Q. "Do you need teat wipes with your dry cow?"

A. "No, I've got plenty at home."

This conversation always worries us!

Tough conditions in the dairy industry have seen every farm closely scrutinising costs in an effort to allocate available funds to the most cost effective options in virtually every area of their operation.

The cost of treatment at drying-off is one of the areas under examination and we have been having some interesting discussions with farms about the best option with the least amount of compromise for each individual farm.

To have those discussions, it is good to reflect on what you are trying to achieve at dry-off, both for the individual cow and for the herd.

For many Australian herds, dry-off time for the spring calving cows is now upon us.

Drying-off is your single biggest opportunity to change the infection status of cows, and should probably be thought of not just as the end of one lactation, but actually as the start of the next lactation!

Because it is a significant investment of money, as well as time & effort, it is probably worth thinking about what you do and how you do it.

Drying-off is probably the single biggest opportunity to make a difference to both a cow and a herd's mastitis status - it is the best chance to cure existing infections, and it is a very important part of preventing new infections, especially at calving.

Drying-off is so important in terms of preventing new infections at calving, that we tend not to think of drying-off just as then end of one lactation, but also as the start of the next one!

Anything that you get wrong, or even not as good as it might be at drying-off, means that you have to wait until the next dry-off for that cow, or group of cows, before you have another opportunity to achieve those goals.

How can you maximise your opportunities at drying-off? What, if anything, could change as a result of considering your dry-off routine?

For many Australian herds, dry-off time for the spring calving cows is now approaching.

For each cow, drying-off is the single biggest opportunity to make a difference.

Not only is it the best chance to change the infection status of a cow, it is also the best chance to reduce the risk of mastitis at the subsequent calving.

Drying-off for the spring calving cows is now fast approaching.

Not only is drying-off a significant investment in both dollars and effort, it is usually the single biggest opportunity to make a difference to an individual cow’s infection status as well as the overall herd’s mastitis status, and it is also vitally important in helping to prevent new mastitis infections at calving.

Given the difficult year and tight cash flows, treatment cost at drying-off has been closely scrutinised and some farms have needed to compromise in favour of cost.

We should consider the impact of a compromise in terms of the two broad goals for dry-off treatment -
* Treatment of existing infections
* Prevention of new infections

The options at dry-off will have included antibiotic dry cow therapy, teat sealant (or a combination of both), blanket therapy, selective therapy, and different choices for different cows.

The options chosen at drying-off will probably be the single biggest influence on the risk of mastitis at calving and in early lactation!

Most of the spring calving cows have now been dried-off and will be enjoying their “annual holiday”.

This is an ideal time to pause briefly, reflect on the dry-off and consider whether any adjustment to the calving management strategy might be beneficial.

Given the difficulties of this season, all costs have been closely scrutinised and treatment cost at drying-off has been no exception.

As a result, some farms have needed to compromise at dry-off in terms of cost.

The last significant in-season drop in the price of milk to suppliers was in 2008, and that doesn’t take a long memory to recall – it is hardly ancient history!

The price drop in 2008 triggered a range of responses, some of which produced significant lessons which shouldn’t be forgotten.

In terms of milk quality and mastitis control there are three lessons that should probably be recalled now to avoid history repeating itself.

“We draft them off as we milk, then when we’ve finished milking the rest, we just bring them back on the platform and dry cow them.”

Wait a moment – did I hear that correctly? If so, you better stop right now and think about that!!