Drying Off: For me, management at this time of year is all about streamlining the system to make it as easy as possible to manage next spring, and this revolves around having cows in the right condition score at calving and sufficient grass on the farm to allow for early turnout, weather permitting. With quotas gone – this is real farming, and the successful farmers in this era will be those who understand the importance of this, not about bleeding the last drop of milk out of cows this back end.

First to be dried off should be the first calvers and any thin cows. At a minimum, first calvers will need 10 weeks dry, so if calving in early February they need to be dried off by the middle of November, which is only two weeks away. However, any cow calving in February and in low body condition score now (less than 2.75), should be dried off as soon as possible to give her an extended dry period to gain condition score before calving.

Not only will this benefit the cow, but it will help to reduce grass demand now and stretch out the remaining grass into November. Low yielders (less than 8l/cow/day) should also be dried off as soon as possible.

What is the point of feeding valuable grass or meal to a cow that is not producing enough milk? Average farm covers can drop significantly at this time of the year very quickly. Walk your farm this week.

Once a Day: Milking once a day for the next month is a viable option for many compact spring-calving herds. With the resultant rise in fat and protein percentages from going on once a day, the net loss in milk volume will be very small, especially when you factor in cost savings in labour and energy and the gain in body condition score. Just be wary of cell count.

It would probably be a good idea to do the final milk recording before going on once a day and then treat and dry off the high somatic cell count cows. All cows being dried off at this time of year should get a long-acting dry cow tube and a teat sealer. Ideally, they should be put in a bare paddock away from the yard for the first 10 days or so after tubing.

Empty cows: Reports from the marts suggest that the number of empty cows entering the ring is back a lot on other years. The good weather up to now has enticed farmers to hang on to them and milk them on, but with the weather now changeable and grass getting tight it is as well to move them on.

These animals no longer need to be brucellosis tested, so this should speed up their sale.

The prices I hear about are in the region of €1 to €1.20/kg, liveweight depending on frame and how well fleshed the cow is.