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?