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Dairy notes October 2006

Grazing Management

Good grass growth this autumn means most farms still have several weeks grazing ahead of cows.  Plan now to make maximum use of this grass.
  • If grazing conditions allow, aim to keep stale cows out at grass to early December to reduce production costs.
  • Cows can be restricted to two to three hours grazing per day from early November to delay full-time housing.
  • Fresh calvers will need to be housed at night.
  • These cows need to reach maximum intake within six weeks after calving to prevent excessive loss of condition.
  • Variable intakes of grass due to poor weather conditions can make this difficult to achieve.
  • Provision of silage/TMR at night will help to maintain high dry matter intakes.
  • Paddocks and silage fields targeted for March grazing should be closed off from early October
  • On these paddocks allow grass cover to build up to 2200-2400KG Dry Matter (DM) per hectare by the end of November.
  • Over the rest of the grazing area covers should be reduced to 1800-2000KG DM per hectare by housing.

Harvesting Forage Maize

The feeding value of maize silage is highly dependent on achieving a balance between the increasing starch level in the ripening cob and the decreasing digestibility of the main stem.  The optimum stage to harvest crop is at 30 – 35 percent Dry Matter (DM), when the grain will be golden yellow with a firm doughy texture.
Attention to detail during the harvesting and ensiling of forage maize is critical for the production of a well preserved high feed value crop that will remain fresh after the clamp is opened.  The following points require particular attention:
  • Maize will deteriorate rapidly in quality after frost.  Harvest the crop as soon as possible after the first hard frost regardless of stage of maturity.
  • Leave a stubble height of 15 – 25 cm to reduce the risk of soil contamination.
  • Ensure that a corn cracker is fitted to the harvester as hard, whole grains will pass through the animal without being digested.
  • To reduce the risk of aerobic deterioration at feeding out, a long narrow silo is preferred so that the grab moves across the whole face every four days.  Use an effective additive.

Somatic Cell Count

High cell counts (SCC >300,000) have been a problem on many farms over this past few months.  The incidence of clinical mastitis is also reported to be on the increase.  Action to improve SCCs should be based around the ‘Five Point Plan’ ie.
  • Milking machine maintenance
  • Hygiene
  • Prompt treatment of clinical cases of mastitis
  • Dry cow therapy
  • Culling cows with chronic mastitis

Parlour Maintenance

The milking parlour should be tested and serviced at least twice per year and change liners promptly after 2500 milkings - it is false economy not to.  Ineffective pulsation or excessive vacuum levels can damage teats leaving animals more prone to infection.  Check regularly that air bleeds are clear.

Hygiene

Maintain clean hands and clusters during the milking. Wear disposable gloves and use a fresh paper towel for each cow.  Consider pre-dipping.  If cows with a known clinical or sub-clinical mastitis problem can not be held back to the end of milking, their clusters should be dipped in a 5 percent hypochlorite solution before being placed on the next cow.
Breeding trends have made cows more susceptible to new infections due to their shorter teat canals and wider sphincter muscles.  Teat dip after milking and prevent the cow from lying in their cubicles for 20 minutes until the teat canal has closed.
Cubicles must be kept dry.  Check for leaking roofs and improve ventilation to minimise condensation drips.  Mixing lime with a bedding material can help reduce infection.

Prompt treatment

Always examine the foremilk before discarding.  This allows early detection of a problem and prompt treatment, helping to limit spread within the herd.

Lameness

Wet autumn grass, walking long distances to all available grazing, poor roadway surfaces and an unbalanced diet all compound lameness problems in the dairy herd at this time of year.  Treating lameness by paring and/ or foot bathing in the autumn allows foot condition time to improve before housing full-time.  Start foot bathing with zinc sulphate / copper sulphate once per week to harden hooves, in preparation for the housing period.

Animal Health Challenge for Dairy farmers

This programme focuses on key areas of herd health
  • Mastitis
  • Lameness
  • Herd diseases – BVD, IBR, Leptospirosis
  • Production diseases – metabolic diseases around calving, calf scour and pneumonia
  • Bio-security
Through local group meetings and farm visits, the objectives of the course are to promote a proactive approach to veterinary treatment and to help you identify possible improvements to apply on your farm.  If you would be interested in attending the Challenge this winter, contact your local dairying Development adviser for details.