Implementing small and manageable changes, and ensuring staff buy into those changes, can create significant positive impacts on somatic cell counts, says South Canterbury farm manager Ben Devereux.
Ben manages Station Peak Dairy Limited in Kurow, milking 2,100 cows across two dairy sheds that are both 60-bale rotaries. He says when their bulk somatic cell count (SCC) numbers were reaching an unacceptable level that put them at risk of grading, he knew something had to change.
"We were reaching higher than we wanted, into the 300,000s and it needed to go down. One of the biggest changes we made was herd management. We undertook quite an aggressive cull and brought into another 200 mixed group of cows, and this made quite the difference,"
- Ben Devereux, South Canterbury Farm Manager
Staff training and ensuring they were on board with the mission to bring down the SCC numbers was also essential.
"With the staff we worked on a different colostrum strategy. For our fresh (calved) cows, we implemented a system where, as each one was brought into the dairy shed, we did a pre-dip and a teat wipe before milking."
Setting trigger points to raise awareness of targets was also implemented, so as soon as any counts were recorded that were edging past the 170s and closer to the 200s, they would look deeper to see what might be going on.
As of March 2023, the farming operation had reduced its count from 340,000 to 143,272. As they edge closer to dry-off, the counts had increased slightly, but that was expected, says Ben.
"The cell count in the 300s was just unsustainable for us - we couldn't let it go on, so we made the changes we needed to do. Every collection we monitored the counts and we continued with strict herd testing. We did discover a lot of sub-clinical mastitis and worked to remedy that. In previous years, the farm was always receiving certificates for its low cell counts and we want to stand by that record and stay at that point."
Ben's recommendations for lowering somatic cell counts on-farm:
- Herd test: Take the time to identify the cell count cows. If you can cull, and that works for your farm, then do that. Some farms are not in the position where they can cull, so work towards getting those cows' counts down.
- Create a colostrum strategy: Really take the time to teat wipe before milking at colostrum time. One of our providers recommended it and it really did make a big difference for us.
- Get your team on board: Try ensure you have staff buy-in for the strategies and targets you have in place so they know what they have to do to help lower the cell counts. They are the one milking the cows and to ensure they know the importance of it all and are involved in the process is essential.
Ben's next goals are based around the dry-off season, wintering management and transition management to ensure he can hit his goal of a SCC sitting around the 120,000 mark.
"We will do the best we can throughout dry-off, wintering, transition and calving, along with our colostrum strategy, and see where that takes us."
For more information and advice on your milk quality, talk to your local Farm Source Team or book a Milk Quality Service Visit at nzfarmsource.co.nz/milk-quality.