Extended lactation option for challenging season

摘要

MATING may have been interrupted or deferred on some farms due to the challenging weather this summer. For farmers who find themselves with good cows that did not get in-calf as planned, extended lactation could be an option. Research conducted by theDepartment of Primary Industries (DPI) Victoria has shown that extended lactation can be commercially viable and a useful tool to avoid culling high producing cows that are not in-calf when expected. DPI dairy extension oificer Greg O'Brien, said extended lactation worked well in herds with year-round, spUt or batch-calving systems.