A system and method for automatically drying-off a machine-milked dairy animal by controlling milk production during a gradual drying-off period. During the gradual drying-off period, the dairy animal is not milked out. For each milking during this period, an amount of milk to be removed is determined, which is less than the amount removed at a previous milking When the amount of milk for the current milking has been removed from the dairy animal, milking is stopped. The start of the gradual drying-off period is calculated from the dry-off date, the desired date of cessation of milking for this lactation, and from a predetermined drying-off period.