Dairy farmers’ golden rules for reducing cell counts

THERE are 11 rules for reducing cell counts, farmers were told at last month’s Profit from Milk Quality conference, organised by DeLaval and AIB, in Kilkenny.

* Carry out regular individual cow cell counts and use the data to identify the persistently high count cows.

* Dip cows after every milking all year; this kills bacteria transferred on to the teats during milking.

* All milkers should use clean gloves to reduce cross-contamination, rinsing the gloves regularly in disinfectant solution during milking. The same cloth should not be used to clean udders.

* Detect clinical mastitis early and treat all cases with antibiotics, discarding all milk from clinically infected cows because it has a very high cell count.

* Disinfect clusters after milking cows with clinical mastitis, to reduce spread.

* Change milking machine liners every 2,000 milkings or every six months, whichever is the shorter. Worn liners increase the spread of infection, reduce yields and add to milking times.

* Have the machine serviced twice a year. Follow recommendations made in the test report.

* Use long-acting dry cow therapy on all cows. It kills infections in the udder and helps prevent new infections. An internal teat seal may also be used.

* Have persistently high cell count cows tested to identify the mastitis bacteria causing the high count.

* Cull old cows with high cell counts which are chronically infected by staph aureus bacteria. Get advice on culling other cows.

* If buying in replacements, buy freshly calved heifers or cows with cell count histories under 200,000.