Traditionally, management of cows during the dry period was minimal. Approximately 60 days before calving, milking would cease and cows were treated with long lasting antibiotic in an attempt to clear up any lingering subclinical mastitis and prevent new infections. Cows were typically removed from the milking herd, given reduced feed, and often exposed to pasture and allowed to “rest” prior to...

The aim of this study was to describe the current management practices that could influence udder health during dry period and investigate associations between new high SCC period. In 2008 Netherlands started improve transparency decrease use antimicrobials in animal husbandry. Prevention via antimicrobial cow treatment (DCT) no longer allowed animals with a low before An increase expected dair...

The study aimed to determine factors affecting the dry period length and effect of dry days on milk yield, milk composition and lactation length in the next lactation of dairy cows. Data used for analysis included 7264 lactation records collected from 2012 to 2016 on 4737 Holstein cows raised in 152 herds. The statistical model used to determine the factors influencing the dry period length sho...

The dry period is necessary to facilitate cell turnover in the bovine mammary gland and to optimize milk production in the next lactation. An 8-week dry period has long been the golden standard of management for dairy cows. Genetic improvements and new management technologies have led to higher milk production and a need for re-evaluation of the dry period length. Over the last decade, dry peri...

The dry period is required to facilitate cell turnover in the bovine mammary gland in order to optimize milk yield in the next lactation. Traditionally, an 8-week dry period has been a standard management practice for dairy cows based on retrospective analyses of milk yields following various dry period lengths. However, as milk production per cow has increased, transitioning cows from the nonl...