The Milk Producer - May 2012 - (Page 40)

UDDERHEALTH By Dan Woolley Quarter-century of quality Rigorous routine ensures Nova Scotia producers ship high-quality milk with low SCCs and bacteria F or the past quarter-century, Allister and Mary McCarron have never failed to achieve the high quality standards required to earn an Excellence Award for the milk they produce. Milk from their farm near Antigonish, Nova Scotia has a somatic cell count below 200,000 and a bacteria count of less than 20,000. The Nova Scotia dairy industry has honoured them as its first-ever 25-year Excellence Award winners. At the recent annual general meeting of Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia, Allister and Mary were praised for annually achieving the high-quality milk standards established by DFNS and the Dairy Commission of Nova Scotia. As well as achieving low SCCs and bacteria counts, the McCarrons have never been penalized with milk standard infractions for antibiotics or added water. Their farm’s excellent appearance has also been recognized with a farm inspection score over 95. “We always try to keep a clean milking parlour. You could walk into it at any hour of the day or night and it would always look the same,” says Allister. “Plus, we have a well-managed herd and farm.” The McCarrons have a purebred registered Holstein herd under the Carrondale prefix, their farm’s name, numbering more than 250 head, in- Mary and Allister McCarron have earned 25 straight Excellence Awards. cluding heifers and replacements. They currently milk 87. They have 650 cultivated acres, 40 of which are in corn silage, another 200 in wheat and barley and the rest in forage—60 per cent alfalfa and 40 per cent in timothy. Because the farm has heavy clay soil, it is completely tile-drained. “Don’t rush in the parlour,” Allister would advise producers who want to achieve similar quality success. They follow a rigorous routine to ensure they produce high-quality milk. “Basically, when our cows enter the milking parlour they are first stripped, then pre-dipped,” he says, describing the protocol that ensures greater udder cleanliness. “Their mammaries are washed with a highly concentrated soap and the teats are dried with clean cloth towels. Then, after milking, they are post-dipped with a post-dip product, a one per cent iodine solution that is not the same as the pre-dip.” They also keep a keen eye on overall udder health. “Any cow detected with mastitis is taken out of the system and treated. Her milk is not shipped. Very seldom do we have any recurring problems,” Allister says. If a cow shows mastitis symptoms two or three times after that, however, the McCarrons cull her from the herd. Although the herd is not enrolled in milk recording, they monitor their animals closely, Allister says. Either he or his son, Ryan, is in the parlour during milking. “I think one of the biggest things we take pride in is one or more of our family members always work alongside our employees. When we have new employees come on the farm; we work with them to show them what we want,” Allister notes. Employees do not administer mastitis or other medical treatments to the cows, he says. “We don’t leave them to anyone else.” The McCarrons mark their treated 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. 40 | May 2012 | MilkPRODUCER

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

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

The Milk Producer - May 2012