The Mastitis and Milk Management Weekly Series Wraps Up The Mastitis and Milk Management Weekly Series wraps up for the winter season. Click through the 12-week archived series below to learn more about the effects of mastitis on your farm. A look ahead: Milking Systems and Parlor Management. The new weekly series will feature academic Read more about Mastitis and Milk Management Weekly Series Wraps Up[…]
week TWELVE: Teat Disinfection Facts The rate of new udder infection is related to the number of mastitis-causing pathogens on teat ends. Disinfecting teats with a germicidal agent immediately after milking kills most of the pathogens on teats. This in turn reduces the chance of those pathogens getting into the udder. Click here to learn Read more about week TWELVE: Teat Disinfection Facts[…]
week ELEVEN: The Role of Milking Equipment in Mastitis There are many factors that can affect milk quality and udder health in dairy cattle, and milking equipment is one of them. Click here to learn more.
week TEN: Making Better Treatment Decisions for Managing Clinical Mastitis Although considerable progress has been made in controlling contagious mastitis, intramammary infection continues to be the most frequently occurring and costliest disease of dairy cows. Click here to learn more.
week NINE: How Milk Quality is Assessed How is milk quality determined? Several different methods are used to assess milk quality. Some methods such as thesomatic cell count (SCC) and standard plate count (SPC) are mandated by the federal Grade “A” Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, which is a document that specifies safety standards of Grade “A” Read more about week NINE: How Milk Quality is Assessed[…]
week EIGHT: Mastitis Detection, Prevention and Control in Dairy Replacement Heifers Replacement heifers,whether they are raised on the farm, purchased from other dairies, or contract-raised by growers, are critical to herd productivity because they represent the future milking and breeding stock in all dairy operations. The goal should be to provide an environment for heifers Read more about week EIGHT: Mastitis Detection, Prevention and Control in Dairy Replacement Heifers[…]
week SEVEN: Dry Cow Therapy Traditional dry cow therapy is the use of intramammary antibiotic therapy immediately after the last milking of lactation. Click here to learn more.
week SIX: Are U.S. Dairy Farms Ready for a Drop in the SCC Legal Limit? With a potential reduction in the legal limit for bulk tank somatic cell counts looming in the future to improve milk quality, how well have U.S. producers adopted mastitis control technologies? Click here to learn more.
week FIVE: Collection and Preparation of Milk Samples for Microbiological Culturing In developing individual farm mastitis control and treatmentstrategies, it is often necessary to characterize the types of bacteria that are present on your farm. To answer this question, a microbiological analysis, or milk culture, must be performed on milk samples collected from cows showing Read more about week FIVE: Collection and Preparation of Milk Samples for Microbiological Culturing[…]
week FOUR: Cleaning and Sanitizing Milking Equipment All milking equipment, lines, and utensil surfaces that come into contact with milk, dirt, or manure must be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized before the next milking. Bulk milk tanks also must be cleaned after each milk pickup and sanitized before the next milking. The purpose of cleaning is Read more about week FOUR: Cleaning and Sanitizing Milking Equipment[…]
week THREE: Best Management Practices to Reduce Mastitis and Improve Milk Quality Production of maximum quantities of high-quality milk is an important goal of every dairy operation. Poor milk quality affects all segments of the dairy industry, ultimately resulting in milk with decreased manufacturing properties and dairy products with reduced shelf life. Mastitis can be Read more about week THREE: Best Management Practices to Reduce Mastitis and Improve Milk Quality[…]
week TWO: A Practical Look at Environmental Mastitis Environmental organisms such as streptococcal and coliform bacteria can cause mastitis in dairy cows. Click here to learn more.
week ONE: A Practical Look at Contagious Mastitis Contagious mastitis in dairy cattle can be notoriously difficult to manage, and while some pathogens can be eliminated on-farm, others can only be controlled. Click here to learn more.