07 April 2025
Analysing the first milk recording reports of the year
The first milk recording of the year is an extra job to be completed at a busy time of the year, but the importance of completing it in a timely manner cannot be overemphasised, Padraig O’Connor tells us more.
Milk recording is a key tool available to dairy farmers in relation to mastitis control. The recommendation is that farmers complete a minimum of four and preferably six milk recordings per lactation. The first milk recording of the year for a spring-calving herd with a start calving date of the 1st of February should be completed within 60 days of the start of calving, so the first milk recording should be completed at this stage.
Completing a milk recording within 60 days of calving will enable you to:
- Assess how the dry period went
- Identify any high somatic cell count (SCC) cows and manage them accordingly
Assessing how the dry period went
The first report to examine is the CellCheck Farm Summary report. Page one outlines the SCC figures for the herd and also tracks the monthly bulk tank average. Figures for the Recent Infection Rate since last recording and % of Cows with persistent Infections are not available as this is the first recording of the year.
Page two analyses the Mastitis control during the Dry Period/Calving. There are three elements to this with targets included which are outlined in Figure 1
- Cows that picked up infection during the dry period
- Heifers with a high SCC
- Number of cows cured over the dry period
In this particular example, there is a SCC issue with the heifers during the dry period / calving highlighted in red. Six out of fifteen or 40% had a high SCC on the first milk recording. These animals will need to be treated in consultation with your vet and the heifer management during the dry period also needs to be looked at before the next housing season. The number of cows that picked up infections and the number of cows cured over the dry period was successful in this example.
Figure 1: Example report on ‘Mastitis control: Dry Period/Calving
The second report to analyse is the Problem Cow report outlined in Figure 2. This highlights any cows that were over 200,000 cells per ml in this lactation and how much they contribute to the overall herd SCC. This report also highlights the average SCC for these cows for the previous lactation. In this example, the last cow on the list highlighted in red should be on the culling list. She had an average SCC of 451,000 for her previous lactation, had six counts over 200,000 and is now at 710,000 after going through dry cow treatment.
Figure 2: An example of the Mastitis Incidence Problem Cow Report
How to deal with high SCC cows
The best option for chronic cows or cows with persistent infections is culling. However, not all infected cows can be culled. The next option is to identify which quarter is causing the high SCC, as it’s usually only one quarter. This is completed using a Californian Mastitis test (CMT). You may opt to treat some of these infected quarters, but this should be done in consultation with your vet. Carrying out a culture and sensitivity test on some of these quarters is a very worthwhile exercise to identify the bacteria causing the infection. The other option is to stop milking these high SCC quarters and allow them to dry up naturally.
Containing the spread of infection from these infected cows is critical. The best solution – if it’s practical – is to milk these infected cows last. However, if this isn’t possible, the cluster will need to be disinfected in a peracetic solution after milking the infected cow. If the cluster isn’t disinfected, it has the potential to infect the next five to six cows milked with that cluster. Cluster dipping is one solution, but this needs to be carried out correctly and hygienically with the proper concentration of peracetic acid and dumped after every six to seven dips. This can also be completed automatically with additional technology incorporated into the milking parlour to disinfect liners. Some farmers opt to leave these high SCC cows with the main herd, draft them out without milking them with an auto drafter and then bring them back in at the end of milking to milk them last. It’s critical to break the transfer of infection from the infected cow to the uninfected cow
A good milking routine is essential also. Having clean cows with tails clipped, wearing nitrile disposable gloves, attaching and detaching clusters correctly and applying sufficient teat spray correctly (15mls/cow/milking) are all important points in keeping on top of mastitis.
Summary
The first milk recording of the year is an extra job to be completed at a busy time of the year, but the importance of completing it in a timely manner cannot be overemphasised. Allow extra time and help to complete this job on the day of recording to ease the workload on everybody involved. The data generated from milk recording is significant in terms of managing SCC in your herd. Farmers that act on the infected cows early in lactation reap the rewards later in lactation. Don’t underestimate the potential havoc that these infected cows can have on your herd if no action is taken.
If you need help with analysing the milk recording results, contact your Advisor, Vet, Co-op Milk Quality Advisor or Milk Recording Organisation.