NMC Blog

Milk quality in Dairy Herd Information (DHI) herds enrolled in SCC testing improved last year, as the average SCC went from 276,000 cells/ml in 2007 to 262,000 in 2008. This compares to 288,000 in 2006 and 296,000 in 2005.

Most states (41) saw a lower average SCC than the previous year; only eight states experienced a higher average SCC. As in the past, variation among states remained large. State average SCCs were lower than the national average in the far West and higher in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Central states.

The current SCC limit in the U.S. is 750,000, except in California where it is 600,000. In many other major dairy countries, the SCC limit is 400,000.

The overall percentage of herd test days that exceeded 400,000, 500,000, 600,000, and 750,000 during 2008 were 22.4%, 12.5%, 7.1% and 3.4%, respectively. The 3.4% figure may overestimate the percentage of herds with milk exceeding the legal limit for bulk tank SCC on test day, because the milk of cows treated for mastitis is included in DHI test data, but is excluded from the bulk tank.

As herd size increased, average daily milk production generally increased and average SCC generally declined. For herds with fewer than 50 cows, the percentage of test days with SCC more than 750,000 was 6.0% of the time. It occurred on only 1.7% and 1.0% of the test days for herds with 50 to 99 and 100 to 149 cows, respectively, and averaged only 0.6% of the test days for the remaining large herds. [See report details.]

Program and registration information for the upcoming NMC Regional Meeting, May 27-28 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, is now available. The meeting is being held jointly with the Mid-Atlantic Consortium (MAC) Conference.

The meeting is targeted to all segments of the dairy industry interested in mastitis control and milk quality, including producers, extension educators and specialists, veterinarians, consultants, equipment and pharmaceutical suppliers, dairy plant field staff, and students. Click for details.

Graduate students Rick Watters, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York; Jennifer McCarron, Atlantic Veterinary College, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada; Wilma Steeneveld, Utrecht University, The Netherlands; and Patricia Yoshida Faccioli, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Sao Paulo, Brazil, were recognized as NMC Scholars during the recent NMC 48th Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The NMC Scholars Program provides travel scholarships for graduate students to attend NMC annual meetings and encourage their involvement in NMC programs and activities. Funding for the NMC Scholars Program comes from the National Mastitis Research Foundation (NMRF), which is financed through contributions from NMC members and supporters. NMRF board members choose the scholars based on their academic performance, research project, and an essay describing their career goals.

Information about the 2010 NMC Scholars Program, which will include a travel scholarship to attend next year’s NMC 49th Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, will be posted on the NMC website by June 1. Applications will be due July 31.

The 2009 NMC Regional Meeting will be held jointly with the Mid-Atlantic Consortium (MAC) Conference, May 27-28, 2009 at the Woodlands Inn and Resort in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

The Mid-Atlantic Consortium (MAC) has been conducting an inservice training program for the past 10 years for Extension educators and specialists in states from the Northeast and middle Atlantic regions. This year, NMC and MAC will team together for the first time to host a mastitis and milk quality conference that will be targeted to all segments of the dairy industry, including: extension educators and specialists, producers, veterinarians, consultants, equipment and pharmaceutical suppliers, field reps, and students. Click here for additional information.

Mark you calendars, and plan to attend the Joint NMC Regional Meeting and MAC Conference!

National Dairy Quality Award (NDQA) winners were recognized during the NMC 48th Annual Meeting, held January 25-28 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Top honors went to Platinum recipients Tom and Shirley Carson, Hesperia, Michigan; Jim and Karen Davenport, Ancramdale, New York; Tim, Michele and Chris McDonald, Greenwich, New York; Michigan State University Dairy Herd, East Lansing, Michigan; Michael and George Prince, Tillamook, Oregon; Kenneth and Ralph Schefers, Paynesville, Minnesota; Dean and Patti Tohl, Tillamook, Oregon; and Ken, Anna, Duane and Laurie VanPolen, Marion, Michigan.

Click here to read more about the Platinum winners and to view the Gold and Silver award recipients (and their nominators).

Papers and posters presented at the NMC 48th Annual Meeting, held January 25 – 28 in Charlotte, North Carolina, are available for viewing and downloading 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 to 2001. Click here for the members-only page login 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.

The Summary of Peer-Reviewed Publications on Efficacy of Premilking and Postmilking Teat Disinfectants Published Since 1980 is compiled by the NMC as a way to provide teat dip efficacy information to the dairy industry. The Summary, which includes information such as product name, manufacturer, active ingredient(s) and product efficacy, is updated annually and published in the NMC Annual Meeting Proceedings and posted on the website [click here].

Research papers published since the Summary was last compiled (January 2008) are currently being reviewed for possible inclusion in the next summary (2009 NMC Proceedings). To be considered, the paper must have been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, and the study must have followed protocols essentially as described by the NMC.

If you have a research paper to be considered for inclusion in the updated Summary, click here. The deadline for submission is December 5, 2008.

Registration for the upcoming NMC 48th Annual Meeting, scheduled for January 25-28, 2009 in Charlotte, North Carolina, is now open. The conference, targeted towards dairy professionals interested in udder health, milking management, and quality milk production, will draw over 400 people from all around the world.

Click here for the complete program, hotel and travel information, and online registration.

Online registration is recommended. Not only is online registration fast, easy, and secure, you will also be automatically entered into a drawing for cash gift cards. Register today!

One of the more popular sessions 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 is designed to offer an opportunity for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and research associates to be involved in the oral presentations at the NMC meeting.

Click here for additional information on participating in these sessions, which will be held during the upcoming NMC 48th Annual Meeting, January 25-28, 2009 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The deadline for manuscript submission is October 30, 2008.

The National Mastitis Research Foundation Board of Directors chose four graduate students as winners in the NMC Scholars Program. The purpose of the program is to provide travel funding for graduate students to attend the NMC Annual Meeting and to encourage their involvement in NMC activities. Funding for these scholarships comes from the National Mastitis Research Foundation. [Read the full story.]