The economic effect of abortion on first calving Holstein cows

Abstract

Bovine abortion is defined as the loss of the gestation product at an age between 42 and 260 days and not only is reduced to the loss of the product, it is considered as a limiting factor of livestock development due to the economic losses it generates in the system in replacement heifers. The objective of this research was to estimate the economic effect of abortion in first calving Holstein cows, therefore an observational study was carried out in a population of 1,666 Holstein dairy cows. According to the results obtained, a total of 337 abortions were registered during the study period, which were classified according to the gestation period, highlighting the registration of the second third of gestation with 220 abortions, followed by the registration of the first third of gestation with 61 abortions, ending the third third of gestation 56 abortions. When carrying out the economic evaluation, the unit costs of production in the insemination and gestation process that originated an abortion were investigated, which are around $ 25,360.00 pesos, which gives rise to a financial projection considering a population of 500,000 Holstein dairy cows in the Lagunera region. and approximately 20% are first calving heifers, originating a population of 100,000 first calving heifers, of which about 20% of this population produces abortions, which causes an average of 20,000 abortions per year that generate economic losses of approximately $ 690'616,023.70 pesos per year for the livestock sector of the region.