A2B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 15, 2003 Penn State Cooperative Extension Capitol Region Dairy Team AVOID MYCOPLASMA LIKE THE PLAGUE Dr. Aden Mills Extension Veterinarian Capitol Region 1 received a call recently from a producer concerning a mastitis problem. He had been having an unusually high number of clinical mastitis cases that he thought were typical of coliform infec tions. Udders apparently fine at one milking would be hard with no milk at the next. These cases did not seem to respond to any of the drug treatments which had been tried. On arriving at the faim to have a look, the producer also men tioned that he was having some calf problems. 1 walked out to the hutches to have a look at the calves first. Several calves had pneumonia, but I saw one calf with enlarged joints and one droopy ear. 1 then asked the pro ducer if he had heard of Myco plasma. He hadn't, but cultures confirmed that the mastitis in the cows and the calf problems were all caused by Mycoplasma infec tions. Mycoplasma organisms are unique agents because they are bacteria-like but lack the cell wall that other bacteria have. Myco plasma infections are nothing new to producers who raise poul try or hogs, but the strains that are being isolated from cattle are not coming from the other ani mal species. Many producers bring the or ganism onto the farm by pur chasing infected animals. This may be either from lactating ani mals that are shedding the infec tion in the milk or can also be brought onto the farm in the res piratory form as pneumonia. The udder form is spread most effectively in the milking process from cow to cow. It can affect single or multiple quarters but often spreads quickly to any un infected quarters. There are several species of Mycoplasma, and some are much more likely to spread than others. Mycoplasma bovis seems to be a particularly nasty type, causing pneumonia, ear infections, repro ductive infections* and mastitis. Routine mastitis cultures will not detect the Mycoplasma or ganism. The lab must be told to culture specifically for Mycoplas ma and. if it is cultured, be cer tain that the species is identified. The organism is slow growing, so reports will take several days longer than routine mastitis cul tures. There is no effective treatment for mastitis caused by Mycoplas ma infections. Because it is so contagious, all infected cows HARRISBURG (Dauphin plicated and controversial pro- Co.) Rep. Ray Bunt (R-Mont- posal,” Bunt said. “We must r ri~ „ gomery) announced members of examine and research this pro- M~M.CP§St€HT JL CP the House Agriculture and Rural posal carefully before a decision m M Affairs Committee will be attend- is made.” C M ittlm C CPUTIt\ ing a Senate hearing on March 19 The PMMB’s proposal covers in State College to receive testi- the “pooling” of the over-order LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) uled at Stop 35 Restaurant. mon y from P arties affected by a premium paid to dairy farmers - Lancaster Holstein Club plans Lour stops include Paul Neer, proposal from the Pennsylvania on drinking milk that is pro , tour to Mifflin County on Tues- Lynn Neer, Mel Peachey, Vernon Milk Marketing Board (PMMB) duced, processed, and sold in day, March 25. Yoder, Mike and Bill Ammon, that would change the formula Pennsylvania. The hearing is The tour will leave the Lancas- and Kish-View. for distribution of premiums paid being held to help the members ter Farm and Home Center, 1383 For more information and to to dairy farmers. of the House and Senate Com- Arcadia Road, Lancaster, at 7 sign up before March 20, contact “We appreciate the invitation mittees, which are currently re a.m. Cost is $2O. Lowell Brubaker at (717) from the Senate Agriculture and viewing the regulation, better un- Tour members are encouraged 653-2612 or Joe Wivell, (717) Rural Affairs Committee to par- derstand what the PMMB is to. bring a hinch. Supper is 426-1501. .. ticipate in this hearing on a com- proposing. . crs.” . ■ . . i ' ii . • *ir .... . . * 4 t*4 *'* **■>.* # .* if #/. « * ,*. 'dS J' -Vj# /*, ** '4 %■ 4. > 4 ’*•* * * * * \ . Dr. Arien Mills need to be found and isolated. Once Mycoplasma has been con firmed to be on a farm, all fresh cows should be cultured before being put in the milking string. All clinical mastitis cases should also be cultured to be sure that no mycoplasma infected cows are missed. If only a few cows are infected, culling these cows is the safest strategy. Some cows may recover enough to again produce milk, but most of these cows continue to shed the organism. These cows can be a source of infection to start another outbreak. Herds with large numbers of infected cows will try to isolate these cows into a Mycoplasma group that is milked last, but this requires stringent routines to control the infections. Infected calves which show in fected joints or ear infections are also not responsive to treatment. Infections diagnosed early before they develop these signs may re spond to an appropriate antibiot ic. This may be tetracycline, Mi cotil, Nuflor, or Baytril. But there is still the chance that these heif ers may continue to shed the dis ease and develop mastitis when they eventually freshen. They are a risk. I used to think that Mycoplas ma was a “California” disease. But no longer. I hear of new cases every week. Most new in fections can be traced to the ar rival of heifers or cows from off the farm. If you are anticipating buying lactating animals, require the herd of origin to be “bulk tank culture negative” for myco plasma. Isolate all incoming stock from the herd for a min imum of three weeks and, if lac tating, culture individual cows before they are allowed to enter the milking string. This disease can be devastat ing, and the best way to combat it is to avoid it. Be on your guard. Spring Means Produce Auctions Open For Business EPHRATA (Lancaster Co.) Now that spring is just around the corner, produce auctions will soon be under way. Several auctions have an nounced their starting dates and times. Here is an alphabeti cal list of auctions and starting information. • Buffalo Valley, Richfield. Begins April 15 at 10 a.m. Sales will include mostly flowers, in cluding Easter, in addition to bedding plants. • Cumberland Valley, Ship pensburg. Sales begin March 25 with flowers at 9 a.m. • Kirkwood Produce Auc Organic Dairy Meetings Set In New York State ITHACA, N.Y. A series of three meetings on Organic Dairy Production will take place across New York State, sponsored by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY) and Cornell Coop erative Extension. The meetings are scheduled on March 20 at the Civil Defense Center in Bath, NY; April 8 at the Cooperative Extension Office in Watertown; and April 9 in Richfield Springs at the Tally Ho Restaurant. Lisa McCrory, Dairy Technical Assistance Coordinator for NOFA-VT and staff person for the Northeast Organic Dairy Pro ducers Alliance (NODPA), will be featured in the morning pro gram of each event. Ms. McCrory has extensive ex perience with organic dairy pro ducers throughout the Northeast, and edits the NODPA Newslet ter, which is sent to all organic dairy farmers in Maine, Vermont, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Con necticut, Pennsylvania, and New York. She will provide valuable information on how the new Fed eral Organic Standards affect production practices and regional organic dairy market prospects. In 1992 there was one certified organic dairy farm in New York State; now there are over 100. Dairy farmers are encouraged to visit NODPA's website at www.nodpa.com. NODPA's mis sion is ‘To enable organic family dairy farms, situated across an extensive area, to have informed discussion about matters critical to the well being of the organic dairy industry as a whole.' In the afternoon, panels of State House Committee To Attend Senate Public Hearing On Dairy Proposal tion, Kirkwood. Begins April 24, with sales on Thursday at 9 a.m. to start and then every Tuesday and Thursday until the season progresses. • Kutztown Produce Auc tion, Kutztown. Begins March 25 and will be every Tuesday and Thursday at 9 a.m. A Sat urday auction is at 9 a.m. Spe cial nursery auctions will be March 27, April 10, April 24, May 8, May 22, and June 5. • Lebanon Valley Produce Auction. Reistville. Begins with a shrub sale April 5 at 9:30 a.m. A special opening day is April 15 at 9:30 a.m. with flowers and early produce. New York or Pennsylvania or ganic dairy farmers will discuss issues of particular local and au dience interest with plenty of time for questions and answers. Finally, researchers and educat ors from Cornell and NOFA-NY will solicit input on future re search needs and educational ef forts. These meetings are primarily oriented toward existing organic dairy producers, but will cover much of interest to those serious ly considering transition to or ganic practices. There will be a follow-up organic dairy meeting in each location next fall, which will focus on mastitis and herd USD A Reminds Producers Of March 1 7 Closing Date WASHINGTON, D.C. The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) reminded farmers and ranchers interested in pur chasing crop insurance that the closing date to participate and re ceive coverage is March 17. “Last year’s drought in various parts of the country is a vivid re minder why producers should use risk management tools such as crop insurance,” said Agricul ture Secretary Ann M. Veneman. “This year’s closing date is fast approaching and, we encourage interested farmers and ranchers who haven’t done so yet to take advantage of these important re sources.” To mitigate concerns about drought coverage, RMA encour • Leola Produce, Leola. Sale begins March 20, 10 a.m. • Shippensburg Produce Auction, Shippensburg. The auction has been open prior to Valentine's Day and offers pro duce all year. The auction is open Tuesdays at 9 a.m. until April, when days will expand as season progresses. • Snyder’s Produce Auction, Port Trevorton. Begins March 21 at 10:30 a.m. with produce. • Weaverland Produce Auc tion, New Holland. Begins March 20 at 9 a.m., with mostly flowers. March 27 will begin nursery stock sales with sales every Thursday. health management on organic dairy farms. An attendance fee will be charged. Lunch will be provided. To pre-register and for more in formation and directions, please call (607) 664-2300 for the Bath meeting, (315) 788-8450 for the Watertown meeting, or (607) 334-5841 for the Richfield Springs meeting. These meetings are funded in part by Cornell’s Funding for Re search in Organic Agriculture Program. For more information about many other small farm topics, visit the Small Farms Pro gram Web Site at www.smal lfarms.comell.edu. ages producers to buy higher lev els of crop insurance in 2003. “Many producers have better prevented planting coverage dur ing drought than they realize,” said RMA Administrator Ross J. Davidson Jr. “Crop insurance protection is a vital part of pro ducers’ risk management strate gy” Information regarding current coverage on prevented planting, agent locator assistance, as well as a list of the states and crops with a March 17 deadline is at http://www.rma.usda.gov/. In formation is also available at local Farm Service Agency of fices. Since the premium’s inception in 1998, roughly $2BO million has been distributed to members of the dairy industry. Bunt said these numbers make it especially important that the committees take their time with their deci sions. “This is a complicated and controversial matter within the dairy industry. The stakes are high,” Bunt said. “We must pro ceed carefully and work hand-in hand with those who this will di rectly affect the dairy farm-
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