Time for pre-season training for your dry cows

The number one job on top of every farmer’s list in the next week is to get their own grass silage tested, writes InTouch Feeding Specialist Bernard Stack.

Most farms around the country will be drying off cows at this time of year in preparation for the spring calving period. This gives the cows and farmers an opportunity to rest and recuperate from the previous season and prepare for the next, which can be particularly fast paced, especially as farms focus on more compact calving.

The dry cow is an unproductive cow, and how we manage this animal during this 6–8-week period will determine how productive the cow will be in the next lactation. Metabolic issues, calving difficulty, body condition, negative energy balance and dry matter intake can all be influenced by what we do over the next 8 weeks or so.