The modern dairy cow undergoes significant metabolic challenges in the transition period, defined as the 3weeks before and 3 weeks after calving.

In adult dairy cattle, 80 per cent of disease costs occur in the first four weeks after calving. Research over the last 20 years or so has demonstrated that an integrated approach to transition cow management (TCM) can have significant benefits in reducing occurrences of metabolic diseases post calving

Topics covered in this program are:

Module 1: Assessing the Herd Timelines:

Module 2: Feeding Approaches

Module 3: Creating a Feeding Plan

Module 4: Creating my plan

At the end of this program, participants will be able to

1. Assess the health of a herd at calving time and identify health problems that can be improved through a transition feeding program

2. Describe the various approaches to transition feeding programs

3. Outline the influence of diet on the risk of developing milk fever and other cow health problems during calving time

4. Identify dietary requirements of heifers and cows during the transition period

5. Create a transition cow feeding program for a farm business, including how feed requirements influence business decision making

6. Implement a transition cow feeding program for a farm business

7. Evaluate the effectiveness of a transition cow feeding program in reducing cow health problems and improving milk production and reproductive performance

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Transition Cow Management- Tocumwal