Dairy Newsletter - November 2024

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In this month's edition:

• Top tips for November
  1. Start drying off heifers in early November. Heifers are still growing and require more days in the dry period. Give heifers a minimum of 12 weeks dry. Discuss selective dry cow therapy options with your vet.
  2. Plan grazing based on spring demand. It’s tempting to keep going if ground conditions are dry, but grass will be more valuable when cows are freshly calved.
  3. Calving is less than 90 days away! Organise who is going to help you in spring. Who might be interested locally? If you only have one person and this person gets sick, injured or does not work out, you are on your own. Word of mouth is important, so ask around.
  4. Establish a good winter work routine early. Can you simplify jobs like cleaning cubicles? Are lights, drinkers and scrapers all in good working order, etc.? With cows in late lactation in spring herds, can you milk an hour earlier in the evening? There will be enough long days in spring.
  5. Weigh young stock before housing. If you don’t have a scales you can hire one from your local mart. Don’t assume they are on target. Many farmers have got caught out by thinking they are when some of them are not. Group and feed based on weight.
• Know when to call time on grazing
  Demand for grass in early spring is now much greater due to more compact calving and increased dairy cow intakes. About 900-1,000kg DM/ha is required in grass supply on February 1 on most farms. The biggest factor influencing grass availability in early spring is the closing-up strategy in autumn.
• Hygiene at dry off procedure
  A recent study completed in Teagasc Moorepark looked at the procedure used at dry off and its impact on the somatic cell count (SCC) in the subsequent lactation, using both antibiotic and teat sealer (AB + TS) and teat sealer (TS) only. All the cows on the study had an SCC of <100,000 at the time of drying off.
• Put winter feed plans into action
  Winter fodder supply is tight on many farms. A small deficit now could turn into a big problem in spring, depending on weather.
• National Dairy Conference
  The Teagasc National Dairy Conference heads for Limerick Racecourse on November 27. The theme is ‘Robust dairy farming for future challenges’. After a tough year, some optimism has returned. However, long-term challenges need to be addressed. Register for the conference here
• Health & Safety - Be winter ready
  It is very important to think about how severe weather might impact your work and take action to mitigate this. The Irish Government’s Be Winter Ready campaign focuses on helpful ways to minimise disruption to farming activities during severe weather events.