This method uses the Milk Efficiency measurement which is the cows production divided by her weight over 7 days. It is a good measure to see how well the cow is turning food into milk taking her weight into account. It is averaged across the herd so a cow with a Milk Efficiency of 100 is an average cow. As it is a current measurement it will enable you to find cows that are not productive as at today's date and help you conserve feed. You will need weigh scales and sensors to use this measurement.
1. Go to
Herd Management > Scratch Pad
2. Click on
Add/Remove Columns
3. Click the gold triangle next to
Production and select
Yield Ratio and
Milk Efficiency then click
Apply
We select Yield Ratio to make sure we are selecting the right cows to dry off. A cow might have a low milk efficiency but a high yield ratio, in which case it may still be worth keeping her in the milking herd.
4. Click on the heading
Milk Efficiency to sort lowest to highest
5. Select the cows you want to dry off with the tick boxes on the left hand side
Start by selecting the cows with the lowest Milk Efficiency. These cows are converting their food to milk poorly. Pay attention to the Yield Ratio of these cows. If they have a high yield ratio they may still be worth keeping in the milking herd.
6. Click on
Actions and select
In-Shed Action
7. Select
Dry off as the reason for draft
8. Enter a
description, select the
direction to draft, select if you would like an
audible alert in shed & select the
date for drafting
9. Click
Confirm to set the draft