. 2019 Dec 31;10(1):71. doi: 10.3390/ani10010071

Table 2.

Estimates of the number of dairy cattle by age group that die annually on dairy farms based on self-reported estimates of mortality and euthanasia rates reported in the 2014 NAHMS Health and Management Practices on U.S. Dairy Operations report [4]. Number of animals affected based on NAHMS estimates applied to the total number lactating cows, heifers and pre-weaned calves [18].

Age Group	% Mortality ¹	Estimated # of Mortalities that Were Not Euthanized ²	% of Animals That Died without Assistance ¹	Estimated # of Animals Euthanized on Farm ²	% of Animals Euthanized on Farm ¹
Pre-weaned calves	6.40%	281,970	6%	18,798	0.40%
Heifer	1.90%	159,783	1.70%	18,798	0.20%
Lactating Cows	5.60%	300,768	3.20%	225,576	2.40%
Total		742,521		263,172

¹ Values from [4]; ² Estimated values calculated using animal type populations data reported by USDA [18].