Weekly management notes for dairy farmers

Mycoplasma Bovis: I had a query again this week relating to an article last year about Mycolasma Bovis in cows. The symptoms are abnormal swelling of the knees, ankles etc. Thankfully it’s relatively uncommon, but there are sporadic cases in dairy and suckler herds each year. Some suggest it’s related to some sort of stress for one reason or another, maybe poor quality feed, not enough cubicles or maybe just mixing stock. Normal antibiotic treatment is little or no good, but a combination of Alamycin and Tylovet if caught early seems to be the treatment of choice, according to the best vets.

Early season management: At this time of the year, many farmers will run two herds – the main milking herd and a smaller, second herd, that contains fresh calvers, lame cows, and maybe a cow that has mastitis, etc. I think it’s a great strategy and allows you time to focus on problem cows when they are in the parlour. I know it’s another group for grazing and for bringing into the parlour but for me it’s worth the hassle. If there are a lot of thin cows and lame cows, some will only milk that second herd once a day to give them a chance to replenish reserves. Don’t give them less to eat, and if at grass you might still have to move them twice a day.

Silage stocks: Given the wet February, a good few farmers are beginning to worry about silage stocks as the back wall of the pit is getting closer too soon. The issue is while there is grass on most farms, ground conditions for grazing or spreading bag fertiliser are difficult. A good few are going this week to the drier paddocks with a bag of urea as there hasn’t been as much rain over the last week in some parts of the country, but many paddocks are barely able to hold a tractor up. Get a figure on what silage you have, what you might need and options for purchasing. If grazing conditions improve, your silage requirement for milkers will fall off very quick as the cows will switch over to grass.

Focus on Spring AI: With six weeks to go to the start of another breeding season, it’s time to consider your options if you haven’t purchased AI straws already. Unless you have a high fertility herd and everything is in tip-top condition score, using high cost sexed semen could be very costly in terms of spreading out your calving pattern. Conception rates are lower with sexed semen so you do have a better chance with your maiden heifers if they are up to target weight and cycling well.

Gone are the days where commercial herds picked two or three bulls and used them widespread across the herd. Now we are into farmers using teams of young bulls, mostly selected on genomics where we know one or two bulls might go up or down in the index but on average the batch of replacements will be high index daughters. Make sure you have your AI flask and straws in a safe place – I’ve heard of recent thefts, you’ve been warned.