Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Twitter LinkedIn
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    • News
      • Arable & Agronomy
      • Dealership News
      • Environmental Land Management Scheme/Policy
      • Event News
      • Health & Safety
      • Machinery
      • People
      • World News
    • Farm Machinery
      • Amenity & Maintenance
      • Cultivations
      • Drilling
      • Grassland Equipment
      • Harvesting
      • Muck & Slurry
      • Sprayers
      • Telehandlers
      • Tractors
      • Tractor of the Year
      • Tyres & Tracks
      • Whatever happened to?
    • Precision Farming
    • Markets & Policy
    • Profiles
      • National Arable and Grassland Awards
      • Company Profiles
      • Reader Profiles
    • Livestock
      • Beef
      • Dairy
      • Sheep
    • Magazines
      1. October 2025 issue
      2. September 2025 issue
      3. August 2025 issue
      4. 2025 Drills and Seeds supplement
      5. July 2025 issue
      6. June 2025 issue
      7. Cereals event guide 2025
      8. May 2025 issue
      9. April 2025 issue
      10. March 2025 issue
      11. 2025 Tyre Developments supplement
      12. February 2025 issue
      13. National Arable and Grassland Awards supplement
      14. January 2025 issue
      15. December 2024 issue
      16. November 2024 issue
      17. October 2024 issue
      18. September 2024 issue
      19. August 2024 Issue
      20. 2024 Drills and Seeds supplement
      21. July 2024 Issue
      22. Cereals Supplement
      23. June 2024 Issue
      24. May 2024 Issue
      25. April 2024 Issue
      26. Tyres and Tracks Supplement
      27. March 2024 Issue
      28. National Arable & Grassland Award – Meet the Finalists
      29. February 2024 Issue
      30. January 2024 Issue
      31. December 2023
      32. Agritechnica Preview Supplement
      33. November 2023
      34. October 2023
      Featured

      October 2025 issue available now

      By Matthew TiltOctober 1, 2025
      Recent

      October 2025 issue available now

      October 1, 2025

      September 2025 issue available now

      September 1, 2025

      August 2025 issue available now

      August 1, 2025
    • Events
    • Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Dairy

    Reducing infection pressure while staying in compliance with restricted drying off protocols

    John SwireBy John SwireAugust 27, 20203 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

    As more milk buyers are advising against blanket dry cow therapy, dairy farmers are turning to teat sealants to reduce infection pressure against mastitis.

    “The restrictions in the use of blanket dry cow therapy at drying off has resulted in many dairy farmers taking a selective approach to treating cows in the drying off period,” explains Alison Clark, Progiene Business Unit Manager. 

    Depending on the contract, administering antibiotic treatment as part of selective dry cow therapy may require veterinary support to stay in compliance. Anything deemed unsuitable for treatment will instead receive internal teat sealants only. However, some milk contracts do not allow the use of internal teat sealants.

    “Rather than being inserted into the teat canal and potentially introducing new infections, T-HEXX DRY is administered as a dip, forming a physical barrier film on the teat and in the teat canal. This allows the sealant to act as the keratin plug, working as the cow’s first line of defence against pathogens. This is especially important in the first two weeks of the dry period when cows are most susceptible to mastitis,” says Ms Clark. “In addition to using T-HEXX DRY as part of a full drying off protocol in addition to antibiotic and internal teat sealants, if a milk contract does allow the use of an internal teat sealant, external teat sealants help to further prevent environmental pathogen infection and also act as fly control.”

    Mitigating mastitis with best practice 

    When it comes to drying off protocols to prevent infection, Ms Clark recommends abrupt drying off once cows are producing 21kg of milk or less per day as it has been proven to reduce intramammary infections.

    Regardless of which drying off products or methods a dairy farm plans to implement, hygiene should be made a top priority with teats being disinfected thoroughly before the drying off process is performed and that clean gloves are used for each animal to prevent the inadvertent spread or introduction of pathogens.  

    Seven days prior to calving, Ms Clark recommends cows are again dipped with an external teat sealant to help prevent any new infections from being picked up at that critical time.

    The need for preventative practice 

    Along with compromising animal welfare, costs associated with mastitis carry a huge financial burden. Reports show mastitis costs the UK dairy industry £144 million each year, with the average case costing £200. Currently, the national average is 40 cases of mastitis per 100 cows – that’s a total cost of £8,000 per year.

    “Mastitis has a huge economic impact on dairy farms. Associated costs are due to a decrease in milk yields and fertility, extra labour, treatments, penalties for high somatic cell counts and the dumping of milk due to antibiotic usage. It can also increase replacement and culling costs since infection will affect yield for future lactations,” explains Ms Clark. “However, by taking a preventative approach and adopting best drying off practice, dairy producers can reduce infection pressure to help mitigate these issues on their farms.” 

     

     

    Tweet
    Share
    Share
    Pin
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleDairy Show celebrates 40 years
    Next Article Firmware update puts cows first in automated milking system
    John Swire

    Read Similar Stories

    October 2025 issue available now

    October 1, 2025

    September 2025 issue available now

    September 1, 2025

    Lely expands robotic milking range

    August 13, 2025
    Most Read Stories

    Tractor of the Year 2026 – TotY MidPower – New Holland T7.225 SWB

    October 17, 2025

    Tractor of the Year 2026 – TotY MidPower – Fendt 516 Vario

    October 16, 2025

    Horsch appoints KP Agri to Welsh dealer network

    October 15, 2025
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer

    The UK's leading agricultural machinery journal

    Twitter LinkedIn
    © 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

    Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • Farmers Weekly
    • AA Farmer
    • Poultry News
    • Pig World

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.