Association of Type Traits with Reasons for Disposal

Reasons for disposal of 3,475 cows from 188 New York Holstein herds were compared with type appraisal and milk yield in first lactation to study the relationship between type traits measured early in life and later reasons for disposal. Reasons for disposal were grouped as production (325), udder (22~), reproduction (27%), inabilities or disease (8~), workability (3~), type (3~;), and other (55). Few traits measured before 49 mgnths of age had any significant value in predicting the reason for a cow's eventual disposal. These results in addition to earlier studies of heritability suggest that type traits measured in the first lactation have only a limited value in selection for longevity.