In order to reduce the use of antibiotics, selective dry-off strategies are used in many dairy farms. These strategies rely largely on cell content data from milk yield testing. The decision on antibiotic treatment is made at the cow level. The MinimA project (“Sustainable Minimization” the use of antibiotics through quarter-selective dry-off treatment for dairy cows) follows another approach, consistently based on pathogen detection on the udder quarter.
Solution
The principle: Only udder quarters that are proven to be infected are treated with antibiotics. To do this, samples of the cows' first quarter milk are examined for mastitis pathogens before the planned drying off date. Depending on the results of the bacteriological examination, the respective udder quarter is then dried with a dry-off preparation containing antibiotics and an internal teat sealant or only with a teat sealant.
Description
This approach was successfully tested in the project in 16 practical companies and is now to be further established in practice. This guide is intended to support interested farmers in introducing the quarter-selective drying off process in their herds.
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