NMC Blog

During 2007, the average SCC in U.S. herds enrolled in Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) somatic cell testing was 276,000. This compares to 288,000 in 2006 and 296,000 in 2005.

A majority of states (27) had lower average SCC than last year; 21 states had higher. Variation among states was large. State average SCC’s were often lower than the national average in the Northeast, upper Midwest, and the far West and higher in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Central states, a finding consistent with previous reports.

The current SCC limit in the U.S. is 750,000. The SCC limit in many other major dairy countries is 400,000. The percentages of herd test days that exceeded 400,000, 500,000, 600,000, and 750,000 during 2007 were 24%, 13.4%, 7.6% and 3.5%, respectively. This percentage may overestimate the percentage of herds that shipped milk exceeding the legal limit for bulk tank SCC on test day because the milk of cows treated for mastitis is excluded from the bulk tank even though included in DHI test data.

As herd size increased, average daily milk generally increased, and average SCC declined until herd size exceeded 3,000 cows. For herds with less than 50 cows, the percentage of test days with SCC over 750,000 was 5.9%. It occurred on only 2.0% and 1.3% of the test days for herds with 50 to 99 and 100 to 149 cows, respectively, and averaged 0.7% of the test days for the remaining large herds.

[Read the details here.]

National Dairy Quality Award (NDQA) winners were announced during the awards luncheon at the NMC 47th Annual Meeting in New Orleans. Top honors went to Platinum recipients Emily, Glenn and Jon Beller, Carthage, New York; Dick Brokish, Hollandale, Wisconsin; Lowell and Karen Davenport, Ancramdale, New York; Randy and Cindy Dragt, Howard City, Michigan; Pete and John Kappelman, Manitowoc, Wisconsin; and Dean and Patti Tohl, Tillamook, Oregon.

You can read about the Platinum winners, along with the Gold and Silver winners (and their nominators) here. Results of the awards program were also published in the January 10, 2008 issue of Hoard’s Dairyman magazine.

Herman Barkema, University of Calgary, and Liliana Sotomayor, a dairy consultant from Ecuador, joined the NMC board of directors following the 47th NMC Annual Meeting, held January 20-23, in New Orleans, Louisiana. They replace retiring board members Joe Hogan, The Ohio State University, and Ken Leslie, University of Guelph.

NMC board members elected Larry Fox, Washington State University, to serve as president; Norm Schuring, WestfaliaSurge Inc., as first vice president; Pamela Ruegg, University of Wisconsin-Madison, as second vice president; Eric Hillerton, DairyNZ, as secretary; and David Reid, BouMatic, as treasurer. [Read more here.]

List of Board Members

The National Mastitis Research Foundation (NMRF) recognized four graduate students as NMC Scholars during the NMC 47th Annual Meeting in New Orleans. This year’s NMC Scholars included Kasey Moyes, University of Illinois, USA; Jolanda Jansen, Wageningen University, The Netherlands; Laura Solano, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica; and Jose Pantoja, University of Wisconsin, USA. NMRF board members selected scholars based on academic performance, research project and an essay describing their career goals. Each recipient received a travel scholarship to attend the NMC Annual Meeting and enrich their graduate education.

“The 2008 NMC Scholars are excellent representatives of the many quality graduate and veterinary students around the world focusing their studies on mastitis and milk quality. Jolanda, Kasey, Laura and Jose each brought a fresh view and energy to the annual meeting, which reassures the future of mastitis research and continued success of the NMC,” said former NMC President Joe Hogan, The Ohio State University. Hogan currently serves as the NMRF president.

Information about the 2009 NMC Scholars Program, which will include a travel scholarship to attend next year’s NMC 48th Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, will be posted on the NMC website by June 1. Applications will be due July 31.

Papers and posters presented at the NMC 47th Annual Meeting, held January 20-23 in New Orleans, are now available in the NMC Online Proceedings Library, which is accessible to NMC members in the “members only” section of the website. The proceedings library includes all the papers from the annual and regional NMC meetings back thru 2001. Click here for the members-only page.

Printed copies of the proceedings will also be mailed to all NMC members who did not attend the meeting.

Not an NMC member yet? Click here for more information.

Pre-registration records indicate that New Orleans may draw the largest attendence for an NMC Annual Meeting over the past 10 years. Scheduled for January 20-23, the meeting brings together individuals from all over the world who have an interest in mastitis and milk quality. At least 18 countries in addition to the U.S. will be represented.

Although pre-registration is now closed, it is still possible to register at the meeting. For details, go to:
http://nmconline.org/annualmeet/.

NMC members who are unable to attend the meeting will be mailed a copy of the proceedings, which includes all the papers and posters presented at the meeting. In addition, the proceedings will be available online in the ‘members-only’ section of the NMC website by January 25.

If you plan to attend the upcoming NMC Annual Meeting, January 20-23 in New Orleans, it is suggested that you make your hotel reservations early. Although the cutoff date for getting the convention rate for hotel reservations is December 27, some nights may fill up before that date. So make your reservations now! [More about the hotel.]

Registration for the NMC 47th Annual Meeting, scheduled for January 20-23, 2008, in New Orleans, is now open. The conference, targeted towards dairy professionals interested in mastitis control and quality milk production, will draw over 400 people from all around the world. [Check out the program details here.]

Next summer’s NMC Regional Meeting will be held August 12-13, 2008 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Located in Northeast Wisconsin, Green Bay is in the heart of dairy-country (and the home of the Green Bay Packers!). Mark you calendars now, and plan to attend the 2008 NMC Regional Meeting!!

A popular session at the NMC annual meeting is the Technology Transfer Session (TTS). The TTS supplements the program by providing mastitis and milk quality information through the use of posters and one-on-one interaction. The session is designed to provide a forum for exchanging information in an informal, relaxed atmosphere.

TTS participants also have the option to submit their paper for consideration as an oral presentation during the “Research and Development Summaries” session (R & D session). “This session offers “an outstanding opportunity for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and research associates to be involved in the oral presentations at the NMC meeting,” says NMC Board of Director Ken Leslie, University of Guelph.

Click here for additional information on participating in these sessions, which will be held during the upcoming NMC 47th Annual Meeting, January 20-23, 2008 in New Orleans. The deadline for manuscript submission is October 17, 2007.