The dry period of dairy cows is often seen as a holiday, when the milk producing tissue in her udder gets time to recover and regenerate. It is that and, if managed correctly, it will enable as many cows as possible to calve down successfully in 2016.

Herd issues such as parasites – like lungworms, gut worms, liver fluke, rumen fluke and lice – can all be treated as required, using products that are safe at this time. Failure to address these issues will leave the parasites to compete with the pregnant cow for nutrients in her diet (for instance, gut worms) or to feed on her blood (liver fluke or lice). As you all know, feed is one of the main costs on any farm, therefore feeding parasites makes no sense. Certain vaccinations are also routinely administered at this time, including IBR and Rotavirus.

Forage analysis for feed value and trace elements allows farmers to adjust intake to requirements. In the early part of the dry period, nutrient intake will exceed requirement. This gives the cow a chance to regain body condition. Giving thin cows, especially first calvers that are still growing, an extra fortnight dry is a good investment.

Knowledge of trace element status of the dry cow diet is critical if a farmer wants to reduce the incidence of the many metabolic disorders that affect cows around calving time, including milk fever, retained afterbirth, displaced abomasums, etc. Calf health can also be impacted upon by trace element imbalance in the dry cow diet, so testing forage makes sense.

Dry cow therapy is another decision that needs consideration: with lower milk price, milk quality takes on even greater significance. Paying penalties eats profit! Which cows are better off being culled? Records of the cows that had clinical mastitis in their current lactation, milk recording data and cow side tests, help with these decisions.

Jerry Crowley works at Glenbower Veterinary Group, Killeagh, Co Cork. Glenbower Veterinary Group is part of XLVets. XLVets is a group of progressive practices who are working together to achieve a better future for agriculture and veterinary in Ireland. For information, see www.xlvets.ie