Effect of dry period length on milk yield over multiple lactations

CONCLUSIONS
Shortening or omitting the DP can improve the en-
ergy balance of dairy cows in early lactation through 
a decrease in milk yield after calving. Cows submitted 
to short DP produced less milk than cows submitted 
to standard DP, but the quantity of this loss did not 
change when a short DP was applied over consecutive 
lactations. Consecutive omissions of the DP also de-
creased milk production as compared with a standard 
DP. Consecutive omission of the DP reduced the ad-
ditional milk produced before calving and increased the 
milk production after calving, compared with the first 
omission of the DP. Individual cow characteristics did 
not improve the prediction of individual response of 
yield to DP length based on parity and first lactation 
305-d yield, but may be relevant to make a practical 
decision about DP length. Further study is needed to 
assess the effect of short or no DP on farm perfor-
mance; the reduced milk yield may be compensated by 
improved health and fertility, which could increase cow 
longevity.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank the participating farmers and 
CRV for providing the data. This study is financed by 
DairyNL (Zuivel NL; organization of the Dutch dairy 
supply chain) and the Dutch Ministry of Economic 
Affairs (EZ), as part of the Sustainable Dairy Chain 
initiative (Duurzame Zuivelketen).
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