A PUBLICATION OF
RFID Tags available from DHIA
The bovine industry has settled on Radio Frequency chipped eartags as the best management practice for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).
The tag that we will be using for bovines in the NAIS system is a button tag, about the size of a silver dollar. That tag contains an RFID chip which is about the size of a grain of rice. That chip contains ONLY the 15 digit unique animal identification number. There is a long piece of copper wire that is wound around inside the tag. It is connected to the chip and serves as an antenna.
The chip is passive, containing no power source. The number contained on the chip is picked up when a special RFID reader tuned to the precise frequency of the tag sends a signal exciting the chip. The tag is designed for one time use, and cannot be programmed and should never be removed from the animal. The 15 digit number is written on the outside of the tag, in the rare event that the number cannot be read electronically. Your Premise number is considered confidential information and should not be printed on the tag, and cannot be included electronically. Tracking of premises will be done in the confidential database.
If you order 50 tags, you will get a free tag applicator. You do not get to choose the color or numbers on the tags. Minnesota DHIA handles RFID tags from Fearing (Digital Angel), and All Flex. All Flex RFID tags are $2.60 each, plus shipping and sales tax. Digital Angel RFID tags are $2.15 each ++. Please have your Premise ID ready when you call to order tags,
We also offer all sizes of management tags, including button tags that do not contain RFID chips. Many customers have used the button tags in place of steel tags for years, due to ease of readability and the high tag retention rate of the button tags. You can order RFID tags in tandem with management tags, with the RFID number or bar code containing that number included on your corresponding management tag.
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Producers will be able to continue to use the steel tags for a short period of time, and may need to retag young animals in the future when it is not so easy to tag them. USDA will accept the non-RFID button tags with the 8-digit American ID printed on them for at least the next few years.
Animals will need to be tagged before they leave the farm of origin, and the tags will be assigned to a premise when ordered from the manufacturer. This pretty much eliminates DHIA personnel from the tagging system. DHIA’s role will be to demonstrate proper tag placement, provide educational information, record and report animal movement for producers who wish DHIA to do that for them, make tags available to customers, and provide a seamless tracking system so that DHIA producers will see little change, other than using a different tag. Much of this is already in place in the Minnesota DHIA system.
It would be wise to obtain your Premises ID today, before the rush that will happen as USDA implements its requirement. Register your Premises today by calling the Board of Animal Health at 651.201.6816 or go to www.bah.state.mn.us.
Many are Choosing to Implement a Crossbreeding System
L. B. Hansen,
Many dairy producers have decided to begin using a crossbreeding system for their dairy operations. Some would say it is about time – the pig, beef cattle, and sheep industries have embraced the “gift” of hybrid vigor for commercial production for over 50 years! Hybrid vigor is greatest for fertility, health, and survival traits – just the traits that most dairy producers are experiencing frustration and are seeking improvement today.
Some
A.I. organizations are using scare tactics to discourage dairy producers from
moving to a crossbreeding system. Why would they do this? The
answer is because they have mostly
Some A.I. marketers argue that you can make as much improvement for these traits within breed as from crossbreeding. Don’t believe this marketing propaganda! Hybrid vigor is huge for pigs and beef cattle, and it is huge for dairy cows, too. Can the pure breeds make genetic improvement in fertility, health, and survival? Absolutely – but not as quickly as you can with crossbreeding. Besides, hybrid vigor is always expressed ON TOP of the average of the breeds that are crossed. Of course, we need registered breeders to stick with their purebreds.
Which
breeds should you use? Most dairy producers have grade
Whichever
breeds you choose, be sure to select THREE! Then, use those three
breeds in a simple 3-breed rotation. An example – a
Where can you purchase semen
from the European breeds? Select Sires distributes Swedish Red and Montbeliarde. Semex
distributes Norwegian Red. Genex/CRI
distributes Finnish Red. Marketing agreements among countries and
organizations are still being negotiated. For example, in the
The Annual Meeting of Minnesota DHIA will be held at Cabela’s in Rogers MN on Thursday March 23, 2006. Milk and rolls will be available at 10:30 with the meeting scheduled for 10:45. Voting Delegates and Alternates were selected at the recently concluded District Meetings. All members are welcome to attend. If you would like to come, please call 800.827.3442 and let us know so we can make the proper lunch arrangements.
Raw SCC versus Linear Score (LGSCC)
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The issue of Linear as compared to Raw SCC remains confusing for many people, including many dairymen. SCC (Somatic Cell Count) is a measure of white blood cells from the cow’s immune system getting into the milk while fighting infections. It is not a direct measurement of bacterial infection, but is usually a good indicator. High levels of bacteria will cause an increase in white blood cells to fight the infection. Cows with a LGSCC of less than 4--raw score of less than 200,000 are generally considered uninfected, while those with a LGSCC of more than 4 are considered likely to be infected. Since it is a measurement of white blood cells and not a measurement of bacteria causing infections, there will be some cows with a LGSCC of more than 4 that are not infected, and some with a LGSCC of less than 4 that will be infected. Each 1 point increase in LGSCC is correlated with a doubling of the Raw SCC. |
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Raw SCC is weighted by Production:
If a cow is giving 100 lb./day and has a high SCC, she will contribute 4 times the Somatic Cells to the Bulk Tank as another cow with the same SCC that is giving 25 lb./day. On the DHIA Herd Summary report, the Raw SCC score uses a weighted average that gives the dairymen an idea of how many Somatic Cells there are per Milliliter of milk in his Bulk Tank on test date. A high BTSCC (Bulk Tank Somatic Cell Count) may be coming from a small percentage of the herd having very high counts, or a large percentage of the herd having fairly high counts. So the BTSCC by itself does not give us a good indication of levels of herd infection. However, Raw SCC counts and BTSCC counts are very important because the numbers of Somatic Cells in the Bulk tank affects quality and shelf life of fluid milk, and impacts cheese yield. AND, the pay-price is dependant upon milk quality.
LGSCC (Linear Score) Not weighted by Production:
A cow with a LGSCC of 7 (1,600,000 Raw SCC) is very likely infected with mastitis whether she is giving 100 lb./day or 25 lb./day. So the average LGSCC on the DHIA Herd Summary is not weighted by production. Its purpose is to give the dairyman an idea of infection levels in the herd on test date. Studies show that for each rise in Lactation Average LGSCC above 3, older cows will lose about 400 lb of milk and heifers about 200 lb. For example, an older cow with an average LGSCC score of 6 for her lactation will lose approximately 1,600 lb of milk.
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In the table on the right
we can see the impact Cow A in Herd 1 has on the average Raw score of an
otherwise low SCC herd. Note the higher LGSCC in Herd 2 due to the fact that
6 of the 10 cows are infected, even though the average Raw score is lower
than Herd 1 |
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The table on the left shows
the big drop in Raw SCC for Herd 1 when cow A dropped from 6,580,000 to
880,000. But Cow F is a new infection and the higher Herd LGSCC
reflects the fact that 2 cows are now infected. Cow A in Herd 2 also has a lower SCC on
test 2, but the continued high LGSCC reflects the fact that 1/2 of the herd
is still infected |
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Spring Cleaning Advice from Dr. Jeff Reneau:
Bedding management and cow prep. In the past 25 years, almost without exception, I have seen that a reduction in herd SCC can be achieved by improving the quality of pre-milking cow prep and bedding management. Improving bedding management reduces teat exposure to mastitis pathogens. Improving cow prep reduces chances of new infections occurring during milking. If a concerted effort in these two areas were made statewide in Minnesota, we would see a dramatic reduction in Bulk Tank SCC. In most cases, it is as simple as keeping teats clean.
Congratulations to February Milk Quality Leaders
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SCC |
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SCC |
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DAN AND JOLENE SCHLANGEN |
EDEN VALLEY |
36 |
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OAK RIDGE DAIRY |
CHETEK |
91 |
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ROBERT SLATER |
MAHTOWA |
39 |
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KEITH ROOT |
NEW RICHLAND |
92 |
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JULIAN + DAVID SJOSTROM |
PELICAN RAPIDS |
39 |
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TONY STAEBLER |
MORRIS |