Low Cell Counts Improve Bottom Line
JAYNE SEBRIGHT
Lancaster Farming Staff
MILLMONT (Union Co.) Maintaining a low somatic
cell count in their dairy herd has helped the Snyders of Mill
mont improve their bottom line.
Joseph, Sr. and Annette, along with two of their children,
Joseph Jr. and Chris Snyder Kauffman, maintain a rolling
somatic cell count of around 63,000. The 63-cow herd aver
ages 23,181 pounds milk, 869 pounds fat, and 774 protein.
The Snyders have won many awards for their somatic cell
count from the county and state Dairy Herd Improvement
Association, along with their milk cooperative, Dairy Farm
ers of America.
According to Joseph Sr., getting the SS-cent bonus per
hundredweight for keeping their cell count below 100,000 is
an important part of the Snyder’s overall business plan.
“If my cell count goes over 100,000, my bonus falls to 35
cents,” said Snyder. “If my herd produces 100,000 pounds a
month, that’s $220 in lost profits.”
Keeping a low somatic cell count adds dollars to a pro
ducer’s pocket by generating more than just bonuses. Re
search shows that lowering a herd’s annual average somatic
cell count in half can increase milk production as much as
400 pounds per year.
Closely Monitor Individual Cow Cell Counts
The Snyders rely on DHIA tests to closely monitor their
somatic cell count. “When we get the DHIA paper, we look
at the somatic cell report and find out what our cell count
was for the month,” said Snyder. “Then we flip it over, and
if we don’t have any cows with a linear score at four or
higher, we know we did a good job.”
In December, Snyder got his report back and realized that
he had two high cell cows. The one cow’s milk production
dropped from 111 pounds in November to 78 pounds in De
cember. So the first thing he noticed is that the high count
robbed him of some milk production.
The Snyders immediately began treating both cows to
eliminate the high somatic cell count. After treatment, the
cows’ linear scores dropped to less than 0.4 and their pro
duction rose to more than 100 pounds on January test.
Catch Mastitis Early
The Snyders rarely have to cull cows due to mastitis be
cause they catch infections early. They strip the cows sev
eral times before each milking and use individual towels to
dry the teats. They pre-dip and post-dip with a solution
from ABS. When milking, the Snyders all wear latex gloves
to prevent against spreading infections.
When they prep the cows for milking, they closely moni
tor the milk and the cow’s udder for problems. If anything
looks suspicious, they use the California Mastitis Test
(CMT) paddle to find out if she has subclinical mastitis. If
the cow has mastitis, they take a sample of the milk and
freeze it. They hold her milk from the tank and start treat
ing the mastitis.
If in two or three days, the mastitis isn’t clearing up, the
Snyders then take the frozen sample to their veterinarian to
identify the infection and determine the most appropriate
treatment. The Snyders normally treat their cows for about
six days.
Stripping cows out several times before each
milking is part of the Snyders’ management prac
tices to maintain low cell counts.
“I’ve found out in the past that if you treat the cow only
three to four days and stop treatment once the milk looks
cleared of the infection, then eight or nine days later by the
time the cow’s milk is good, the mastitis flares up again,”
said Snyder.
Use Preventative Measures
The Snyders feed their herd a total mixed ration of home
grown forages, high moisture corn, cottonseed, soybean
meal, and minerals. A well-balanced ration helps their herd
produce quality milk and minimize high cell count prob
lems.
The cows are treated with Quarter Master when they’re
dried off. The Snyders also give the cows MuSe shots when
they dry them off and when the cows freshen. They also ad
minister JS vaccine when they dry the cows off and as soon
as the cows begin to show signs of freshening.
Keep Cows Clean And Dry
The Snyders’ cows are kept in tie stalls. They are bedded
with sawdust that is kept very dry and cleaned out several
times a day.
When the cows are dried off, they kept on a bedded pack
with clean, dry straw.
“Make sure your dry cows are kept on a good program,”
said Snyder. “Don’t just put them out and forget about
them. Keep the nutrition up to snuff and keep them clean
and dry.”
The Snyders also prevent mastitis by maintaining their
milking equipment. “The milking system is checked out
every six months,” said Snyder. “And we change the infla'
tions according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.”