Mid lactation is considered to be 100–200 days in milk. Cows are past peak, should hold body condition, and you want steady litres with strong fat and protein.

The main goals
— Keep milk flowing and protect fat% and protein%
— Hold body condition score (BCS) around 2.75–3.0.
— Avoid problems that quietly steal milk: mastitis, lameness, rumen upsets.
— Keep cows cycling and getting in calf on time and have a successful breeding season.

Feeding: steady energy = steady milk
— Keep intakes steady. Big day to day changes knock milk and solids.
— Don’t let fibre get too low. Low fibre = loose dung and butterfat drops.

Simple rules of thumb: Keep grass quality as good as you can
— Graze good covers: about 1,300–1,600 kg DM/ha; leave a clean residual (4.0–4.5 cm).
— Typical summer round length: 18–21 days (speed up or slow down with growth).
— If grass is short or stemmy, add good silage. Avoid sudden ration changes.

Concentrates (feed to need, not habit):
2–4 kg/cow/day often holds solids when grass is very leafy or weather is poor. Choose by what’s missing in the diet, if you:
— Need more energy: Feed more nuts with high quality ingredients.
— Butterfat slipping or dung loose with bubbles? Then you need to Add digestible fibre or feed a nut with yeast ? Buffer.

Change rates slowly: no more than 0.5–1.0 kg up or down per day.

Minerals, vitamins, water:
— Magnesium and sodium matter on lush grass.
— Trace minerals (iodine, selenium, copper, cobalt, zinc) at recommended levels—test if unsure.
— Plenty of clean water. Milking cows can drink between 70 and 120 litres on warm days.

Rumen health and milk solids
— Watch for SARA (sub acute rumen acidosis): loose dung, less cudding, sore feet, fat:protein ratio under ~1.1.
— Keep enough effective fibre (some longer forage) on offer to cows.

Body condition
— Target BCS 2.75–3.0. Mid lactation is for holding steady—not losing or piling on weight.
— Weigh/score monthly. If more than 1 in 6 cows is under 2.5, energy or health needs a review.
— If you can, group thinner cows and feed them some more balanced energy rich feeds.

Health: small issues cost big milk Mastitis and SCC:
— Same prep every milking, good unit alignment, post dip every time.
— Replace liners at 2,000 milkings; service the plant on schedule.
— Track SCC per cow, treat promptly where necessary and keep high SCC cow’s milk separate.

Lameness:
— Footbath regularly.
— Locomotive score cows: this method is used to identify lameness at an early stage.
— Trim problem cows early. Fix rough concrete and tight turns on lanes and yards.

Flies and parasites:
— Mid season pressure cuts grazing time. Use targeted worming with vet advice and keep fly control going.
— We have made a substantial investment in Faecal Egg Testing equipment at Ballyduff and encourage all members to test regularly for parasite burden.

Heat:
— Shade, air-flow and sufficient trough space are all very important. Cows should be given time to move in warm weather and never hurried.

Fertility and milk
— Low or dropping milk protein highlights that cows are not getting enough energy in their diet. A butterfat to protein ratio of 1.4 or greater indicates that your herd is in negative energy balance leading to body condition loss.
— By mid lactation cows should be cycling. Use tail paint or activity collars and AI on time.
— Keep an eye on 3 weekly submission and conception rates. If they slip, check energy, minerals, and lameness.

Use your milk results to tell the story:
— Monitor milk urea to avoid over feeding of protein which can lead to embryonic loss if not corrected.