AHV Udder Drying Off Plan: new and unique solutions for New Zealand Dairy Farmers
Drying off can be a challenging time for dairy cows. A cow’s comfort can be impacted during dry off. There is also a chance of milk leakage which opens her teat ends and puts her at risk of severe udder health challenges. If she does not come through her dry period well, she can have a difficult start to her next lactation which can impact her milk production for that season. Research shows that more than 60% of new udder health challenges can be traced to te dry-off period (Todhunter et al, 1991). Udder health challenges are the second most common reason for NZ dairy farmers to cull cows. Having a new, innovative and additional tool in your toolbox will empower you as a dairy farmer to optimize your herd health and milk your cows longer.
What is the AHV Udder Drying Off Plan?
The AHV Udder Drying Off Plan assists with a cow’s udder health by supporting the cow’s immune system to flush out any bacteria and biofilm from the udder before drying off and provide comfort to the cow at the time of drying off. This way, AHV allows you to apply selective use of traditional methods, as our solutions are natural plant-based feed supplement boluses.
AHV provides a proactive udder health plan that aims at clearing up the udder, keeping it clear and supporting the cow to keep her comfortable at the time of drying off. This way a cow has a healthy udder to support her during the next lactation.

How we work
For farmers that do not Herd Test, the recommendation is for most younger cows (1-5th lactation) to follow the below advice given for ‘little to medium amount of biofilm’ cows (advice 2). For farmers that do Herd Test, based on your herd test information, your AHV Territory Manager reviews each cow’s SCC history and estimates how much biofilm (containing unfavorable bacteria) is present in her udder. We tailor the udder protocol to this information:
- For ‘clear cows’ with little to no biofilm in their udder, we recommend an AHV Extra Bolus 6-8 weeks prior to drying off and a natural relief bolus called AHV Aspi Bolus at the time of drying off.
- For cows with medium amount of biofilm in their udder, we recommend an AHV Quick, AHV Extra and AHV Aspi Bolus 6-8 weeks prior to drying off and a natural relief bolus called AHV Aspi Bolus at the time of drying off.
- For cows with lots of biofilm (‘resistant’ cows), we recommend using traditional methods.
- We recommend continuing using TeatSeal as you currently are doing.
Our proactive Udder Health Plan, aimed to keep udders clear, will result in fewer udder health challenges, more milk, lower SCC, improved fertility, more lactations and less worries for you as a farmer (as all AHV solutions are zero milk- and meat withhold). This Udder health Plan includes an AHV Booster Bolus 1-2 weeks prior to calving to bridge any energy gaps, supporting good (udder) health during and after calving. We recommend giving another AHV Extra Bolus approximately 2 weeks after calving, giving her the best start to her lactation (removes any biofilm built up during dry period and calving). Optionally, to support the cow in her peak lactation, this Extra Bolus can be supplemented with another AHV Booster Bolus.
The Udder Health Program can be combined with the AHV Transition and Fertility Health Plan, which together make up our AHV Longevity Plan. The AHV longevity plan supports a cow in the most challenging and risky times of lactation with the right energy, nutrients and immune support to give her more lactations with more and higher quality milk and improved fertility.

New Zealand data
Last year (2022) 100 Holstein Friesian cows on a Maungatautari farm with 500 cows were included in an AHV Drying Off Plan demonstration. The cows were selected based on a HT done 21 March: only cows with a SCC over 200K and with little or medium amount of biofilm (latent or persistent cows based on the AHV HT analysis algorithm) were ranked based on their SCC, irrelevant of age.
5. 8 weeks prior to drying off (25 March) 50 odd numbered cows received AHV Quick, Extra and Aspi boluses and TeatSeal at the day of drying off
6. At the day of drying off end of May, 50 even numbered cows received traditional methods and TeatSeal.
In a next HT 25 April, AHV cows demonstrated a slightly lower SCC than control cows (by 15K) and concurrent higher production (0.1 kg MS) compared to control cows. More importantly, during the dry period, udder health was comparable in both groups (no control cow quarters and 1 quarter affected in the AHV group.
Literature:
- Todhunter D. A., Smith, K. L., Hogan, J. S., Schoenberger, P. S. 1991. Gram-negative bacterial infections of the mammary gland in cows. Am. J. Vet. Res. 52:184–188.
What are the benefits of the AHV Udder Health Plan?
When using our Udder Health Program, cows will go through the dry period with more comfort and a similar or lower risk of severe udder health challenges during the dry period compared to DCT as proven in studies in New Zealand, Ireland and Germany. Moreover, it gives the cow a great start to her next lactation with more and higher quality milk. Udder health also impacts fertility and other health challenges.
Would you like to know more? Please contact your AHV Territory Manager via 0800 4 24869 or www.ahvint.co.nz or email newzealand@ahvint.com
Get in touch!
Would you like to be visited by an Territory Manager to discuss the health challenges on your farm together? Our AHV Territory Manager will be happy to visit you to jointly assess the health of your cows and come up with appropriate farm-specific advice.
NZ – Get in touch
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