What will cows to be dried off actually be producing at drying off?
The Countdown
Downunder Farm Guidelines give us three recommendations relating to dealing with
cows according to their production approaching drying off.
§
Dry-off cows as
soon as their production reaches 5 L or less per day
§
Cease milking cows producing 12 L or
less per day at drying-off
§
Take steps for cows producing more
than 12 L/day, to reduce production to 12 L or less by the drying-off date.
These steps involve reducing food intake and changing routine.”
Sounds easy doesn’t it?
As long as the
group to be dried off is producing 12 L/day or less, they can be abruptly dried
off……Yes????.........NO, that is NOT right!
The
recommendation to dry cows off abruptly if they are producing 12 L/day or less
applies to the INDIVIDUAL cow, not the herd!
If the herd, or
group to be dried off, is producing an average of 12 L/day, then about half of them
will be producing less than 12 L/day, but half of them will actually be
producing MORE than 12 L/day!!
So, to manage
all cows appropriately, it is necessary to know which cows are likely to be
producing more than 12 L/day at the time of drying off.
How will you
know?
Obviously if
the group to be dried off is producing at a level well below 12L/day, then most
of them will be producing less than the 12 L, and the risk will be greatly
reduced.
But if it is
not a seasonal system, and not all the cows are to be dried off, how will you
know what the group to be dried off is producing?
Do you have
herd test information that will allow you to predict individual cow production?
Will you be
running them as a separate mob prior to drying off, such that you can ascertain
the production of this group?
Can you use a
test bucket to check cows you are not sure about?
And once the
higher producing cows have been identified, how will they be managed to reduce
their production?
What is their
current ration? Will removing the concentrate feed from the diet be enough to
bring their production down? Can they be fed differently to the rest of the
herd?
More informed
management of cows at drying off based on cow production will give a better teat
plug seal in the dry period with much less risk of new infections in the dry
period and at calving.
Don’t hesitate
to obtain the necessary nutritional and veterinary advice to assist in planning
the management of these cows – they are likely to be the better cows, and if not
managed correctly they are the cows at risk of either new mastitis infections or
nutritional stress and loss of condition.
Words 432
| 
For
more information on Countdown Downunder