Farm systems that have the milking cows on the same property for 12 months of the year can model cows as the milking herd, a separate mob does not need to be entered for when the cows are ‘dried off’. The milking herd is assumed to be mixed age, gestating and lactating. This includes the time of year when they are dried off and in calf. The springers that are about to calve, cows in milk and those that have dried off can all be included as part of the milking herd.
If any cows in the milking herd are grazed off farm these would leave the milking herd and be entered as Dairy Grazing (Milking Cows) into the nutrient budget that is completed that the property they are grazing.