Heading into the start of July, autumn-calving herds should be reviewing their performance throughout the year to see which cows will be eligible for selective dry cow therapy (SDCT).

With many autumn-calving herds aiming for a calving start date of October 1, the typical drying off of these cows will take place at the end of July or the start of August.

It can also be useful to identify any cows that are under-condition and could benefit from an extra week or two dry period to help them build up condition.

Selective dry cow therapy is now a 'must' on dairy farms and so farmers must be precise about which cows are picked out, as problem cows or cows with slightly high somatic cell count (SCC) throughout the year cannot be selected for SDCT.

Selecting these cows to only receive sealers could prove costly, potentially leading to high bulk tank SCC, mastitis issues and, in a worst-case scenario, more cows to cull.

Selective dry cow therapy

Farmers should start to choose which cows could potentially be selected for SDCT now to ensure their selection is right.

Starting to select for SDCT now in your autumn-calving herd will allow you to monitor the cow’s performance in the last few months of lactation, assisting you in choosing which cows are suitable and which are not.

In order to avoid any issues with SDCT, you should consult with your vet and milk quality adviser to determine what the threshold should be for your herd.

If cows are not properly selected for SDCT, there is a high risk of them getting mastitis.

Properly selecting cows for SDCT will reduce your costs, promote responsible antimicrobial use, and potentially reduce stress over withdrawals post-calving.

Autumn calving

In the last few weeks of the autumn calvers' lactation, farmers should conduct a milk recording to get a final understanding of the performance of each cow.

By conducting a milk recording, farmers can get up to date on each cow's performance as, even though certain cows may have had a low SCC all year, if there is suddenly a spike in the most recent recording, farmers should refrain from using SDCT on her.

Remember, drying off is one of the biggest risk actions taken on farms, as cows are opened up to the introduction of new infections if the process is not undertaken properly.

Getting the drying off process right is crucial in ensuring that the cows calving down this autumn start producing high quality milk without any SCC issues or mastitis.