Tackling high SCC with Co-op milk quality support

When somatic cell count (SCC) problems hit during their first season, Canterbury sharemilkers Nicola Blowey and Simon Wakefield discovered the Co-op’s milk quality support went further than they expected.

The challenge

Starting out on a new farm brings plenty of challenges: new land, new herd, new infrastructure and, sometimes, unexpected curveballs.

Nicola and Simon were into their first season on a 226-hectare irrigated farm, milking 750 cows on a pasture-first system, when cell count problems started to surface in late January. SCC was rising and Nicola and Simon were feeling the pressure. It took some of their own investigating to understand there were two issues at play.

Firstly, they established the new herd had some existing mastitis-causing bacteria strains circulating. Secondly, a malfunctioning vacuum regulator was creating fluctuating pressure during milking, causing teat damage, making cows more susceptible to infection.

“Heading into Christmas I was genuinely concerned,” Nicola says. “We’d done a lot of things to try and address the issue, but we weren’t seeing any improvements to cell count levels.” 

So, Nicola got in touch with a Milk Quality Advisor at the Co-op to discuss the challenges they were facing. They talked her through what support was available, including a free on-farm visit from a Milk Quality Manager, and the option to use downgrade relief funding for an accredited vet assessment.
 

Delving deeper

By late December, Co-op Milk Quality Manager Morgan Kibblewhite had visited the farm and arranged for a Fonterra Advanced Mastitis Accredited vet to drop in straight after Christmas.

From there, they worked through a structured plan, starting with a herd test to identify which cows were carrying the infection. They then ran a PCR test to find out what bacteria were present across the herd.

Individual cultures on the highest-risk animals confirmed the bugs present and informed the correct use of antibiotics. The vet returned in May for a follow-up visit, and a second round of PCR gave them a clear picture of how far things had improved.

Promising results

By May, SCC had roughly halved and teat damage was down. Based on the vet’s recommendations, the farm owners invested in automatic cup removers and replaced the old clusters – helping to keep cell counts consistently lower going into the next season.

“Having the vet come in with specialised expertise and being able to use the downgrade relief money to fund it took a huge amount of pressure off,” Nicola says.

“In our first season the budget was already pretty tight. We wouldn’t have been able to spend that kind of money otherwise. It meant we could actually attack the problem properly rather than hoping what we were doing was enough.”
 

Lightening the load

Having Morgan on hand to chat things through made a big difference, explains Nicola.

“She was an independent person who understood the situation and could help us think it through calmly,” she says.

“One thing that surprised me was how easy it was to access the support. Morgan talked us through the options, organised the vet visit and handled the funding application side of things. There wasn’t a lot of paperwork for us to deal with, which was a huge help when you’re already busy managing the farm and trying to get on top of an issue.”

 Beyond the immediate results, the process gave Nicola and Simon a much clearer picture of their herd going into the next season, including which cows were high-risk, how to manage them and what to watch for in the shed.

“It’s allowed us a lot more information and data and awareness of what management systems we need for this herd. We know who the high-risk cows are now, we know what to look for and we’ll manage them very differently going forward,” says Nicola.
 

Knowing your options

What surprised Nicola most was how accessible the support was.

“A lot of farmers might think this support is only there once something has gone seriously wrong,” says Nicola. 
“But milk quality visits are free whether something’s not quite right or you just want to make improvements. If you do run into problems, the funding available from a grading event may be enough to help cover testing, veterinary advice or plant hygiene training.

“Having people who understand the process and help you access the support available takes a lot of stress out of the situation.”
 

Milk quality support: what’s available

Downgrade relief funding

Any financial deductions from grading events are held in a fund that can be used to pay for approved milk quality support services. 

Accredited vet support 

• A mastitis investigation visit and report, paid from your downgrade relief fund.
• Cultures and PCR testing is available to identify bacteria and guide treatment, where recommended by your accredited vet. 

Milk Quality team involvement

Free on-farm visits from your regional Milk Quality Manager (no downgrade funds needed).

Talk to your Milk Quality Manager or call 0800 65 65 68 for more information.