The Milk Producer - March 2012 - (Page 42)

UDDERHEALTH By Bill Dimmick Attention to detail fter reducing the average bulk tank somatic cell count of his family’s dairy herd to 130,000 from a whopping 500,000, Martin VandenHoven believes any producer can accomplish a similar feat. It takes a willingness to change ingrained habits and pay attention to key details, he says. Based in Mitchell, Ont., Martin is better known in western Ontario as the “Relief Herdsman.” That’s the name of the thriving company he founded in 2008. The 34-year-old is sole proprietor—and sole employee—of the relief-milking business. Over the last four years, he has milked cows on more than 70 farms. Herds have ranged from an 18-cow tiestall to a 450-cow freestall operation. After he placed a small ad in the Ontario Farmer newspaper, business boomed. As far as he knows, no one else in the area offers a similar service, and demand has been so high he had to turn down 37 potential clients last year. When he does take on a new customer, Martin goes through one or two milkings to familiarize himself with the milking routine. After witnessing routines on more than 70 farms, and recalling his experience with his own family’s herd, he has a firm grasp of factors that contribute to high-quality milk, low SCCs and healthy cows. Experience milking on more than 70 different farms points to best ways of controlling your SCCs A Martin VandenHoven has observed good and bad practices on many farms. He grew up on a farm near Monkton, Ont. in Perth County where his family milked 50 cows in tiestalls. After graduating high school, he took over as the herdsman. At the time, the monthly bulk tank SCC routinely averaged 500,000. He worked with a veterinarian and testing showed many of the cows suffered from Staph Aureus infections. It’s a particularly nasty bacterium that causes serious mastitis infections. “Some of the cows hit 750,000 and we had a couple in the two million to 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. 42 | March 2012 | MilkPRODUCER

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

The Milk Producer - March 2012
Contents
Editor’s Notes
DFO Chair’s Message
Dairy Update
DFC Promotion
Farm Finance
Policy Update
Cover Story
Research
Applied Science
Ruminations
Udder Health
Markets
New'N'Noted
Back Forty

The Milk Producer - March 2012