There are two
key points in a cow’s lactation cycle where every dairy farmer has the
opportunity to make a significant difference to the milk quality and mastitis
control for that cow - drying off and calving.
Whilst for most
cows these events only occur once a year, for the dairy farmer it varies from
only once or twice a year in seasonal and split calving herds, through to a
regular weekly or monthly event in year-round calving herds.
No matter how
often they occur within each herd, getting these two events right results in the
greatest chance of both curing existing infections and also preventing new
infections.
In this
particular year, the drought has changed the circumstances on nearly every farm,
and mastitis control procedures may have been compromised by necessary financial
and management decisions.
For many, this
will have increased the risk of infections and where this has occurred,
drying-off is the opportunity to make up lost ground.
The changed
circumstances make it very important for farmers to ask for and receive
appropriate advice to match the current conditions and financial constraints –
and where herds do not have herd test results and cell counts to work with,
these decisions will be more difficult!
Because
treatment at drying off gives us the best chance of curing existing mastitis
infections – it is much more effective than treatment during lactation – it
means that this year those choices will be very important.
Farmers should
speak to their regular veterinarian about what are the appropriate options for
their herd – some discussion might be necessary to achieve the best and most
cost effective result for the farm. And the more information available to aid
that decision the better – Bulk Milk Cell Count records, clinical case records,
herd test results, etc
Just applying
the same procedure as the last time will not necessarily be right for this
season – recognising the differences is the key to getting the best dry-off
possible.
But getting it
right will have the herd up and ready to go when the drought breaks.
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