With the weather getting challenging and milk production still slipping away, farmers will be soon ordering teat sealer for the drying off.

The majority of farms will milk the herd on for at least another month to stay floating through any looming cashflow crises, with dry-off realistically commencing in December.

However, there may be cows in the herd that will need to be dried off a bit earlier, which is why planning should commence now.

Drying off

There are 14 weeks between now and February 1, a date where most farms start calving down.

Therefore work needs to begin now for any cows that need a 10-12 weeks' rest.

Ideally a cow's production needs to be below 9L/day when drying off.

Cows which need an early dry off may have low production as it is, but with average production still over 15L/day, some work may be needed to reduce production for early dry off cows.

First things first, farms should carry out body condition scoring (BSC) on the herd now.

You may think you know the herd from coming through the parlour but poorly conditioned cows can slip through the cracks and cost more time and money than one afternoon of scoring.

As well as that, farms should be looking back through milk recording records and health issues to pinpoint any cows which may need extra time off to fully recover before calving down again next spring.

Farmers who have scanned their cows should have approximate calving dates in mind, giving them an extra advantage for planning their treatment strategy.

Based on all of this information, dry-off dates can be set to ensure each cow has the best chance of recovery over the winter.

10 days before your planned dry-off date, you should be reducing concentrates fed to a maximum of 2kg/cow/day.

In the last few days leading up to drying off, completely cease concentration feed and move them to a paddock with limited grass availability, if the weather still permits grazing.

Ideally, these cows should be separated from the rest of the herd you plan to milk on for another few weeks.

Cows that have an ideal BCS of 3.0-3.25 should be given at least eight weeks dry to sufficiently prepare them for the next lactation.

Cows that have had issues with lameness or high SCC throughout the year should also be given additional time dry, to help replenish muscle in the case of lameness or build udder tissue in the case of high SCC.

When drying off, remember to follow all basic hygiene practices, and ensure cows are left in a clean yard for the first three to four hours post-drying to discourage them lying down, followed by a fresh paddock or extremely clean cubicles.

Only feed a maintenance diet for the first three to four days post-drying off, which will keep the cow running but cease production.