HAVE A USEFUL DRY COW CONSULT > VIDEO


How to prepare for your dry cow consult to make the most of face time with your vet.

a group of cows grazing in a field

HAVE A USEFUL DRY COW CONSULT > FACT-SHEET


OUTCOMES OF A COMPREHENSIVE MILK QUALITY CONSULT WITH YOUR VET:

  • Assess current mastitis management on your farm
  • Set realistic short and long-term mastitis management goals
  • Identify specific actions to take—plan how you will monitor and review

ASSESS CURRENT MASTITIS MANAGEMENT:

Clinical Mastitis
(from computerised/written records AND vet invoices)

  • Count total cases/month (%)
  • Count repeat cases (%)
  • Count treatment failures (%)

Subclinical Mastitis

  1. Review BMSCC records
  2. Review herd test records OR
  3. Review recent RMT results (Rapid Mastitis Test)

Discuss preferences about lactating and dry-cow treatments

TO SET MASTITIS MANAGEMENT GOALS:

TO IDENTIFY ACTIONS: decide who, when, how for each step. Plan to monitor and review.

  1. Refer to industry benchmarks: cow dry-off
    1. > 70% cure rate*
    2. < 1% clinical cases during the dry period*
    3. < 8% clinical mastitis rate / month over calving*
    4. < 150,000 cells / ml average BMSCC*
    5. No mastitis-related deaths after drying-off* Relate to triggers on Dairy NZ SmartSAMM Mastitis Focus Report
  2. Refer to industry benchmarks: shed management
    1. > 85% heifers with SCC < 120,0001 at each herd test
    2. > 80% cows with SCC < 150,0001 at each herd test
    3. < 1% / month clinical cases after calving1
    4. Reduce or eliminate grades

SUMMARY OF WHAT TO BRING TO YOUR DRY COW CONSULT:

  • Clinical case records
  • Bulk milk somatic cell count trends
  • Herd test information /RMT results
  • Mastitis treatment preferences
  • Goals for mastitis management (ref: industry benchmarks)

REFERENCES

  1. DairyNZ Smart SAMM. (2020). Technote 14: Decide dry cow management strategy. Retrieved from www.dairynz.co.nz.
  2. DairyNZ Smart SAMM. (2020). Technote 12: Use individual cow SCC for management decisions. Retrieved from www.dairynz.co.nz.

FOR MORE:

Or find us on YouTube by searching: TopFarmersNZ
Or visit: msd-animal-health.co.nz


top farmers know how text

Top Farmers Know-How provides a reference library of industry best practice in some key animal health management areas including mastitis, dry off, calf health, BVD, salmonella and campylobacter. We know that farmers and vets are busy people, so we’ve created resources in different formats and in bite-sized chunks to make it more flexible and accessible.