Dairy Exporter April 2021

Page 136

SOLUTIONS What’s NEW? DRY OFF

Dry off is a great time to prevent and cure mastitis.

From dry off to pay off

D

ry off can be a trying time. It’s the end of a long season for cows and farmers, and everyone is ready for a break. It's important to keep focused though because drying off is the most critical time to set you and your cows up for a smooth season next year. When we dry cows off, we tend to focus on turning off the tap – getting them to stop producing milk in preparation for calving again. However, this is also a golden opportunity to set them up for next season by taking steps to prevent and cure mastitis, improve immunity, and decrease the production challenge from parasites. In the New Zealand system, cows are most likely to pick up new mastitis infections around drying off, and around calving. Making sure that we get their nutrition right to support their pregnancy while turning off the tap is key to 136

preventing some of those infections. Using Teatseal® in all your cows also has been proven to prevent infections both at dry off and around calving. The global focus on preserving antibiotics to prevent the development of resistance means that we should only be treating cows with existing infections with antibiotics – not using them to prevent new infections when we have Teatseal. The second thing we should focus on is building their immunity. Ensuring your cows are vaccinated against leptospirosis and clostridial diseases before the high risk winter period can ensure you and your herd are protected from deadly diseases. Vaccinating cows against calf scours also provides specific antibodies to protect calves against common and deadly diseases such as rotavirus – as long as the calves get their gold colostrum. Lastly, we should focus on decreasing the parasite burden, particularly on

lighter or more susceptible cows. Ideally treatment would be in March/ April, allowing cows to start putting on condition before they are too heavily pregnant. In herds with winter lice problems, treatment pre-dry off may be more appropriate. Using a nil withholding, long acting product such as Cydectin® Pour on allows the flexibility to treat the right cows at the right time. If we take the time to ensure our cows dry off well, we can rest easy knowing that they are prepared for next season. If you want any information about how to best manage your cows around dry off please talk to your local vet. • Zoetis New Zealand Limited. Tel: 0800 650 277; www.zoetis.co.nz. TEATSEAL is a registered trademark of Zoetis. ACVM No, A7294. RVM; Available only under Veterinary Authorisation. CYDECTIN is a registered trade mark of Zoetis. ACVM No. A6203.

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | April 2021


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Articles inside

Getting the genetics right

2min
page 137

From dryoff to payoff

2min
page 136

Connecting farmers with the right staff

2min
page 135

Why should you hire a farm adviser?

5min
pages 132-133

Full stream ahead for Farmers’ Forum

2min
page 129

Beefing up the dairy calf crop at Kintore Farm

8min
pages 122-124

Vets Voice: Prevent toxic nitrate shock

4min
page 126

Cows stand their ground in pugging study

4min
pages 130-131

Beef and dairy need to collaborate

2min
page 125

EVOLVE at SIDE conference, Ashburton

5min
pages 127-128

CO Diary: Wintering practices improve

7min
pages 119-121

Share farmer: Ann & Scott Henderson

9min
pages 116-118

Trainee: Sophie White

2min
page 113

Trainee: Mattes Groenendijk

3min
page 103

Trainee: Sam Smithers

3min
page 93

Share farmer: John Wyatt

9min
pages 88-92

Dairy manager: Diego Raul Gomez Salinas

5min
pages 86-87

Trainee: Sydney Porter

3min
page 85

Dairy manager: Leon McDonald

5min
pages 78-79

Share farmer: Manoj Kumar & Sumit Kamboj

9min
pages 80-84

Share farmer: Sam Howard

9min
pages 72-75

Trainee: Josh Wilkinson

3min
page 67

Trainee: Tayla Flight

3min
pages 58-59

Dairy manager: Mark Rivers

6min
pages 60-61

Dairy manager: Christopher Gerard Vila

6min
pages 42-43

Dairy manager: Hayden Goodall

6min
pages 48-51

Trainee: Dayna Rowe

3min
page 47

Share farmer: Reuben and Deb Connolly

9min
pages 44-46

Share farmer: Rachael Foy

8min
pages 38-40

Trainee: Ruth Connolly

3min
page 41

Dairy manager: Stephanie Walker

5min
pages 36-37

Using KiwiSaver to buy a house isn’t an option for farm workers

13min
pages 14-19

Trainee: Emma Udell

3min
page 35

Market View: Dairy commodity prices soared in March

5min
pages 22-25

Trainee: Bella Wati

3min
page 26

Global Dairy: 3-breed crossbred cattle are improving US herds

3min
pages 20-21

Niall McKenzie boxes on with some inspiration from Rocky

3min
page 13

Anne-Marie Wells champions onfarm discussion groups

2min
page 12

Carla Staples airs her concerns about freshwater legislation

3min
page 11
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