The Milk Producer - June 2012 - (Page 45)

UDDERHEALTH By Bill Dimmick National champs British Columbia dairy farmers have a long history of the lowest somatic cell counts in Canada N othing much changes when it comes to identifying the province with the lowest average somatic cell counts in Canada. In March 2008, for example, renowned bovine mastitis expert Dr. Herman Barkema noted British Columbia dairy farmers had long held the distinction. That year, B.C. recorded an average SCC of 174,000, according to figures compiled and reported by Canwest DHI in its annual Progress Report for farms on milk recording. In the most recent report, B.C.’s average SCC inched up to 185,000 in 2011, but remained in a category by itself. All other provinces were well over 200,000, as shown in the graph. B.C.’s success is likely due to several reasons. Barkema, a University of Calgary veterinary medicine professor, offered one of them during his 2008 presentation to the Western Canadian Dairy Seminar in Red Deer, Alta. Rewarding producers with a bonus for excellent quality milk can have a positive effect on lowering SCCs and keeping them low, he said. B.C. has had a quality bonus program for about 30 years. Carla Soutar, producer services coordinator with the B.C. Dairy Association, agrees the province’s quality bonus program gets part of the credit for keeping SCCs low. “Producers strive to be qualifying each month,” she says. Processors pay 30 cents per hectolitre extra for milk with SCCs below 250,000 and individual bacteria counts below 30,000. Until Aug. 1, 2009, producers with test numbers under those thresholds had 30 cents per hL added directly to their milk cheques. Since then, qualifying producers also have to be actively registered in the CQM program. Processors still pay the 30 cents. However, producers with test numbers under the threshold but not on CQM do not receive it, Soutar says. “Their bonus money goes into a pot and is distributed to those who are eligible.” Since August 2009, bonus-eligible producers have been receiving more than 30 cents. In April 2012, for example, it equalled 34 cents per hL, she notes. B.C.’s average herd size around 120 cows also plays a role in keeping down average SCCs, Soutar says. In smaller herds, one cow with a mastitis flare-up and resulting high SCCs can affect an entire load. In a larger, herd, this has much less of an impact. 2011 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 BC AB SK MB Another factor could be climate. Hot, humid weather has long been associated with higher SCCs. B.C.’s humidity tends to be lower than levels in provinces further east. “I feel strongly the lower humidity in the province plays a big part,” she says. While most provinces are reducing the SCC penalty threshold to 400,000 from 500,000 on Aug. 1, B.C. put the new level in place Feb. 1. With about 500 dairy farms, B.C. averages 19 SCC penalties per year. Since Feb. 1, there have been four. These producers would have received one warning at 500,000 and reached 400,000 since February, Soutar says. “This (four so far) falls almost directly in line with the average of 19 per year,” she says. “Keep in mind that of those 19 penalties, there may have been fewer than 19 farms—one producer could be penalized more than once per year.” However, it is too early to tell whether the lower level will have an effect for the entire year, Soutar says. SCCs generally go up during July, despite B.C.’s lower relative humidity. Nevertheless, B.C. still has a firm grasp on the title for the lowest SCC milk in Canada. 2010 Countdown to 400K Editor’s note: With the new penalty threshold for somatic cell counts looming on Aug.1, The Milk Producer is publishing a series of articles about better udder health. ON QC NB NS PEI MilkPRODUCER | June 2012 | 45

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Milk Producer - June 2012

The Milk Producer - June 2012
Contents
Editor’s Notes
DFO Chair’s Message
Dairy Update
Industry Roundup
DFC Promotion
Processor Spotlight
Research
Applied Science
Ruminations
Udder Health
Calf Health
Markets
New’n’noted
Back Forty

The Milk Producer - June 2012