DECIDING TO DRY,OFF - National Mastitis Council

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lactation is important to eliminate existing infections, and prevent new infections from occurring. However, other than the recommendation of blanket dry cow therapy, guidelines for producers on how to manage cows from 2 weeks prior until 2 weeks following drying off are not well established. The risk of new IMI might be reduced if milk production decreased prior to dry off, the udder involuted rapidly, and the teat canal closed in a timely manner. Sparse attention has been paid over the years to determine which method, either abrupt or intermittent cessation of milking, is best to end lactation. Although contradictions exist in the literature, it has been demonstrated that the greatest reduction in milk yield in the last week of lactation is achieved through intermittent milking. This reduction can be facilitated by a ration change to hay only and short periods of water restriction. It has been shown that cows milked intermittently produce less milk and have fewer new intramammary infections in the dry period caused by either major or minor bacterial pathogens. Furthermore, cows producing less milk have higher concentrations of inhibitory factors and cells in their udder. The optimal level of milk production at dry off to realise a decreased risk of new IMI has not been established. Significant reductions in new IMI rates have been achieved when production dropped to less than 10 pounds per day. This may not fit with the phenotypic expression of the genetic potential of the modern Holstein cow. Nonetheless, it may be important to move towards a recommended level of production prior to dry off. In order to make such recommendations, large scale studies representative of the breadth of the dairy industry are needed. While this presents many challenges, there are opportunities to use existing production, dry period and udder health data routinely collected through DHIA organizations to tackle this issue. As we work towards a better understanding of the importance of milk production at dry off, it it imperative that we continue to promote the importance of traditional practices such as dry cow antibiotic therapy and proper teat disinfection. These may yet prove to be the most important factors that mitigate the risk of new IMI during the dry period. Furthermore, the ability to implement various dry off procedures in a given herd will vary depending on the facilities, available labour and management structure of the enterprise. National Mastitis Council Annual Meeting Proceedings (2001) 75
Page 1 and 2: Introduction DECIDING TO DRY-OFF: D
Page 3 and 4: increased risk of IMI during the ea
Page 5: Irrespective of a definitive produc
Page 9 and 10: Figure 3. Percent of cows with Chan
Page 11: 22. Oliver, J., Dodd, F.H. and Neav

DECIDING TO DRY,OFF - National Mastitis Council

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