Over the next two months, while the herd is dry, farmers should consider training heifers in the parlour.

It takes a lot of effort and money to get heifers in-calf and on target for calving down at two-years-of-age, so making the most of them in their first spring is crucial.

However, we all know what it is like in the busy season when that one springer keeps kicking you and the clusters - it would drive any farmer insane.

However, it is not the heifer's fault.

Calving down is already a stressful time for a young heifer, and having to enter a parlour - an unknown environment with unfamiliar noises - can be hard on them.

If they are trained up together before the stressful calving season, it makes it a lot easier and calmer for them, as well as making your life easier when milking.

Doing this does take time, effort, and patience, but it will be well worth it when it comes to spring calving.

Training heifers in the parlour

When introducing heifers to the milking parlour, the main thing is to make it a positive experience.

Heifers should be handled in a calm and subtle manner; let them wander in at their own pace, do not hunt them in forcefully or shout at them.

When they are first being introduced, leave the milking machine off.

Once they begin to quieten down after a couple of times going through the parlour, you can then gradually introduce the machine to them.

Coax them in with meal, as once they begin to associate the parlour with feed they should happily return.

This can also help boost underconditioned heifers ahead of calving.

Sometimes pairing them with a couple of the older and quieter cows can help them learn the way of the parlour.

A lot of farmers also teat spray heifers as they come in to decrease the risk of them getting mastitis during the winter months.