Dairy Team News - Milk Quality

December 2008 Cowscope Newsletter Published

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:09:00 -0600

Good Morning,

The December 2008 issue of Cowscope is now available for viewing on the Jefferson County webpage at: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cty/jefferson/ag/Cowscope08.html

If you have any questions, please contact Ken Bolton, Dairy and Livestock Agent at kenneth.bolton@ces.uwex.edu or Kim Buchholz, Administrative Secretary at kimb@co.jefferson.wi.us .

Thank you.

October 2008 Cowscope

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:01:00 -0600

Here is the October 2008 edition of Cowscope which is written by Ken Bolton, UW-Extension, Jefferson County Dairy and Livestock Agent. Please refer to our website for the newsletter at the following link:

http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cty/jefferson/ag/documents/CowscopeOct08.pdf

Enjoy!

Do you want to know how to solve teat condition problems?

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:58:00 -0600

In this paper the collective experience and knowledge of members of the Teat Club International have been applied to

describing effective treatments, changes in management or changes in machine settings that appear to provide successful solutions for particular teat condition problems in commercial herds;
indicating the expected time scale - after the start of a successful treatment or management change - until improvements in teat condition should become evident;
providing an estimate of the degree of confidence attached to each recommendation or conclusion.

Click on this link for the full paper.

http://www.uwex.edu/uwmril/pdf/MilkMachine/TeatConditionEval/07%20NMC%20TCI%20-Addressing%20teat%20condition[1].pdf

Effects of Liner Compression on Teat-End Hyperkeratosis

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:54:00 -0600

This paper reports on a study of the influenc of liners on teat end hyperkeretosis (rough and cracked teat ends). The teat canal is an important barrier against microorganism invasion of the udder. The degree of teat-end hyperkeratosis (HK) is a dynamic condition. Development of HK is influenced by many factors: some animal dependent, some dependent from seasonal condition and some from milking management. In particular milking vacuum and liner compression (LC) can influence teat-end condition. A quarter-udder experiment was performed with four liners each applied one quarter of 75 Holstein cows for a period of 3 weeks. Teat-end HK was assessed weekly. The results of this study confirm that the risk developing HK increases with liners that apply greater pressure to the teat end when closed. The risk of developing HK was highly influenced by the duration of milking and initial teat-end HK score.

For the full paper click on this link.

http://www.uwex.edu/uwmril/pdf/MilkMachine/MilkMachine/Liners/08%203798%20ASABE%20Zucali%20Liner%20Compression%20and%20HK.pdf

Method for Assessing Teat and Udder Hygiene

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:46:00 -0600

This paper presents a new method was developed to quantify bacteria on bovine teats prior to milking. Previous methods using swabs to recover bacteria from teat skin have shown a high degree of variability in the amount of bacteria recovered depending on the amount of pressure applied to the teat/swab interface, the variability in the surface area of the teat swabbed, and the choice of the area to swab as the entire teat surface cannot be practically swabbed. This new method uses a single towel moistened with water to recover soil and bacteria from all four teats of each individual cow. Bacteria are then recovered from the towel and suspended in a sterile water solution. This solution is then cultured and tested using direct microscopic methods. Data are presented from several case studies which were designed to detect differences between different bedding management strategies on the bacteria population on the teats of cows as they entered the milking parlor as well as to detect the efficacy of pre milking teat sanitation in both conventional and automatic (robotic) milking facilities.

Click on this link for the full Paper.

http://www.uwex.edu/uwmril/pdf/MilkMachine/MilkMachine/PerformanceTesting/083796%20ASABE%20Bade%20Method%20for%20Assessing%20Udder%20Hygiene.pdf

2008 National Dairy Quality Award Nominations

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:58:00 -0600

Wisconsin dairy producers are proud of the milk that they produce and here is a great opportunity for us to help them get the recognition that they deserve. The NMC will be accepting nominations for the NDQA awards through Sept 10, 2008. Nominating a herd or 2 is a great way to build relationships with your farmers. The initial screening form is a 1 page simple form (attached) that doesn't take much time to complete. NDQA judges review the screening form to select farms that are asked to submit a more detailed form for the final judging. Quality indicators such as SCC, bacteria count, number of cases of clinical mastisit, record keeping, treatment protocols and milking management are all considered in the final judging process. The platinum award winners (usually 3-5 farms) receive national recognition, are featured in the January 10, 2009 issue of Hoards Dairyman and recieve complimentary registration and lodging at the NMC meeting. Here is a link to the NMC announcment:

http://nmconline.org/ndqa

Please let me know if you have any questions.

NMC Regional Meeting in Green Bay

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:47:00 -0600

Many of you are probably aware of the upcoming NMC regional meeting that will be occurring in Green Bay on August 12-13. The target audience for this meeitng is farmers and the professionals that are serving them and the meeting is focusing on managing for milk quality during summer heat and humidity. If you would like more information about this meeting, check out the meeting website:

http://nmconline.org/regionalmeet/2008/

There is a unique aspect to this meeting that has never been offered before. The NMC is offering a half day Spanish only seminar for milkers. We need to promote this aspect of the meeting and hopefully get good attendance for this unique opportunity. The link to that portion of the meeting is:

http://nmconline.org/regionalmeet/2008/SpanishRM08.htm

Please work on promoting this meeting with your clientele.

Minimizing Mastitis Concerns in Response to Flooding on Dairy Farm

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:20:00 -0600

Recent weather has resulted in ideal conditions for the growth of bacteria associated with environmental mastitis. The attached 2 page article gives some background concepts related to preventive strategies for reducing the risk of mastitis. Here is a summary of the:

Take Home Message:

Wet pastures & bedding in combination with summer temperatures will result in increased opportunities for cows to develop environmental mastitis
Increased cases of clinical mastitis caused by Gram negative pathogens may be expected as a result
Preventive strategies should include
- Ensure that J5 vaccines are properly used and consider booster injections
- Consider the use of barrier teat dips until bedding dries out
- Remove wet bedding as frequently as possible
- Continue to focus on implementing principles of Good Udder Preparation http://www.uwex.edu/milkquality/PDF/Vol_3_pdf/Pg_3_61-69_seven_habits.pdf

Frozen Teat Alert

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:59:00 -0600

I have received several phone calls from both producers and veterinarians that are dealing with herds that have experienced frozen or frostbit teats on dairy cows or dairy heifers. The weather conditions that we have experienced have been ideal to create this situation and I wanted to alert everyone to the steps that can be taken to minimize this problem.

Frozen or frostbit teats generally occur when wet teats are exposed to bitterly cold conditions. Risk factors for developing this syndrome include: outwintering of lactating cows, the failure to provide dry bedding sources or windbreaks and long walkways that cows with wet teats have to traverse after being milked. Another high risk situation for heifers would be the presence of a "sucker" heifer within an outwintered group.

There can be some confusion regarding diagnosis of frostbite and the primary differential is usually Herpes Mammilitis. A couple of key differentials is that some teats with herpes should demonstrate the distinct small vesicles and the skin often becomes thickened. The attached Word document has a couple of photos that may be helpful in diagnosis.

There is no specific treatment for frostbite and the general recommendation is that supportive care (teat salves, the use of high emollient teat dips) is used. If lactating cows develop frostbite, they are at extremely high risk for developing subclinical or clinical mastitis and it is not uncommon for the primary pathogen to be Staph aureus. This pathogen often predominates because it is a common teat skin contaminant. Farmers often discontinue teat dipping in periods of bitterly cold weather but that is often counterproductive and may result in outbreaks of contagious mastitis. The key is to focus on prevention.

Please feel free to contact me if you have herds that are dealing with this issue.

Mastitis and the Dry Period

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:32:00 -0600

Many of you may be familiar with the "Fresh Start" programs that some farmers are using. In brief, these programs usually consist of the use of CMT or another SCC measurement device to screen cows after calving for mastitis. Most of these fresh start" type programs advocate the use of lactating cow intramammary antibiotics to treat quarters that show evidence (increased CMT scores or SCC) of infection. While the definitive work on the cost-effectiveness of these programs is not yet complete, preliminary studies have NOT demonstrated that these programs are cost effective. We have just completed some research that has looked at the relationship between subclinical mastitis across the dry period and the development of clinical mastitis in the first 4 months of the next lactation. The research papers will be submitted for peer review in the next couple of months but the attached proceedings paper gives a good overview of our results and also contains preliminary recommendations for applying our results on dairy farms. There will also be a Hoards Dairyman article released in the next few months that will summarize this data in a more practical manner.

Preliminary Data about the Effect of Milking Management on Microbial Quality of Milk

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 12:54:00 -0600

Many of you are aware that milk processors are increasingly focusing on additional quality parameters other than the traditional SCC and standard plate count. One of the biggest concerns that is looming is the wildly fluctuating coliform counts which are often observed on larger dairy farms. While there are currently no national regulatory standards for coliform count, this issue is increasingly being examined by processors as a potential marker for quality problems (especially hygiene). Over the last couple of years, we have performed several research projects to evaluate the impact of various aspects of milking management on microbial quality of milk. The results of those studies will be gradually released over the next year as we finish the publications that we will be submitting for peer review. In the meantime, we will be posting short proceedings papers that contain preliminary data. This paper review some farm practices that we have demonstrated to have an impact on bacterial counts of milk.

New Udder Health Management Summary and Reports from AgSource

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 08:42:00 -0600

Dear All
This month AgSource Cooperative Services will be launching the new Udder Health Management Summary and Report. This has been developed over the last two years through a partnership with the School of Veterinary Medicine at the UW. Users of Wisgraph will be familiar with the changes in the SCC analysis, but for those that have not used that tool, we are only too happy to help and answer any questions you may have. We have prepared a pps file to help you compare what the new summary does compared with the old report and with DC305 report functions. We believe that it is a significant improvement over existing analyses and the concepts have been field tested over the last 8 years as we have successfully helped solve milk quality problems on Wisconsin dairy farms. We hope you find it of use to you in the field as you assist farmers in improving their milk quality.

Link to: PowerPoint slide show

Link to: Handout pdf (6 slides per page)

Regards
Nigel Cook

Nigel B. Cook BSc BVSc Cert CHP DBR Dip. ECBHM MRCVS
Clinical Associate Professor in Food Animal Production Medicine
University of Wisconsin-Madison
School of Veterinary Medicine
2015 Linden Drive
Madison
Wisconsin 53706-1102
Tel: 608 265 4981
Fax: 608 262 8595
Web Site: http://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/dms/fapm/index.html

"We don't make the cows, we make them happier!"

Methods for assessing udder hygiene

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:52:00 -0600

The cleanliness of udders is one of the measures most highly correlated with mastitis risk and somatic cell counts. This paper presented at the annual NMC meeting by Dr. Nigel Cook from the UW vet school provides a variety of methods for quantifying udder hygine and some case studies to illustrate their use in the field.

http://www.uwex.edu/uwmril/pdf/MilkMachine/Cleaning/07%20NMC%20Hygiene%20Toolbox[1].pdf

Updated Bilingual Milking Skills CD Available

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 10:09:00 -0600

For those of you seeking resources for milker training, we have updated the Milking skills CD series and have a CD available for purchase through the Babcock Institute Website. Each CD contains the entire text and audio in both Spanish and English. The details of the CD are below.

Publication Detail

Training-Lactation

Milking Skills

Dr. Pamela Ruegg , 2007

This CD uses video, photographs and narration to explain the steps of a good milking routine and how to use a routine to improve milk quality, a demonstration of proper milk sampling techniques and an overview of the different tests available for detecting somatic cell count (CMT, WMT, PortsSCC, DCC, bulk tank). Other topics discussed are clinical and sub clinical mastitis and flaming udder. Includes Flash and PDF files and is Mac and PC compatible.

	$25.00 Add to Cart
Language: Also available in: No other languages. Spanish description	ISBN: 978-1-59215-115-9 0 oz., 0 grams

Benchmarks for Milking Performance In Wisconsin

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 12:04:00 -0600

Are you wondering how the best milking parlors are performing in Wisconsin?

Have a look at this paper for statistics from milking parlor user groups in south and central Wisconsin.

http://www.uwex.edu/uwmril/pdf/MilkingParlors/07%20Bade%20IDF%20Wis%20Italy%20Dairy%20Survey.pdf