Today we are talking with Dr. Andrea Mongini of M&M Veterinary Service and Ewetopia Dairy in Denair, California about the significance of somatic cell counts (SCC) and how this metric can be utilized to evaluate milk quality and udder health.
Topics discussed include: significance of somatic cells in milk production, United States SCC limits and benchmarks, causes of elevated SCC, methods for evaluating SCC, basic troubleshooting for tracking down a high somatic cell outbreak.
Helpful links:
- AASRP: Find a small ruminant veterinarian: http://www.aasrp.org/about/find_a_vet.asp
- Canadian Mastitis Network: California Mastitis Test procedure: https://youtu.be/YRbH_E7JtTU
- University of Minnesota: Easy Culture System: https://vdl.umn.edu/laboratories/laboratory-udder-health-luh/minnesota-easyr-culture
- National Mastitis Council: Order the Laboratory Handbook on Bovine Mastitis: https://www.nmconline.org/publications/
This podcast is sponsored by the American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners as well as USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Program, Antimicrobial Resistance grant # 2020-04197.
Questions or comments about today's episode can be directed to DairyGoatExtension@iastate.edu