June 11, 2026 • 9 mins
Morgan Greene looks at mastitis issues that can occur after dry-off.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
The Muster's animal health segment within his vets adding value
through practical advice and service, no gimmicks, no potions, total
vet care.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Morgan Green joins us out of in his Fits and
Riversdale and he good afternoon. This mild Jane continues for
a couple of days.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
At least it does indeed, which has been just been
fabulous really, you know, means we've managed to get a
huge number of cows dried off in pretty good conditions,
which makes a huge difference. And there's no two ways
about that. The weather conditions have a massive, massive impact on,
you know, on how things go from the point of
(00:46):
view of you know, post dry off problems for cows.
So you know, for instance, before we went back twenty
years ago when we had the old Sam plan and
cows were dried off just on the basis of getting antibiotics,
just on the basis of whether they had a sell
count over one hundred and fifty thousand or heifer's over
one hundred and twenty thousand, and everything else got nothing.
(01:09):
You know, it was very very common practice to be
really really careful about checking those cows for mass titus.
You know, that's sort of ten to fourteen days post
dry off, and I guess, you know, because people came
across lots of mass titus. That's one of the reasons
farmers went towards whole heard antibiotic treatment in order to
(01:29):
prevent the number of mastitis cases that they found. But
now with the movement towards reducing antibiotics again and using
teet sealent, there are a lot of farmers that have
made the decision to do nothing rather than put teet
sealant in because they've heard of they've either had bad
experiences in the past or they've heard of bad experiences.
(01:52):
But the checking of the cows afterwards has been I
believe forgotten about a little bit. So you know, it
is very very important to check those cows afterwards. You know,
it's pretty obvious if we see a really sick cow
with toxic massed itus post dry off, but some cows
with clinical mass itus post dry off not that easy
to spot, and especially if they've gone straight onto crops.
(02:14):
So certainly, very very important to check those animals. And
you know, most people, I guess sort of we're drying
off right at the end of May, so you know,
we are at that two weeks now, so certainly a
real good time to have a pretty close look through
those cows and just make sure there isn't much in
the way of massed ius there. It's you know, kind
(02:36):
of a big impact on what happens next season.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
So the vets are out and about doing these doing
all the tight ceiling, you'll see a lot of animals
as such, the farmers often ask you for a few
tips or a voice regarding the end of the season.
Is it how it works?
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Oh? Look absolutely, you know we're talking to our farmers
all the time around you know what we should be done,
and I guess you know, one of the big learnings
really over the last few years has been around dry
cow management, and you know, the management of the cows
in the week three days prior to the day of
(03:13):
dry off itself. So you know, obviously hygiene is very
very important in the dry off process, but the management
of the cows leading to that day is incredibly important,
and the management of the cows afterwards as well, which
is why I'm saying this year, with the weather being
as good as what it has been, you can kind
of get away with sometimes management practices not being quite
(03:35):
as good as what they should be because the weather
conditions have played a part and they're favorable. But you
know what happens then if you have a really poor
spell of weather and you know maybe next season it
could be really really bad from a weather point of view,
and you've done the same as what you've done this year,
you might not get away with it because you know,
the physical environmental conditions don't allow you to get away
(03:58):
with it. So you know, it's all about risk management
and just trying to do the best job possible all
the time. But you know, if you're drying your cows
off and the pool is coming out of them like
a hose pipe, well they actually haven't been dried down properly.
The protein levels in the diet are too high. You
have really their their faces should be, you know, pretty
pretty solid on the day of dry off, and that's
(04:20):
what you want because you want those cows not to
be producing milk post dry off and protein as the
driver in that.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Morgan, you'd like to pass comment regarding copper toxicity.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, look, we we had a couple of cases post
dry off and I think you know what we think
has probably happened. Really, it's been around the stress of
the dry off process itself. So you know, if we again,
if we went back twenty years ago, we did a
lot of liver biopsies in order to see how low
(04:52):
copper was prior to winter, and you know, whether cows
needed to have a copper injection prior to winter in
order to raise those levels have sufficient copper reserves during
the winter, because winter is a time we're typically copper
is at its lowest and because of the demand of
the growing fetus, the demand of copper on the animal
is at its highest. However, now what we're seeing is
(05:14):
really we're doing liver biopsies in order to see how
high the copper is. So you know, from the point
of view of palm kernel, it has lots and lots
of copper in there. Yeah, I guess our trace element
programs are probably a lot better than what they once were.
So in the past they were probably a wee bit haphazard,
and so now with cows producing as much as they
(05:36):
are producing, people are really trying to optimize performance and
they're doing that by making sure that trace elements status
is optimal. But sometimes it can actually be just that
a little bit too high, so you're just something to
be aware of. If you haven't done liver biopsies, it
may well be worthwhile getting some done just to check
and see where you're at, because you might well be
(05:58):
able to dial back the copper that they're getting were
in the season because they're getting that from elsewhere, especially
especially if you're feeling palm kernel, and especially if you're
continuing to feed the amounts of palm kernel that you
have done in the past. So you know, just something
to be very much aware of. Copper is stored in
the liver, and at times of stress, that can be
released from the liver goes into the bloodstream, and if
(06:21):
there's too much there it just essentially can be toxic.
You'll end up getting kidney damaged. So yeah, just one
of those things to be aware of. Certainly recommend people
getting biopsis done in particular, but also if facilities aren't
suitable for that, to at least get some blood tests done.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Sounds crazy with saying this, but it has the season
coming up shape scanning. I heard of a few results
coming through this week sounding pretty positive at the moment too.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Yeah, well, I haven't heard anything in our area yet,
but look, it is just around the corner, you know,
And I guess, as you say, with the weather conditions
that we have had, it does seem a little bit
odd that we're into scanning already, but you do know
by how dark it is in the mornings and how
quickly it gets dark in the evenings that you know,
(07:08):
the days are certainly pretty short at the moment. So yeah, look,
people will get all of those results very soon, and
you know, obviously they can make some pretty strategic management
decisions as a result of of that, you know, which
is very very important. As we spoke off there, the
you know, the demands of a of a single bearing
mixed age U versus a multiple bearing too too, they're
very different. So yeah, it allows you to tailor feed
(07:30):
inputs in an appropriate manner. So look, yeah, yeah, the
sheep skinners are going to be very busy over the
next few while, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
And if you do you have dryes, well, they're worth
very good money at the moment as well. Let's said,
it's a flip side of it.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Yeah, look absolutely, and you know those dry animals, you
certainly don't want to be feeding them on on on
farm when you can prioritize that feed to something else.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Absolutely, Weggie to tell in his face has been gangs
to the gano. But you're slightly going back to normality.
How do people get in touch?
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Look it just give us a call here at Riversdale,
which is two zero two five six three six, or
in Tiana it's two four nine seven zero three nine.
And look, yeah, you're absolutely right. The team here has
been really flat out for you know, the last six
or eight weeks or so. They've done some very very
long days and you know, they've they've been very impressive
the work that they've got through. So yeah, look a
(08:24):
little bit of a quieter time is just around the
corner for us, and so yeah, we will enjoy it
as much as possible before we kick into things again.
You know, I know some other people it's their busiest
time at the moment, shifting breaks and doing things like that.
But for us, you know, the next month or so
does get a little bit quieter, that's for sure, which
is quite good.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Thanks Morgan, have a good weekend.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Hey you too, Andy.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Morgan Grain of indios Face Animal Health Advisors. Right here
on the master schell what joins us Nicks and the
Country Crossover. She is up at field Days, National field
Days and musty Greek
The Muster's animal health segment within his vets adding value
through practical advice and service, no gimmicks, no potions, total
vet care.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Morgan Green joins us out of in his Fits and
Riversdale and he good afternoon. This mild Jane continues for
a couple of days.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
At least it does indeed, which has been just been
fabulous really, you know, means we've managed to get a
huge number of cows dried off in pretty good conditions,
which makes a huge difference. And there's no two ways
about that. The weather conditions have a massive, massive impact on,
you know, on how things go from the point of
(00:46):
view of you know, post dry off problems for cows.
So you know, for instance, before we went back twenty
years ago when we had the old Sam plan and
cows were dried off just on the basis of getting antibiotics,
just on the basis of whether they had a sell
count over one hundred and fifty thousand or heifer's over
one hundred and twenty thousand, and everything else got nothing.
(01:09):
You know, it was very very common practice to be
really really careful about checking those cows for mass titus.
You know, that's sort of ten to fourteen days post
dry off, and I guess, you know, because people came
across lots of mass titus. That's one of the reasons
farmers went towards whole heard antibiotic treatment in order to
(01:29):
prevent the number of mastitis cases that they found. But
now with the movement towards reducing antibiotics again and using
teet sealent, there are a lot of farmers that have
made the decision to do nothing rather than put teet
sealant in because they've heard of they've either had bad
experiences in the past or they've heard of bad experiences.
(01:52):
But the checking of the cows afterwards has been I
believe forgotten about a little bit. So you know, it
is very very important to check those cows afterwards. You know,
it's pretty obvious if we see a really sick cow
with toxic massed itus post dry off, but some cows
with clinical mass itus post dry off not that easy
to spot, and especially if they've gone straight onto crops.
(02:14):
So certainly, very very important to check those animals. And
you know, most people, I guess sort of we're drying
off right at the end of May, so you know,
we are at that two weeks now, so certainly a
real good time to have a pretty close look through
those cows and just make sure there isn't much in
the way of massed ius there. It's you know, kind
(02:36):
of a big impact on what happens next season.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
So the vets are out and about doing these doing
all the tight ceiling, you'll see a lot of animals
as such, the farmers often ask you for a few
tips or a voice regarding the end of the season.
Is it how it works?
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Oh? Look absolutely, you know we're talking to our farmers
all the time around you know what we should be done,
and I guess you know, one of the big learnings
really over the last few years has been around dry
cow management, and you know, the management of the cows
in the week three days prior to the day of
(03:13):
dry off itself. So you know, obviously hygiene is very
very important in the dry off process, but the management
of the cows leading to that day is incredibly important,
and the management of the cows afterwards as well, which
is why I'm saying this year, with the weather being
as good as what it has been, you can kind
of get away with sometimes management practices not being quite
(03:35):
as good as what they should be because the weather
conditions have played a part and they're favorable. But you
know what happens then if you have a really poor
spell of weather and you know maybe next season it
could be really really bad from a weather point of view,
and you've done the same as what you've done this year,
you might not get away with it because you know,
the physical environmental conditions don't allow you to get away
(03:58):
with it. So you know, it's all about risk management
and just trying to do the best job possible all
the time. But you know, if you're drying your cows
off and the pool is coming out of them like
a hose pipe, well they actually haven't been dried down properly.
The protein levels in the diet are too high. You
have really their their faces should be, you know, pretty
pretty solid on the day of dry off, and that's
(04:20):
what you want because you want those cows not to
be producing milk post dry off and protein as the
driver in that.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Morgan, you'd like to pass comment regarding copper toxicity.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, look, we we had a couple of cases post
dry off and I think you know what we think
has probably happened. Really, it's been around the stress of
the dry off process itself. So you know, if we again,
if we went back twenty years ago, we did a
lot of liver biopsies in order to see how low
(04:52):
copper was prior to winter, and you know, whether cows
needed to have a copper injection prior to winter in
order to raise those levels have sufficient copper reserves during
the winter, because winter is a time we're typically copper
is at its lowest and because of the demand of
the growing fetus, the demand of copper on the animal
is at its highest. However, now what we're seeing is
(05:14):
really we're doing liver biopsies in order to see how
high the copper is. So you know, from the point
of view of palm kernel, it has lots and lots
of copper in there. Yeah, I guess our trace element
programs are probably a lot better than what they once were.
So in the past they were probably a wee bit haphazard,
and so now with cows producing as much as they
(05:36):
are producing, people are really trying to optimize performance and
they're doing that by making sure that trace elements status
is optimal. But sometimes it can actually be just that
a little bit too high, so you're just something to
be aware of. If you haven't done liver biopsies, it
may well be worthwhile getting some done just to check
and see where you're at, because you might well be
(05:58):
able to dial back the copper that they're getting were
in the season because they're getting that from elsewhere, especially
especially if you're feeling palm kernel, and especially if you're
continuing to feed the amounts of palm kernel that you
have done in the past. So you know, just something
to be very much aware of. Copper is stored in
the liver, and at times of stress, that can be
released from the liver goes into the bloodstream, and if
(06:21):
there's too much there it just essentially can be toxic.
You'll end up getting kidney damaged. So yeah, just one
of those things to be aware of. Certainly recommend people
getting biopsis done in particular, but also if facilities aren't
suitable for that, to at least get some blood tests done.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Sounds crazy with saying this, but it has the season
coming up shape scanning. I heard of a few results
coming through this week sounding pretty positive at the moment too.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Yeah, well, I haven't heard anything in our area yet,
but look, it is just around the corner, you know,
And I guess, as you say, with the weather conditions
that we have had, it does seem a little bit
odd that we're into scanning already, but you do know
by how dark it is in the mornings and how
quickly it gets dark in the evenings that you know,
(07:08):
the days are certainly pretty short at the moment. So yeah, look,
people will get all of those results very soon, and
you know, obviously they can make some pretty strategic management
decisions as a result of of that, you know, which
is very very important. As we spoke off there, the
you know, the demands of a of a single bearing
mixed age U versus a multiple bearing too too, they're
very different. So yeah, it allows you to tailor feed
(07:30):
inputs in an appropriate manner. So look, yeah, yeah, the
sheep skinners are going to be very busy over the
next few while, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
And if you do you have dryes, well, they're worth
very good money at the moment as well. Let's said,
it's a flip side of it.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Yeah, look absolutely, and you know those dry animals, you
certainly don't want to be feeding them on on on
farm when you can prioritize that feed to something else.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Absolutely, Weggie to tell in his face has been gangs
to the gano. But you're slightly going back to normality.
How do people get in touch?
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Look it just give us a call here at Riversdale,
which is two zero two five six three six, or
in Tiana it's two four nine seven zero three nine.
And look, yeah, you're absolutely right. The team here has
been really flat out for you know, the last six
or eight weeks or so. They've done some very very
long days and you know, they've they've been very impressive
the work that they've got through. So yeah, look a
(08:24):
little bit of a quieter time is just around the
corner for us, and so yeah, we will enjoy it
as much as possible before we kick into things again.
You know, I know some other people it's their busiest
time at the moment, shifting breaks and doing things like that.
But for us, you know, the next month or so
does get a little bit quieter, that's for sure, which
is quite good.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Thanks Morgan, have a good weekend.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Hey you too, Andy.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Morgan Grain of indios Face Animal Health Advisors. Right here
on the master schell what joins us Nicks and the
Country Crossover. She is up at field Days, National field
Days and musty Greek
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