By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH
Indiana Correspondent FORT WAYNE, Ind. — As the government looks to lower levels of somatic cells in milk, a Purdue University professor of animal sciences said producers are urged to do all they can to prevent the disease that causes them.
Somatic cells are white blood cells that are produced by all cows, but are higher in the milk of cows with mastitis, an inflammation of the mammary gland. Somatic cells don’t affect the safety of the milk, but an increased somatic cell count (SCC) can shorten its shelf life, said Michael M. Schutz, also an Indiana state dairy extension specialist.
Schutz will discuss how this probable change in the milk standard will affect the industry, during the upcoming Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference, April 19-20 at the Grand Wayne Center in downtown Fort Wayne.
In April, an advisory group to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will probably seek to lower SCC levels for milk sold across state lines from the current maximum limit of 750,000 cells per milliliter of milk to 400,000, Schutz explained.
It would be a gradual decrease – from 600,000 in January 2012 to 400,000 in January 2014. The 400,000 limit would put the United States in line with the standard in the European Union (EU) and most of the world.
“The idea of lowering limits is probably at least 10 years old, probably older than that,” Schutz noted. “The thought is that the U.S. should be leading and not following on this.”
The FDA sets an SCC limit because “we need to have a standard that gets everybody producing high-quality milk,” he said, adding while the proposal would change the SCC maximum limit, the average cell count for cows in the United States is well below that number.
In 2010, the average SCC in dairy cows in this country was 228,000, according to a study by the USDA’s Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory. The change to an SCC of 400,000 would be applied to individual farms and not only comingled milk. All milk products produced in the U.S. would then meet the 400,000 standard required for export to the EU.
Since there is no new magic bullet for curing mastitis, dairy producers should be focusing on preventing the disease, Schutz said. Dairy cows should have a clean, dry environment, which will help reduce exposure of the teats to mastitis pathogens, he said. Producers should be especially careful during the times cows are most likely to get the disease – two weeks after dry-off, around calving and during milking.
“Cows are milked two to four times a day, and every time they’re in the milking parlor, they’re at some degree of risk. Anything we can do to limit that risk will pay more than ever,” he explained.
This year marks the 20th for the conference, and organizers considered that when planning this year’s event, said Tamilee Nennich, assistant professor of animal sciences at Purdue University.
“We are excited because it’s the 20th anniversary, and we’re taking the time to highlight different things that happened over the last 20 years,” she said.
Management of transition cows will be the focus of presentations the afternoon of April 19. “This can be a challenge for a dairy operation,” she noted. “The concerns about transition cows and how to feed them and identify metabolic disease are ongoing. There’s been a fair amount of research over the years and we thought this would be a good time to highlight that.”
Presentations on feeding cows during hot and humid weather and forage management are scheduled for the morning of April 20. With grain prices rising, dairy producers may need to consider forage as a part of their cows’ diets, she explained.
The conference is designed for feed industry personnel, nutrition consultants, extension personnel, veterinarians, dairy producers and anyone interested in the dairy industry. It’s sponsored by Purdue Ohio State and Michigan State universities. Last year, more than 430 people attended.
The pre-registration deadline for the conference is April 8 and the cost is $165. A $30 fee is added for late registrations or for those who register at the door. The cost includes refreshments, one breakfast and a copy of the proceedings. For more information, see http://tristatedairy.osu.edu |
