A2B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday,
FOCUS
ON
DAIRY
Penn State Cooperative Extension
Capitol Region Dairy Team
Beth Grove
’TIS THE SEASON
FOR A CHANGE IN
MILKING ROUTINE
Beth Grove
Extension Agent
Dairy/Environment
Lancaster County
It can be tempting to look for a
quick fix to lower somatic cell
counts. We often try the latest
mastitis treatment, teat dip, or
vaccine in an attempt to lower a
herd’s SCC. Sometimes these
products work well alone, but
often a single product will not re
sult in significant changes in
udder health.
There is one “magic” solution
for improving milk quality in a
herd, and it costs very little a
careful milking procedure.
Why not take a closer look at
your milking routine? Small ad
justments at milking time can add
up to big improvements in udder
health, with cows milking out
faster and more completely. If you
are struggling with milk quality
Setting the Standard in
Manure Management
A low compaction,
high volume method
of applying liquid
manure on less than
ideal ground conditions
while also reducing odor.
Park your Hard Hose
1 Drag Reel in the center
of the field the manure is
to be applied in Uncoil
1 the hard hose pulling
■ towards the farthest
' corner Simply drag the
hose back and forth
>' across the field until the
whole field has been
covered When finished,
unhook the applicator
from the hard hose and
wind in the hose
Complete system w/4.5” x 1320’ drag hose, 3-pt. spray boom, 3,000’ of
6” supply line, manure irrigation pump and 12’ Aerway incorporator is
currently available for demo or rental in Blair - Huntingdon - Bedford Co.
area.
High volume: Flow rates possible that are equal to (3) 6,300 gal. spreaders
@ 3 loads per hour each!
Low compaction: Nothing heavier than a 150 hp tractor is ever in the field!
Reduced odor: When used in conjunction with an Aerway soil aerator, odor is
virtually eliminated.
MMTwmc, 800-222-2948 • 717-529-2782
4019 Ashville Rd. • Quarryville, PA 17566
www.midatfanticagri.com
November 22, 2003
on your farm, here are some sug
gestions for changes in your milk
ing routine:
• Treat milking the herd as the
most important job on the farm.
Set a routine and make certain ev
eryone who milks follows a set
procedure. Not everyone is suit
able to be milking cows. If you
have family members or hired
help that strongly dislike milking,
find another job for them they
will nearly always cost you
money.
• Strip 3-5 squirts of milk from
each cow before predipping or
washing. The first milk taken
from a quarter is usually high in
bacteria counts. Forestripping will
allow you to find flakes or abnor
mal milk and check the udder for
swelling. In addition, stripping
will help cows milk out more
quickly by stimulating milk let
down more strongly. Finally, use
a strip cup (particularly in ties
talls) so that the milk and bacteria
do not contaminate the bedding.
• Predip with a “proven” prod
uct. Ask your supplier for evi
dence of the effectiveness of a teat
dip in preventing new infections.
Never use “home-brew” dips
without labels or ingredient tags.
It is important to allow the predip
to remain on the teats for 30 sec
onds before wiping this allows
the dip to work by killing most of
the bacteria on the teat end.
• Use a non-siphoning dip cup,
not a spray bottle! Although some
may disagree with this opinion, it
is very difficult to completely
cover the teats with a sprayer.
Unfortunately, if you do get the
teats well covered when using a
spray bottle, you will often use
more product than necessary.
Clean the dip cup between milk
ing times and after infected cows.
• Dry teats completely with in
dividual paper towel or cloth.
Tiny drops of water on the teat
end can be forced back into the
udder by the unit during
“squawks” or liner slips often
carrying bacteria and manure
with them.
• Attach the milking unit with
in 1 to VA minutes after the cow is
first prepped. Oxytocin peaks in
the bloodstream several minutes
after a cow is stimulated; peak
milk letdown is best achieved
through forestripping plus 20-30
seconds of vigorous wiping. At
taching the units in 1 to VA min
utes after prepping will cause
cows to milk out faster, and the
amount of milk harvested may be
increased by 5 percent or more
per cow. In a tiestall bam, it is
common for cows to be prepped
several minutes ahead. Avoid this
practice, as it can lower peak milk
flow and increase milking time!
In parlors, you may need to prep
only 2 or 3 cows at a time before
attaching the milking units.
• Don’t “overmilk” cows. At
taching a milker to a cow who has
not let down her milk can cause
overmilking as easily as leaving
the unit on too long. The result is
often teat end damage, making
the cow’s udder more easily in
fected by bacteria. Inspect teat
ends for problems regularly.
Check that automatic takeoffs are
set properly, and monitor the vac
uum level regularly on the system.
• Post-dip teats immediately
after the cow is finished. Cover
the entire teat with post-dip, be
cause this prevents bacteria from
feeding and multiplying on the
milk film remaining on the teat
end. Encourage cows to stand for
30 minutes before lying down,
which will allow teat ends to close.
Post milking teat dipping can re
duce the incidence of environ
mental mastitis by more than SO
percent and is one of the most ef
fective mastitis controls available.
• Milk infected cows last. This
will prevent the spread of conta
gious organisms such as Staph au
reus via the milking equipment or
your hands to clean cows in the
herd.
• During severely freezing or
windy weather, don’t stop dipping
your cows! Before turning cows
outside at 20 degrees Fahrenheit
or below, post-dip cows and
wait one or two minutes be-
fore wiping excess product
off the teats. Avoid using
salves or udder creams
when cows are exposed to
freezing conditions.
York!Adams 4-H’ers Win
National Dairy Judging Contest
LOUISVILLE, Ky. Team
members from the York County
4-H Dairy Judging Team joined
forces with one Adams County
dairy judging member to take
first place in the dairy judging
contest at the recent North
American International Live
stock Exposition (NAILE) in
Louisville Ky.
Winning team members in
cluded Trisha Knight, Airville,
York County; Michael Bosley,
Glenville, York County; Cory
Thompson, Wellsville, York
County; and Clayton Wood, Lit
tlestown, Adams County. Paul
Knight and Jeff Rutz, both of
Airville, coached the team.
The team, representing Penn
sylvania, competed against twen
ty-one 4-H and FFA teams from
Two Holstein Internships Available
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. Hol
stein Association USA, Inc., and
Holstein Foundation, Inc., offer
two summer internships in their
Brattleboro, Vt. headquarters of
fice. Both internships offer com
petitive compensation while pro
viding valuable dairy industry
experience.
Internships in marketing com
munications and youth
Afltrol
For The Control Of
• Starlings • Pigeons
• Sparrows • Crows
Slbs.for $ 295 00
+6.00 S&H
These Pesticides have restricted
use. MUST HAVE Current
Applicator’s License.
across the country. Members
judged 10 classes and gave oral
reasons on three cow classes.
The Pennsylvania team placed
first in the Ayrshire and Jersey
breeds, second in the Guernsey
and Brown Swiss breeds, and
12th in Holstein judging. The
team took fourth place in oral
reasons.
Individually, Clayton Wood
from Adams County placed first
in the overall contest, first in Jer
sey judging and fourth in Brown
Swiss. Cory Thompson from
York County placed fifth in the
Ayrshire breed, and eighth over
all. Michael Bosley placed 13th
overall, and Trisha Knight
placed 17th overall out of 84 indi
viduals.
programs/education are avaOable
for summer 2004.
Application deadline for tx>th
internships is Dec. 1, 2003. To
learn more about the internship
programs or to apply, contact
Ben Church, manager of commu
nications, at (800) 952-5200 ext.
4174, or Kelli Dunklee, youth
programs specialist, (800)
952-5200 ext. 4124.
‘,S«. V.V. V. >.V. Vty
Mrt* Thou Hodtnt Tr»ckt ENO/ %
Tracking Powder* ;
Kills Rats & Mice
(Qgcjs/ 6 lb. Bucket £
*39.95 ™ s
Rat & Mouse Balt Available £
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i Blai
RRI.BoxS:
717*536*386
Starlicide
For the Control of
Starlings & Blackbirds
Less Diseases
Saves Feed
33 Lb. Pail
$89.00
in Supply
137, Blaln, PA 17006
1 or 717*536*3933