The National Mastitis Council Annual Meeting will be held January 27-29, 2013 in San Diego, California. Early registration is open until January 4, 2013. The program will feature a number of leading experts in udder health. Progressive Dairyman asked a few presenters to discuss their plans for the meeting.
Larry Fox
Professor
Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine
TOPIC: Can somatic cell counts get too low? A question to be revisited.
Why is this topic important?
FOX : Many dairy farmers and allied industry personnel believe that cows with very low milk somatic cell counts are more susceptible to mastitis. Yet it has been well established that low somatic cell counts are associated with higher milk production, and with every doubling of cell count there is a loss of approximately 1.5 pounds of milk per day per cow.
So, the question is, can milk somatic cell counts get too low? And if yes, what is better – low cell counts and greater susceptibility or higher cell counts and more resistance to intramammary infection? The answer to these questions would help a dairy operator better understand how to manage his or her cows.
What do you hope attendees will take away from your presentation?
FOX : Although there is evidence to indicate that cows with low cell counts might be more susceptible to mastitis, there is contradictory evidence as well. Moreover, even if cows with greater genetic merit for milk production are more predisposed to intramammary infections, their yields will be better if their cell counts are lower.
Probably most importantly, most of mastitis resistance is not associated with the cow, it is associated with the herd management. Thus, management strategies to prevent mastitis are far more likely to succeed to keep a cow’s milk somatic cell count low than would breeding a cow for low milk somatic cell count. If I were a milk producer, I would be proud that the milk somatic cell counts of my cows were very low.
Jason Lombard
Dairy Specialist
National Animal Health Monitoring System
TOPIC: Milk quality around the world
Why is this topic important?
LOMBARD : ‘Milk Quality Around the World’ is an important session because it provides an opportunity for countries around the world to describe their dairy industry and milk quality – but also discuss unique issues surrounding milk quality in their countries. There are reports from nine countries, and this broad of an overview of the world dairy industry is not often presented.
What do you hope attendees will take away from your presentation?
LOMBARD : The session should provide food for thought for each of the countries presenting as they hear what is going on in terms of milk quality from the other presenting countries. I hope attendees will have a better understanding of the dairy industries in countries other than the U.S.
Doug Reinemann
Director
University of Wisconsin Milking Research and Instruction Laboratory
TOPIC: Exploring the role of liner shape, dimensions and venting on milking performance
Why is this topic important?
REINEMANN : The U.S. has traditionally used narrow bore liners while the European Union has traditionally used wide bore liners. Field data indicates that teat size distributions are very similar in the U.S. and EU with a decreasing trend in teat size over time in both regions. This presentation will review how the relationship between teat dimension and liner dimension affect milking performance.
What do you hope attendees will take away from your presentation?
REINEMANN: I hope this presentation will help dairy producers and their consultants choose liners to meet the goals of milking gently, quickly and completely.
Brandon Treichler , DVM
Valley Veterinary Clinic
TOPIC: Review of parlor summaries from 3X herds in North Americ a
Why is this topic important?
TREICHLER : On today’s dairies, the parlor represents the source of major revenue “flow” as well as significant investment in capital and human resources. Dairies struggle to balance the need for capacity and efficiency with the desire to meet and exceed milk quality goals.
Managing the interactions between the cow, the environment and the people is a major daily challenge for most dairies, yet these interactions have a significant impact on which dairies are successful. In the past, parlor performance benchmarks have been arbitrarily developed and haphazardly applied.
What do you hope attendees will take away from your presentation?
TREICHLER : This session will discuss results of a survey of dairies’ parlor performance data, seeking to provide dairy managers, owners and operators with real-world benchmarks with which to manage their parlors. It will also explore what we can learn from interactions between measured parameters and what parlor performance reports are more reliable indicators to track or monitor routinely.
For more details about the meeting or to register, click here . PD
