SOMATIC CELL COUNT A PROBLEM? By; Frank Lampley Some dairymen say they have found the solution. It looks very promising. Cost? If you do it yourself the cost may be zero. , There is a new product on the market called FORMULA M. FORMULA M was developed for cows that were a problem to get pregnant. Every dairymen knows that giving more milk drains the cow of vitamins, minerals and proteins. The better milkers usually being drained the most. Nature has provided a defense against further depleting the cows body of much needed vitamins, minerals and proteins that would result from another pregnancy and another lactation. She simply aborts during the first few weeks of the pregnancy. One theory is that the process of producing large volumes of milk can so deplete the cows body of certain nutrients that her own enzymes start to digest her body tissue; this being done to make more nutrients available for milk production. Some cells of those partially digested body tissues apparently find their way into the milk, thus increasing the somatic cell count. The same thing can happen whenever infection or disease are present in the body. The infection or disease can cause the breakdown of some of the tissues and it would appear that some of those tissue cells find their way into the milk. When digesting her own body tissues, she may also absorb the fetus. As I said, this is only a theory. Somatic cell as defined by the Webster’s dictionary means “of the body”. That would appear to support the above theory; body cells in the milk. We could discuss several other theories, but I would like to turn the discussion to what we know for sure: 1) When cows are fed FORMULA M, many of them have improved appetites 2) The energy level goes up 3) Digestion is improved. 4) They give more milk. My best estimate from dairymen’s reports is 5 pounds a day more milk per cow (.60 to .70 cents per day per cow). 5) Less illness and less infection due to a healthier animal. 6) When they are bred, they usually catch the first time, and FORMULA M is all NATURAL. All of the above could give you around a dollar a day per cow. Since the cost of FORMULA M is only 8 cents a day per cow, any additional benefit such as lower somatic cell count would be free. I have been marketing FORMULA M for the reasons listed above, but now the dairymen who use FORMULA M are telling me that the somatic cell count goes down when using FORMULA M. Sometimes as much as half what it was. FORMULA M could mean survival for a lot of Dairymen. FORMULA M is a powder and it comes in a 5 gallon plastic bucket. Feed according to the directions on the label (only Vi ounce per cow per day). You can put FORMULA M in the TMR, you can put it in your grain ration or if you prefer you can top dress it. All you need to do to get FORMULA M is call one of the numbers below. We ship the same day by UPS. Make the check payable to Frank Lampley and give it to the driver when he delivers. A 5 gallon bucket is enough for about 40 cows for one month and the cost is only $92.00 (I pay freight). FORMULA M is completely free from drugs and made by the same people who make Vitamix. (610)942-2275 or 1-800-327-0727 toll-free Frank Lampley, 199 Springton Rd., Glenmoore, PA. 19343