Cows that leave before their first test have no early milk; report how many.
DC305 has a transition events table (EVENTS\UD, or \UDR with sold and died animals). Use it if the event names behind it match the herd’s recording.

Typical range

Herd context: US Holsteins, freestall or dry-lot, herd-recorded events, cohorts that have completed the window.

KPI	Window	Typical	Goal
Retained placenta	≤ 1–3 DIM	5–10%	< 8%
Metritis	≤ 21 DIM	10–20%	< 10%
Clinical milk fever	≤ 3 DIM	1–3%	< 2%
Clinical ketosis	≤ 30 DIM	2–10%	< 5%
Displaced abomasum	≤ 30 DIM	2–5%	< 3%
Clinical mastitis	≤ 30 DIM	3–8%	< 5%
Died	≤ 60 DIM	1–4%	< 2%
Left herd (sold + died)	≤ 30 DIM	4–8%	< 5%
Left herd (sold + died)	≤ 60 DIM	6–10%	< 8%

Another rule of thumb: if more than about a quarter of all culls and deaths happen in the first 60 DIM, the transition period needs attention.

First-lactation cows usually have more metritis and dystocia-related problems; older cows have more milk fever, ketosis and DA. Report both groups.

Common mistakes

Using cows on hand as the denominator. The denominator is cows that calved in the cohort window.
Reporting incomplete cohorts. Cows that calved 10 days ago have not had their 30 days at risk. Only report cohorts that have finished the window.
Counting treatments, not cows. Three daily ketosis treatments are one case.
Under-recording. Many herds don’t record ketosis, DA surgery or fresh-pen mastitis consistently. Low recorded incidence is not proof of low disease.
Ignoring culls coded as “low milk” or “injury”. Early-lactation removals are transition failures whatever the coded reason.
Comparing peak milk across herds without parity and DIM context. Peak depends on parity mix, season and how often cows are tested.