It is now time to start looking at the body condition score (BCS) of autumn-calving cows.
Many autumn-calving herds will start calving cows in late-August and early September, but the majority of cows are likely to calf in October in order to meet liquid milk contracts.
Although this is a number of months away, now offers a good opportunity to identify cows in poor body condition and correct them.
It is also a good opportunity to select cows that are suitable for selective dry cow therapy (SDCT).
Autumn-calving herds
Having cows in the correct BCS ahead of drying off is important as to ensure that they have a successful calving and lactation.
Failure to have cows in the correct BCS at calving may lead to issues such as difficult calvings, fertility issues, ketosis, or milk fever.
These issues add stress and increase the workload on farms, in what is an already a busy time of the year.
Running cows through the crush now will allow for the identification of cows that are not in the ideal BCS ahead of drying off.
Detecting cows with a BCS that is too low now, will allow adequate time to make decisions that will help them catch up.
Similarly, it allows for detecting cows that have a BCS that is too high, which is also an issue.
Given that it is still a number of months away from drying off, it gives you a chance to correct condition score of your cows.
Drying off
Now may also be a good time to start looking at cows that could potentially suit SDCT.
The new regulations around the use of antibiotics at drying off mean that farmers need to use SDCT on their farms now.
When picking cows for this it is important to consult with your vet and milk quality advisor to determine what the threshold should be for your herd.
The threshold may vary greatly from farm to farm based on the situation on an individual farm and the quality of the milk supplied.
But it is important that farmers begin planning earlier and start identifying cows that are suitable along with cows that aren’t.