Prelacto

Taking control of the critical transition period

Sander Abrahamse

International Product Manager Ruminants

Prelacto, the solution for the dry period

The best start to a new lactation

Get in touch with our experts

Taking control of the critical transition period

Ask any dairy farmer about the biggest challenges they face in looking after their herd. Most – if not all – will mention the difficulties of preventing health issues during the transition period.


Prelacto Dry Period Plan

The De Heus Prelacto Dry Period Plan will help you optimise the transition period between lactations to improve your cows’ performance and significantly reduce the impact of disease on your herd. You’ll unlock amazing results and save time, money and effort.

It will help you achieve:

  • Longer lifespans and reduced culling rates
  • An easy, healthy start to the lactation
  • Improved fertility
  • Significant drop in disease and related treatment costs
  • Higher profits, average of €8,500 per 100 calvings

The Prelacto Dry Period Plan explained further

Your goal is to optimise the cow’s transition between lactations. Each of the four phases plays a key role, and each needs to be handled differently.

Learn more about the four phases of transition

Select a total, all-round solution

In dairy cows, the weeks before and after calving play a crucial role in longer-term health and lactation performance. The dry period enables udder tissue to regenerate, clearing old intra-mammary infections and boosting milk production during the following lactation.

Our proven Prelacto Dry Period Plan brings together all these insights and more to help you optimise your farm results. The plan includes different management strategies customised to your farm, specific nutritional products and housing advice.


Prelacto. Dry period plan.

Curious to learn more about the insights explained in the video?

How to ensure the best possible start to a new lactation

Discover our Prelacto feed products

All the important vitamins and minerals in the Prelacto dry cow feed are optimally dosed, with anionic salts included. This will help to minimise metabolic disorders and boost your chances of a good start.

  • Highly palatable feed with selected ingredients
  • High level of easily digestible protein to support cow and unborn calf
  • Negative DCAB to stimulate calcium metabolism

FAQ Prelacto

Frequently asked questions

A well-applied transition-management strategy opens the door to prevention rather than cure. By intervening in the cow’s health before illnesses take root, you’ll save valuable time and money.

Learn more about disease prevention

Cows require a large amount of calcium at the start of the lactation phase. One way to increase calcium levels around calving is to reduce the dietary cation anion balance (DCAD) during the close-up phase. Our proven DCAD strategy makes it easier for cows to transition to the next lactation.

Learn more about increasing blood calcium levels

Most farmers monitor the most common dietary minerals including calcium, potassium and magnesium. But don’t underestimate the role phosphorous plays in a cow’s nutrition: reducing phosphorous during the dry period is an important aspect of preventing subclinical diseases, especially hypocalcemia around calving.

Learn more about the role of phosphorous

As shown by on-farm studies conducted by De Heus, ketosis typically results from a severe negative energy balance (NEB) due to sub-optimal dry-matter intake around calving. Our three-step approach will help to solve this issue. Learn more