Over the next few weeks, dairy farmers will be hit with information on selective dry cow therapy. Giving all cows in the herd antibiotic tubes at drying off is considered blanket treatment. This is frowned upon in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – the term used to describe when drugs used to treat diseases in people and animals no longer work. This is because the microbes that cause the disease become resistant to the drugs. This resistance is said to be caused by both the over-prescribing of antibiotics and the presence of minute traces of antibiotics in the food chain – hence the focus on antibiotic use in farming.
Selective dry cow therapy (SDCT) is being promoted as the preferred alternative to blanket treatments
According to the World Health Organisation, at least 700,000 people die each year due to drug-resistant diseases. The United Nations forecasts this figure to increase to 10m deaths per year by 2050 if no action is taken. AMR a big issue and dairy farming is in the spotlight because blanket antibiotic use, like that at drying off, is an example of an indiscriminate use of antibiotics in farming.
Selective dry cow therapy (SDCT) is being promoted as the preferred alternative to blanket treatments. This means that only animals with a pre-existing udder health issue should get antibiotics and those that don’t, won’t. Blanket treatments have been used to cure existing infections and prevent new infections. Under selective treatments, cows that don’t get antibiotics at drying off will be relying on their own immune system to fight off any infections during the dry period.
Blanket use
Blanket use of antibiotic dry cow therapy is set to be prohibited in Ireland from the end of January 2022. This sounds daunting, but what it is likely to mean in practice is that a vet will need to sign off on the use of antibiotics on a cow-by-cow basis. At present, a prescription from a vet is required to purchase antibiotic dry cow tubes for use across the herd.
A three-year study by Teagasc found that the SCC of cows that were not treated with antibiotics was significantly higher than their comrades who were treated with antibiotics
Many farmers have decided to take up SDCT in advance of it becoming compulsory and most seem happy with that decision. The advantages are many, such as reduced expenditure on drugs and a shorter withdrawal period after calving.
But there are also disadvantages. A three-year study by Teagasc found that the SCC of cows that were not treated with antibiotics was significantly higher than their comrades who were treated with antibiotics, but both were within accepted ranges and both had the same SCC by the end of lactation.
Some farmers have tried SDCT and found an increase in SCC and clinical mastitis in the subsequent lactation. The UCD herd at Lyons Estate carried out SDCT in 2016 and 2017 but stopped in 2018 as SCC was rising.
Teagasc and Animal Health Ireland (AHI) differ when it comes to the protocol for SDCT. AHI says suitable cows should have an average SCC of 100,000 for the lactation and not have had an SCC of greater than 200,000 at any milk recording during the lactation.
Teagasc also recommends that the 50,000 lactation average should apply to the current and previous lactation
Meanwhile, Teagasc says suitable cows are those with an average lactation SCC of 50,000 and no milk recording greater than 100,000 during the lactation. Teagasc also recommends that the 50,000 lactation average should apply to the current and previous lactation. If following the AHI advice a much higher percentage of the herd will be eligible for SDCT compared to the Teagasc advice.
Information on individual cow SCC will only be available if milk recording is carried out. Indeed, this requirement will rule out about 60% of dairy farmers from SDCT as only 6,800 herds milk recorded in 2020. It’s unclear as to what is going to happen to herds that are not milk recording by 2022. Will vets be allowed to sign off on blanket antibiotic use in the absence of relevant data?
Just over half of all cows in the country are milk recorded annually. While the number of cows being milk recorded has increased by 28% since 2016, the proportion of cows being milk recorded has more or less been static. Existing resources for recording and testing are stretched. There’s a shortage of manual recorders in some areas, a wait time for eDIY recorders and a seven-day wait for results.
In Holland, our closest competitor in international dairy markets, 86% of all dairy farms are milk recording and 90% of cows are milk recorded
Is there an ambition to get more herds to milk record in 2022 and if so what is being done to achieve this? Or, will herds that aren’t milk recording be given a free pass while those that are following best practice be forced into SDCT?
In Holland, our closest competitor in international dairy markets, 86% of all dairy farms are milk recording and 90% of cows are milk recorded. SDCT was introduced there in 2012 and antibiotic usage, both for dry cows and in lactation treatments have declined by almost 50% while national average SCC levels have declined also. It’s a similar story in Denmark, Sweden and Germany where blanket antibiotic usage is banned.
Where to start?
Screenshot of ICBF 'Milk Recording SCC' profile on HerdPlus for selecting cows suitable for selective dry cow therapy. Input maximum SCC into the tabs within the red box
Alongside milk recording, there are a couple of other pre-conditions that need to be met before SDCT should be considered. These include:
Average monthly bulk tank SCC of less than 200,000.A dry period new infection rate of less than 10% (this can be observed in the Cell Check reports from springtime that accompany milk recording results).Good hygiene at drying off, during the dry period and at calving and the use of a non-antibiotic teat sealer is recommended.Teagasc advises that herds with Strep agalactiae bacteria present (observed through culture and sensitivity testing) should not use SDCT.If these conditions are met, then the next port of call is to the ICBF HerdPlus website where a brilliant tool exists for picking cows suitable for SDCT. After logging in, the link to the SCC profile is available on the home screen, or alternatively go to “View Profiles” and then to “Milk Recording SCC”.
This will bring you to a page with the list of cows currently in the herd, their average SCC for this lactation and last lactation, their SCC at previous milk recordings and treatment history.
The list of cows that are suitable for SCC can be filtered at the top of the list by inputting the maximum SCC that you want to try into the ‘to’ tab over each column.
For example, if you only want to use SDCT on cows with an average lactation SCC of less than 100,000 then put 100 into the ‘to’ tab above ‘Avg Current Lact’ column. You can also filter out cows that had an SCC of greater than say, 200,000 by putting 200 into the ‘to’ tab above each of the previous milk recording dates for the current lactation.
By putting 0 into the ‘to’ tab over ‘No. Treats’ will deselect any cows that have been treated for mastitis during the year. This is shown in the image above.
Antimicrobial resistance is a big issue facing humanity.SDCT will reduce the quantity of antibiotics being used in the dairy industry.There are differing views as to the criteria for enrolling cows in a SDCT programme.Use the ICBF Herdplus website to select cows suitable for SDCT.
Over the next few weeks, dairy farmers will be hit with information on selective dry cow therapy. Giving all cows in the herd antibiotic tubes at drying off is considered blanket treatment. This is frowned upon in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – the term used to describe when drugs used to treat diseases in people and animals no longer work. This is because the microbes that cause the disease become resistant to the drugs. This resistance is said to be caused by both the over-prescribing of antibiotics and the presence of minute traces of antibiotics in the food chain – hence the focus on antibiotic use in farming.
Selective dry cow therapy (SDCT) is being promoted as the preferred alternative to blanket treatments
According to the World Health Organisation, at least 700,000 people die each year due to drug-resistant diseases. The United Nations forecasts this figure to increase to 10m deaths per year by 2050 if no action is taken. AMR a big issue and dairy farming is in the spotlight because blanket antibiotic use, like that at drying off, is an example of an indiscriminate use of antibiotics in farming.
Selective dry cow therapy (SDCT) is being promoted as the preferred alternative to blanket treatments. This means that only animals with a pre-existing udder health issue should get antibiotics and those that don’t, won’t. Blanket treatments have been used to cure existing infections and prevent new infections. Under selective treatments, cows that don’t get antibiotics at drying off will be relying on their own immune system to fight off any infections during the dry period.
Blanket use
Blanket use of antibiotic dry cow therapy is set to be prohibited in Ireland from the end of January 2022. This sounds daunting, but what it is likely to mean in practice is that a vet will need to sign off on the use of antibiotics on a cow-by-cow basis. At present, a prescription from a vet is required to purchase antibiotic dry cow tubes for use across the herd.
A three-year study by Teagasc found that the SCC of cows that were not treated with antibiotics was significantly higher than their comrades who were treated with antibiotics
Many farmers have decided to take up SDCT in advance of it becoming compulsory and most seem happy with that decision. The advantages are many, such as reduced expenditure on drugs and a shorter withdrawal period after calving.
But there are also disadvantages. A three-year study by Teagasc found that the SCC of cows that were not treated with antibiotics was significantly higher than their comrades who were treated with antibiotics, but both were within accepted ranges and both had the same SCC by the end of lactation.
Some farmers have tried SDCT and found an increase in SCC and clinical mastitis in the subsequent lactation. The UCD herd at Lyons Estate carried out SDCT in 2016 and 2017 but stopped in 2018 as SCC was rising.
Teagasc and Animal Health Ireland (AHI) differ when it comes to the protocol for SDCT. AHI says suitable cows should have an average SCC of 100,000 for the lactation and not have had an SCC of greater than 200,000 at any milk recording during the lactation.
Teagasc also recommends that the 50,000 lactation average should apply to the current and previous lactation
Meanwhile, Teagasc says suitable cows are those with an average lactation SCC of 50,000 and no milk recording greater than 100,000 during the lactation. Teagasc also recommends that the 50,000 lactation average should apply to the current and previous lactation. If following the AHI advice a much higher percentage of the herd will be eligible for SDCT compared to the Teagasc advice.
Information on individual cow SCC will only be available if milk recording is carried out. Indeed, this requirement will rule out about 60% of dairy farmers from SDCT as only 6,800 herds milk recorded in 2020. It’s unclear as to what is going to happen to herds that are not milk recording by 2022. Will vets be allowed to sign off on blanket antibiotic use in the absence of relevant data?
Just over half of all cows in the country are milk recorded annually. While the number of cows being milk recorded has increased by 28% since 2016, the proportion of cows being milk recorded has more or less been static. Existing resources for recording and testing are stretched. There’s a shortage of manual recorders in some areas, a wait time for eDIY recorders and a seven-day wait for results.
In Holland, our closest competitor in international dairy markets, 86% of all dairy farms are milk recording and 90% of cows are milk recorded
Is there an ambition to get more herds to milk record in 2022 and if so what is being done to achieve this? Or, will herds that aren’t milk recording be given a free pass while those that are following best practice be forced into SDCT?
In Holland, our closest competitor in international dairy markets, 86% of all dairy farms are milk recording and 90% of cows are milk recorded. SDCT was introduced there in 2012 and antibiotic usage, both for dry cows and in lactation treatments have declined by almost 50% while national average SCC levels have declined also. It’s a similar story in Denmark, Sweden and Germany where blanket antibiotic usage is banned.
Where to start?
Screenshot of ICBF 'Milk Recording SCC' profile on HerdPlus for selecting cows suitable for selective dry cow therapy. Input maximum SCC into the tabs within the red box
Alongside milk recording, there are a couple of other pre-conditions that need to be met before SDCT should be considered. These include:
Average monthly bulk tank SCC of less than 200,000.A dry period new infection rate of less than 10% (this can be observed in the Cell Check reports from springtime that accompany milk recording results).Good hygiene at drying off, during the dry period and at calving and the use of a non-antibiotic teat sealer is recommended.Teagasc advises that herds with Strep agalactiae bacteria present (observed through culture and sensitivity testing) should not use SDCT.If these conditions are met, then the next port of call is to the ICBF HerdPlus website where a brilliant tool exists for picking cows suitable for SDCT. After logging in, the link to the SCC profile is available on the home screen, or alternatively go to “View Profiles” and then to “Milk Recording SCC”.
This will bring you to a page with the list of cows currently in the herd, their average SCC for this lactation and last lactation, their SCC at previous milk recordings and treatment history.
The list of cows that are suitable for SCC can be filtered at the top of the list by inputting the maximum SCC that you want to try into the ‘to’ tab over each column.
For example, if you only want to use SDCT on cows with an average lactation SCC of less than 100,000 then put 100 into the ‘to’ tab above ‘Avg Current Lact’ column. You can also filter out cows that had an SCC of greater than say, 200,000 by putting 200 into the ‘to’ tab above each of the previous milk recording dates for the current lactation.
By putting 0 into the ‘to’ tab over ‘No. Treats’ will deselect any cows that have been treated for mastitis during the year. This is shown in the image above.
Antimicrobial resistance is a big issue facing humanity.SDCT will reduce the quantity of antibiotics being used in the dairy industry.There are differing views as to the criteria for enrolling cows in a SDCT programme.Use the ICBF Herdplus website to select cows suitable for SDCT. 
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: