Dairy
As winter milking is already a costly system, keeping the somatic cell count (SCC) down is crucial in order to avail of bonuses.
Farmers who are currently in the thick of autumn calving must remember to carry out regular CMT to identify mastitis at an early stage.
Mastitis can cost farmers over €60/cow/year, so preventing heifer mastitis is crucial in maintaining a top producing dairy herd.
Preparations are now under way as most dairy farmers prepare to dry-off the spring calving herd over the coming month to six weeks.
Dairy Technical
As mastitis is one of the most costly diseases in dairy, farmers are advised that lime and sawdust can greatly improve cubicle hygiene.
Fly control is critical right now as when the weather turns damp after a prolonged dry spell of weather, it provides an perfect environment..
If your somatic cell count (SCC) is beginning to creep up at this time of the year, it should not be ignored, as it is more than likely....
There is still a long way to go in terms of production this lactation, which means the milking machine should be checked and serviced...
Maintaining a strict milking routine at this stage of the lactation is critical in order to produce high-quality milk, and crucial from a...
As we enter into the month of July, it might be no harm to start analysing your autumn calving herd's performance throughout the year to...
The focus at this time of the year is keeping quality grass ahead of cows to drive on solids production, but a small thing like teat spraying
We are now approaching the mid lactation and things will begin to die off as less cows are getting served and so cell counts and problem...
Mastitis can cause a significant headache and cost to farmers throughout the year and without collecting a milk sample, it is impossible to...
Many herds will be in the latter end of the calving season with only a few to calve, and high cell count cows need to be identified...
We are now coming towards the end of the calving season which means the milking routine can become more consistent...
Many herds will be over halfway calved at this stage and as the madness eventually eases down, farmers may look to getting a milk recording
As calving season progresses, cows are more susceptible to infections like mastitis, which means extra care and hygiene are needed.
Having a quality milking routine is critically important for the early stages of the cow's lactation as infectious pressures are very high...
Retained cleanings is also known as retained fetal membrane or retained placenta and occurs when the calf's side of the placenta...
Any increase in somatic cell count SCC above 100,000 cells/ml is associated with a reduction in animal performance and will have...
We are only days away until calving starts which means many cows are in transition periods where the risk of mastitis increases drastically.
As cows will be calving thick and fast in the coming weeks, carrying out a Californian milk test (CMT) will help with early identification...
The Agri-Food and Biosciences’ Institute (AFBI) is highlighting the risk of toxic mastitis in dairy cows at drying-off.
