Everyone is in a race for success.  This weekend I couldn’t help but see the parallels between the Indy 500 and the dairy industry of the 21^st Century. Change is happening all around us with lightning speed.  If you are to remain relevant to the modern dairy industry, you have got to adapt to the speed at many different levels.  Whether it’s the logistics of getting the daily milking done or calving intervals or accelerated feeding protocols, dairy managers are in a daily race to the finish line.

Dairy Speed Starts with Accelerated Feeding

On the racetrack, the focus is on the car.  In dairying, it’s on the calf.  A good start means making sure there is nothing that will reduce performance at any time.  It also means using every enhancement to get optimum performance.  Nutrition is the fuel, and the first goal is getting colostrum into the calf.  Acceleration is measurable, and many dairy managers now feed calves 3X per day in bottles or multiple feedings per day for calves on automated feeders.  Here is the first place that observation and fine tuning can produce a calf that is off to a competitive start.

A Good Race Position Depends on Speed to First Breeding

Having heifers bred by 10 to 12 month of age, is like earning the pole position in the Indy 500.  It doesn’t guarantee a win, but success is a lot easier from the front of the pack, then from the rear. In driving, it means maximizing the fine details.  In dairying, it means feed, handling, health, and housing must do nothing to delay the breeding maturity of the young animal.

Six ways to fine tune your breeding program for speed

Some breeders love the challenge of establishing an accelerated breeding program.  Others work with service technicians or veterinarians or other consultants.  Regardless of the person taking the responsibility, it is important that right decisions be made from the outset. There has been considerable research done on the methods and benefits of getting heifers to calve at 21 months.

Here are six points that are used by those who have consistent success in achieving this speedy goal:

1. It starts the moment the calf is born.
2. Nutrition that’s good enough isn’t an option. It must be the best possible.
3. When selecting for accelerated breeding, use sires that are average or better for calving ease.
4. Separate fresh heifers from fresh cows. Do not overcrowd pens.
5. Observe all heifer pens at least twice a day.
6. Have a state of the art vaccination and health treatment protocol.

Using mass housing and feeding strategies won’t get you the front of the pack

The Indy 500 consists of 200 laps, and drivers need a plan for every one of them. Strategic planning starts long before the flag goes down to start the race. As you do your research on how to reduce time to first calving, learn from those who have already been around the track on this.  Experienced managers have learned that it works best when fresh cows and fresh heifers are kept in separate calving groups. Some even keep their animals at a different location. While this could require both facility and calf handling modifications, it pays off. Depending on the cost of feed, the earlier calving could pay for the required logistical changes with the money saved on extra months of feed inputs.

A Successful Race Starts with Your Pit Crew

Winning the Indy 500 is a team effort that begins with speed-seeking car designers and engineers and continues to the driver and every member of the pit crew. Success on the racetrack requires seamless collaboration and communication.  Success in the dairy business is built on the same foundation. Everyone needs to know their job and do it to the best of their ability. From breeding decisions to health management and nutrition, every person who has a connection with the heifer makes a contribution to the speed and performance that will be achieved. Watching those Indy pit crews, it is obvious that training, technology and passionate commitment to perfection, are shared traits that make a win possible. Although the focus – and the cameras – may be focused on the one leading the charge, it takes a well-trained team to be successful and lead a dairy business forward.

You Must be Prepared to Persevere

Despite the financial and time-gained benefits, there are many who aren’t prepared to face the challenges of speeding up dairy management.  In the Indy 500, it means persevering through challenges while moving at 220 mph.  The same determination is needing in dairying if you are to maintain your resolve to succeed despite obstacles that come your way on a daily basis. It is necessary to be agile – adapting to change but not necessarily changing course completely. Many tools are available to assist you and your team.  From genomics and genetics to specialty nutrition, dairying is a constantly evolving science.

Being Fast Does NOT Mean Being Reckless

The first motivation for speed comes when dairy managers understand the cost of hesitation or delay. Successful dairy producers know that time is as valuable a resource as money in the bank or herd head counts. But you can’t give up smart for speed.  Even a brief reading of the discussions on the Milk House makes it abundantly clear that discerning dairy breeders are always seeking (and sharing) best practices that will save time and money. This never means change for the sake of change.  Rather — it means recognition that continual improvements are part of the race to the finish line.  Carmakers never stop innovating, designing and re-engineering. The Indy 500 represents the greatest in motorsports technology.  The evolving dairy industry can’t rest on our laurels either. It takes research and data and commitment to build speed that doesn’t hinder the long-term sustainability of the dairy industry too!

There Are Many Ways to Get to the Finish Line

For spectators and cheering fans, the Indy 500 is filled with excitement.  For passionate dairy breeders, the race to dairy success is much the same – but without the cheering and applause on most days.  Building speed into dairy breeding is not for everyone but to those who have tried it, they are excited about the potential for building repeatable successes. Whether it’s accelerated nutrition or accelerated breeding, it takes team commitment to make a winner — in the milk tank, the show barn or at whatever finish line means success to your dairy strategy.

There are NO Guarantees

Even with the best strategies, breeding plans, teamwork, and technology, dairying is not perfect all the time.  As in the Indy 500 unforeseen variables, equipment and strategy can change in an instant – and the outcome is changed too! However — whether you’re racing or producing milk – the passion for the finish line keeps you adapting, changing and showing up — every day – to start the next race to the finish. You can’t imitate a winner.  You’ve got to put in the hard work, sweat and tears. Furthermore — today’s win — on the spreadsheet, milk check or genetic evaluation – doesn’t mean that success is guaranteed for tomorrow. We look to dairy history for continuity but not for repetition. You have to change with the modern times.  And then be even better.

Long Term Wins Start With Every Short Term Race

Whether it’s daily protocols in the milk house or your strategy for breeding, you are in a race to perform at your best every day, every month, every year. What you do every day must combine seamlessly with your strategy for long-term dairy success.  What you are doing at this moment in time will determine when – or even if – you will successfully enter the winner’s circle.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Modern dairy managers must be prepared not only for constant change but also for increasing speed.  We are in a race to find the best ways to improve, to compete and to win.  Bigger, better, faster, more!  Are you up to speed?  From challenges to champions, are you up to speed?  

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Here at the Bullvine we spend a lot of time reporting on and recognizing achievements in the dairy industry.  Dinner table conversations often revolve around those who are successful leaders who spark our minds, touch our hearts and make us smile. It is only logical that we all have opinions on how these exceptional people rise to this level of recognition in the dairy industry.  One thing we all agree on is that it isn’t as simple as putting on a three-piece suit and carrying a leather briefcase. In my opinion, those who aspire to the pinnacle of dairy success, must recognize that, as in the genetic side of the dairy industry, success has a lot to do with who your Mother is. By that I mean it depends on what your Mother always says!  (Whenever I say this at home it causes excessive eye-rolling!)

According to my firstborn son and his two siblings, two things that are even more certain than “death and taxes” are me and my clichés. According to them, their mother is “faster than a speeding bullet” in whipping out the appropriate cliché to illustrate truths, design action plans or to prove the inevitability of daily conspiracy theories. No doubt you join them in noticing that in my writing for the Bullvine, clichés are “as thick as hair on a dog!” Whenever I urge them to “think outside the box”, they quickly respond that I have to stop clinging to jargon that no longer means anything in the modern world of dairy business. However, for me “Mother always said….” is a proven preface for discovering pearls of wisdom that I learned from my mother and that should never be forgotten as you seek success in dairying.

Mother always said, “There’ll never be a better time than right now!”

Waiting for the perfect time, conditions or horoscope isn’t going to make as big a difference in your situation as actually getting started will. There is positive momentum in every move forward. Furthermore mother knows that the place to start is where you are at today.  You cannot start where the previous generation ended off.  You cannot start where your successful neighbor already is. Know where you are in the growth cycle of your business. When you know where you are right now, you can decide where you want to be.  The difference between the two places is YOU! Take a hard look in the mirror and then get started at narrowing the gap.

Of course, you quickly recall the nuggets of wisdom gleaned from your Mother and hurry to speak up with one my mother used quite often.

Mother always said, “Actions speak louder than words.”

Words can be positive, giving encouragement and praise, or negative, delivering complaints, criticism or excuses.  But, at the end of the day, words alone cannot get the job done. You can’t talk a calving, a milking line or feeding program into a success.  Good managers focus on doing the right jobs.  They are NOT looking after the fact for excuses for failure. They are constantly looking forward and acting on their priorities.

Mother always says, “A loud noise denotes an empty head.”

Sometimes we build our courage with a lot of explanation, talking and excuses.  However, too much talk can hold back your business.  Of course, talk goes both ways, and we can be negatively impacted by listening to too much real or perceived criticism.  And then there are always some dairy managers are comfortable with the talking and planning but lag when it comes to actually putting a plan into action.

So now you see Mother’s wisdom, and you assure her that, “Good things come to those who wait!” WRONG!  Good things come to those who work their backsides off and never give up!

Mother always said, “Smart is as Smart does!”

It is a trend in farm families today that the younger generation is seeking education to support their agriculture careers.  My grandfather loved to say, “These kids have more degrees than a thermometer.” But, once again, mother wants the degree to do more than take up space on the wall. She knows that the real test of smart dairy farming depends on the choices you make. Those choices better be well thought out and analyzed before you make them. It will only be smart if it moves your dairy toward the goals you are trying to achieve.

Mother always said, “Hard work is the key to success.”

Mother didn’t believe in waiting around for something good to happen, “Don’t wish for it.  Work for it!”  It wasn’t good enough to submit a wish list or hope that Santa Claus would fulfill every longing.  If it meant something to us to have it, we had to be prepared to put in the work.  Many a dream (and even a horse or two) was built on the back of back-breaking work, whether it was on our own farm or picking strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes.  It’s great to have more money, more land, more help.  But more successful farmers start pulling ahead of the rest by investing more “sweat equity” every day!!

Mother always said, “What goes around comes around.”

Whether you are dealing with crop prices or sale prices on calves, cows and bulls, if you’re in the dairy industry for the long haul you will see that there is a cycle to most things.  Discerning farmers don’t make huge capital investments on the basis of one good year. They also don’t sell when a tough year or two (or more) rears its ugly head. My father was a home builder, and he prepared for a seven-year cycle, always making sure that he had something “salted away for a rainy day”.

Mother always said, “Tough times don’t last. Tough people do.

You wouldn’t be blamed if you felt that tough times seem to hit the dairy industry repeatedly.  There are even those who foretell the demise of this dairy company, that dairy sector or even the whole industry.  But “the past foretells the future! So rest assured there will always be dairy farmers but it will mean they will be the ones who toughen up.

To some, being tough might mean backstabbing or working over enough people to make it to the top.  This isn’t the kind of toughness mom was talking about. She means the toughness that sees you through hard times and even failure.  When you ask yourself, “Where do I go from here?” Mother’s toughness refers to having the courage to take control and triumph over adversity through your core strength that is built on integrity, personal honesty, and accountability.

Mother always said, “If everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you?”

Don’t follow the crowd.  You’ve got to stand up to stand out says Mother.  Just because it worked for someone else … or nobody else…. It only matters, if you let it stop you. Farmers are well known for talking over the fence, in the barn alley or on “The Milk House”. The best conversations are the ones that lead to actions.  There’s no real value in seeking out confirmation for what you are already doing. While it’s affirming to be part of a large group, it’s really important to make sure that “everybody’s doing it” doesn’t become your recipe for failure. Habit patterns and ways of thinking become deeply engrained.  It seems easier to follow the crowd than to cope with change. Before you jump off the cliff, do some independent thinking and research. Realize your own dreams.

Mother always said, “A woman’s work is never done!”

Having seriously considered the preceding motherly steps to success, you have a list that could truly help you on your road.  There are purpose and priority to everything on her list.  When you know why you do what you do, you’ll end up getting a lot more done but remember Mother’s message — not only for women but for every dairy manager – “work is never done!” Being “done” is a terrible myth.  Seeking to be finished stresses out many people.  And yet there’s absolutely no need for it.  Simply “do what you love and love what you do!”

The Bullvine Bottom Line

If you want to develop an eye for cows, and a head for the dairy business, you’ve got to start with your ears! The wisdom to see you rise to the top is out there.  Sometimes it comes disguised as a cliché from Mother that, if you really listen, makes a whole lot of sense.  In conclusion, always remember Mother’s bottom line:  “If you can list what you’ve done, you haven’t done enough! And, at the end of the day, “If at first you don’t succeed —– try doing it the way she told you to in the first place!”

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Most managers of dairy facilities are excellent at managing the obviously dirty things.   However, with the ever rising statistics on calf scours, “looking” clean isn’t good enough. Having said that, removing visible manure, soil, spoiled or spilled milk or other substances from surfaces and equipment is a critical and logical first starting point.

21 GERM LADEN PLACES THAT ARE PUTTING YOUR CALVES AT RISK!

For every easy to see nasty, there are a host of under-the-radar pathogen producing threats that persist beyond what the eye can see. Here are 21 surprisingly dirty things wand what to do about them.

If it Touches a Calf, It’s Got to be Clean!

It is only logical that everything that comes into direct contact with the calf must be sanitary!

• Bottles
  The bottles should be disinfected before every feeding. Disinfect nipples go in a pail with chlorine water before they go on the bottle. If you only rinse a bottle with hot water, bacteria will grow on the film that remains and then you will be feeding that to the calves.
• Esophageal feeders
  Have separate feeders for calves from those that are used for sick animals.
• Buckets
  Watch for buckets that are becoming scratched. Even though they don’t leak, the scored places could provide a breeding ground for bacteria.
• Feed Pails
  Don’t stack buckets on cement or wood to dry.
• Calf blankets
  Not just a warm comfort for young animals they can also be home to several type of fungi and germs. The natural hours spent sweating, shedding and drooling milk create ideal conditions for pathogen growth.  Have a regular system of thorough cleaning so that blankets are pristine for each new calf.
• Other calves
  Calf to calf contact. Within the imitations of your situation, always ask the question “Based on what I have to use, what steps must I take to minimize exchange between calves.”
• Feeding order
  Feed youngest first and work up to the oldest
• Feed
  Feed small quantities of feed more often, if that is the only way to prevent the feed from harboring bacteria as it gets wet from the feeding process or becomes affected by the environmental conditions or natural breakdown of its own components. 

Clean Up Your Personal Hygiene or Risk Staff Infection

All your hard work and good intentions will go nowhere if the people who work with the calves are themselves carriers of bacteria.  The all-inclusive nature of the job means that hands, feet, clothing, and equipment are constantly being exposed and transported by the very people whose responsibility it is to keep things clean for the calves.

• Gloves
  It’s easy for bacteria to get trapped in fabric, creating ideal conditions for bacteria to breed. Even plastic, if not sanitized, can harbor pathogens.
• Coveralls
  Change into clean coveralls on arrival and at mid-day. It might be necessary to change whenever the clothes you’re wearing have become particularly dirty, either from a messy job or from working with other animals. The latter could raise the risk of cross-contamination significantly.
• Footwear
  Wear separate footwear for working with calves and be aware that every step you take could be a mode of transportation for something that will put your calves at risk.

Equipment Clean as a Whistle

Beyond the obvious equipment used only for calves, it is crucially important to make sure that more general use items are also clean.

• Livestock Trailers
  Once again, the degree of cleanliness that passes eye inspection is not enough to keep calves safe. A thorough sanitation plan must be in place and used to prevent the spread of infection between animals, farms and handlers.
• Spiggots
  Even though, equipment or calves don’t actually come into contact – airborne and other contact pathogens can build up on these supposedly clean (because they deliver clean water) places. Clean them every day.
• Sponges
  Try antibacterial sponges and soaps to limit the lesser of bacteria evils—but neither are very effective at controlling the big name baddies lie E.coli and salmonella. Disinfect sponges regularly and depending on frequency of use, soak them in a bleach solution for 4 minutes or microwave on high for two minutes (microwaving has been show to kill 99 percent of bacteria).
• Water Sources
  Be vigilant about testing water. Most hoses are not delivering water that hot enough to kill anything growing in the wet, dark environment provided by an undrained hose. Rinsing with 50/50 mix of water and vinegar or — bleach — is a regular routine to instigate.
• Hoses
  Again the assumption is that something that is filled with /delivers water will be clean.

Wherever surfaces come into contact, those joining places can breed pathogens

Flat surfaces.  A lot goes into caring for animals, and there can be a lot of airborne bacteria that is bound to find the nearest flat surface.  To minimize the risk, some experts recommend using a disinfectant on flat surfaces several times a day.  If human hands or equipment can touch it, it needs to be kept clean.  Keep antibacterial wipes handy for easy access.  This is another place to be aware of heavily nicked surfaces and replace them regularly.

Keep Your Housing So Clean You Could Eat Off the Floor

There is no such thing as going too far when it comes to sanitation of calf-raising environments.  In fact, overkill (of bacteria) is exactly what you’re targeting.

These five place should all have sanitation protocols that are planned, posted and acted upon.

1. Maternity pens
2. Newborn pens
3. Calf pens / hutches
4. Calf barns
5. Calf transporters
6. Automated feeders

 SSOP – STANDARD SANITATION OPERATING PROCEDURES

When setting up your own customized sanitation procedures, make sure you consider these recommendations:

For removal of biofilm and sanitation of calf feeding equipment

• Rinse equipment with lukewarm water.
• Soak with hot water, at least 140° F that contains a chlorinated alkaline detergent with a pH of 11 to 12.
• Vigorously wash the calf feeding equipment with a brush for one to two minutes.
• Rinse with cold water and then rinse a second time using an acidic solution with a pH of 2 to 3.
• Allow the calf feeding equipment to thoroughly dry. Do not stack buckets on concrete floors or boards. Bottles and nipples should be air-dried on a drying rack.
• Sanitize both the inside and outside of the calf feeding equipment two hours or less before use.
• Sanitize calf feeding equipment using 50 ppm ClO₂.
• One to two minutes contact time.
• Bottles, nipples, buckets, pasteurizers, mixing equipment, etc.

For removal of biofilm and sanitation of calf pens using low-pressure foam cleaning:

• Remove all the bedding and organic material from the calf pens.
• Thoroughly wet the calf pens with water, starting with the highest and ending with the lowest point of the calf pen.
• Apply an alkaline foaming detergent (pH 11 to 12) to the calf pens using either a hand-held airless or an air-driven foamer.
• Go from low to high and apply the foam evenly to all the surfaces of the calf pen.
• Soak 10 to 15 minutes (don’t allow the foam to dry).
• Rinse with water, going from high to low.
• Apply a foaming acid (pH 3 to 4) using either a hand-held airless or an air-driven foamer.
• Go from low to high and apply the foam evenly to all the surfaces of the calf pen.
• Soak 10 to 15 minutes (don’t allow the foam to dry).
• Rinse with water, going from high to low.
• Allow the pens to dry. Not for a few hours or overnight.  Letting a hutch sit without organic matter or calf, pathogens have nothing to feed on.
• Disinfect with a suitable disinfectant, going from the highest point to the lowest point of the calf pen.

Misting (livestock present), using 100 ppm ClO₂

• At least 30 seconds contact time.
• Use in maternity pens, calf pens, bedding packs, calf’s feet, legs, brisket, and belly.

Environmental disinfecting (no livestock present), using 250 ppm ClO₂

• Five to ten minutes contact time.
• Use in maternity pens, hutches, calf pens, calf barns, calf transporters, automated feeders, livestock trailers.

Environmental fogging (no livestock present), using 500 ppm ClO₂

• At least 30 minutes contact time.
• Use in calf barns and livestock trailers.

Note: Since chlorine dioxide concentrations vary quite a bit between different manufacturers, it is obligatory that the working concentration of chlorine dioxide be verified each and every time prior to use. When using chlorine dioxide at concentrations of ≥ 200 ppm, operators should wear protective eyewear, and an R95 approved particulate respirator mask that is carbon lined (grey color). The masks can be obtained in the paint section of any local hardware store.

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO COME CLEAN?

The simplest answer regarding sanitation timing is, “Be clean all the time!” However, when looking specifically at dairy calves there are several factors to carefully consider:

• little gastric acid production, which protects against enteric disease, during the first 5 to 7 days;
• an immature “fetal” gut for the first 7 to 14 days of a calf’s life;
• limited adaptive immunity during the calf’s first 2 to 3 weeks of life;
• loss of colostrum protection against K99 coli, rotavirus, coronavirus and Salmonella at about 7 to 10 days.
• levels of IgA on mucosal surfaces declines after 7 to 10 days of age.
• About 20 to 25 percent of dairy heifers in the United States require electrolyte therapy before reaching 21 days of age.

It is obvious from the above points that every day of the first month of a calf’s life has a profound influence on whether it will make it through without contracting ( ),

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Calf scours takes an economic and emotional toll on calves, staff, and facilities. A hyper-vigilant program of calf facility sanitization will pay dividends. When it’s done properly, the only bill you will have to pick up is a clean bill of health.

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The idea of opening a discussion on milk quality almost seems redundant.  After all, everybody knows the how-to processes of producing milk.  Producing quality milk isn’t rocket science.  No it isn’t.  But are we letting the familiar process lower the benchmark of the product we are producing?  Furthermore, from the cow to the container is everyone along that production line committed to the highest level of quality? Should they be? Are we able to prove it?  Do we want to?

What Does Quality Milk Mean?

Sometimes we need to start with the questions. When processors receive milk are they limited by the level of quality?  Are there products they can’t make because the quality isn’t high enough?  Are they – under pressure from retail stores and consumers – to prove that the highest standards of quality have been met?  How much more is it worth to the processor?  Is it worth it to the dairy producer? When we try to answer the questions, we find there isn’t one simple answer.  Let’s look at 8 Quality checkpoints that you may or may not be using.

1 – Quality Milk Pays for Itself

Admittedly, the quality of milk produced on your farm directly impacts your profits. But, before we even begin to look at expenses and profits of quality milk, we need to put our accounting pencils to work on the costs we are paying if our milking herd is fighting a losing battle against diseases. At the University of Wisconsin researchers addressed this problem and, along with advice on how to calculate individual farm data, they reported. “The association between herd bulk tank SCC and production losses was recently compared between herds with low SCC (<200,000/ml), herds with medium SCC (200,000-399,999) and herds with high SCC (>400,000/ml). The overall production loss for the average US dairy farm was estimated at $110/cow annually.” The researchers sum up “Lost premium opportunities, decreased milk production and discarded pails of milk are only a partial accounting of the total actual cost of mastitis on most dairy farms. Mastitis causes additional losses due to death, culling, decreased genetic gain and reductions in reproductive efficiency.” The National Mastitis Council sets the benchmark even higher placing the average cost of a case of mastitis at 4.

2 – Quality Udder Care Makes Quality Milk

Udder and teat end health is critical when it comes to avoiding instances of infection in your herd. Using a five- point scoring system can help to analyze the condition of teat ends, as well as ensuring that the bacteria-blocking keratin plug is able to fulfill its responsibilities.  Teat ends should maintain a smooth structure, avoiding any lesions or fraying, as these rough surfaces can more easily allow bacteria to enter the gland. Reports in the Journal of Dairy Science by D. M. Galton demonstrated a direct relationship between premilking hygiene procedures and both bacteria counts in milk and incidence of clinical mastitis. Numerous studies continue to prove that specific milking procedures such as predipping and forestripping are beneficial to improve milk quality. As well, milking equipment should be serviced routinely, as equipment not performing properly can cause teat end problems.

3 ­- Quality Routines Every Time

The daily parlor routine can be very often overlooked. Getting cows milked two to three times a day is a big job on its own. Ironically, some of the smallest things can make a world of difference.  Wearing gloves, making sure there is adequate predip coverage, and keeping in mind the contact time of predip before it is wiped off can have a significant impact.  Are all employees well trained and committed to following the set standards and completing them properly? Milking clean, dry, teats, is the priority.  In 1998 Smith and Armstrong divided premilking hygiene into three groups: none, minimal and full. They reported: “Herds using full preparation averaged 9 lbs. of milk per cow more than those using minimal udder preparation. They theorized the difference could be explained by improved milk let down since they observed partial let down followed by no milk flow through machine clusters for one to one and a half minutes before a second milk let down occurred when minimal teat preparation was used.”

4 – Quality is Supported by Exceptional Biosecurity

When purchasing cattle make sure proper screening takes place before these new animals join your herd. Access milk culture and production records for any information that could flag a potential problem. Quarantine incoming animals. Take steps to minimize instances of introducing a new infection to your herd.

5 – Quality Milk Starts with Quality Equipment Management

Continuous improvements and modifications of milking equipment, support quality milk production.  Equipment should never be taken for granted.

• Always check the vacuum level at the start of each milking.
• Test your milking machine annually and change liners at 2000 milkings;
• Monitor bulk tank SCC closely and take prompt action to stop spread of infection.
• Some systems monitor cows for udder health. Be sure to query the system every day regarding problem cows.

Regularly maintain all milking equipment to the highest standards.

6 – Quality Handling/Processes and Procedures

• One milker performing the entire milking routine on a group of cows is considered the most consistent for performance and speed.
• Always wear clean gloves when milking. Bare hands harbour up to 98% more bacteria than gloved hands. Clean gloves periodically during each milking with warm water and sanitizer.
• Always apply clusters to clean and dry teats. Wash dirty teats and always dry with an individual paper towel.
• A drying towel removes the most bacteria from the teat and provides extra stimulation.
• The secret to successful drying is to make sure the teat end is wiped dry.
• Use a clean or new filter sock before each milking.
• Check the filter sock for clots after every milking.
• Dry off cows abruptly – do not milk once a day.

Proper procedures provide pay-off, but only if they are done properly every time!  Staff training takes time but is absolutely necessary.  The approved milking routine should be given to every employee and posted in the parlor. Supervision and incentives will pay off.

7- Quality Means Mastitis Prevention

The most common threat to milk quality is that of mastitis. Procedures to identify sub-clinical mastitis and proper handling of identified cases is a priority.

• Forestripping all cows is the most effective way of identifying clinical cases early. It may appear time consuming, but it actually encourages faster milking, through natural oxytocin let-down.
• Culture milk samples. Early identification of the bacterial challenged in the herd can help with treatment choice.
• Treat appropriately, discussing with your vet the herd history, culture results and cow history. Ensure that the appropriate withdrawal period is observed and treated cows are well marked and easy identifiable so their milk can be segregated from the bulk tank.
•  Teat-dipping all cows immediately after every milking is the single best thing you can do to prevent new infections.
• Ensure all teat area is well covered with teat disinfectant.

Less Mastitis = More Profit

It isn’t surprising that there is a direct correlation between managing mastitis and improving your financial bottom line.  Lower SCC means better milk quality and increased production. By decreasing the risk of infection you’ll spend less time and money on treating mastitis. You will keep your herd profitable by not having to cull as many good producers due to mastitis.

8- Quality Can Mean Significant Returns!

Every farm is different and will vary to some degree based on the variables involved. It is well worth it to do an economic analysis based on your own data.  Identify and benchmark areas for improvement.  Don’t overlook calculations regarding the annual cost of mastitis on your farm.

Looking outside of our own familiar situation can often help in providing perspective. Dairymen in New Zealand have taken quality to the forefront and consultants and trainers there project how significant it can be to their bottom line. “By halving your Somatic Cell Count (SCC) you will gain, on average, a 1.8% increase in milk production. If your herd is New Zealand’s average size of 350 cows and you halve your SCC from 300,000 to 150,000, you will produce an extra 2110kg of milk solids per year. “At last year’s milk price payout (2014) of $7.50, that’s an extra $15,750 earned.”

THE BULLVINE BOTTOM LINE

Are you managing all eight of these variables?  If not, why not? Investing money, time, training and equipment with the goal of improving milk quality, is the best investment you can make.  “Quality Milk is Not Expensive.  It’s Priceless!”

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