Minnesota DHIA News
A PUBLICATION OF MINNESOTA DHIA	Volume 10,  Issue  4	APRIL 2010

Lower your SCC - Advice from Dr. Jeff Reneau:

Cow hygiene score card.  A University of Minnesota study showed that in herds where environmental mastitis predominate, hygiene of the lower rear legs and udder correlated to SCC.  Cows with higher cow hygiene score also had a higher SCC.  The average hygiene score for rear legs and udders for cows in this study was 2.95 (on a hygiene score scale of 1-5 with 1 being spotlessly clean and 5 being very dirty) and the average SCC for the 1191 cows studied was 405,000.  For the cows in this study, every 1 unit score improvement in hygiene resulted in a 50,000 reduction in SCC.  Using the cow hygiene score card, also found on the above mentioned website, you can determine the potential SCC impact of keeping your cows cleaner.

Cows are dirtier in early lactation.  Unfortunately this is also the time when they are most vulnerable to getting new mastitis

infections because their immune system may be somewhat depressed.  Therefore, more intense bedding and stall management should be given to maintain clean and dry stalls for close-up dry cows, fresh and early lactation cows.

University of Minnesota Diagnostic Lab culture records indicate that most of the mastitis in Minnesota dairies is coming from environmental pathogens.  That is why the bottom line for reducing Minnesota BTSCCs boils down to hygiene.  More effort in keeping cows cleaner and more effort in cleaning teat surfaces prior to milking will always pay off in lowering BTSCC.  How about it?  Let’s all initiate a “cleaning” in a concerted effort to get Minnesota’s SCC back on track.

Twins – do you know in advance?

The National Animal Health Monitoring System reports that 11% of calves born are a twin.  The percentage of twins has been on the rise.  Some of you have asked for the ability to report an animal “pregnant with twins”, and have that show up on lists of cows to recheck, cows to dry off, and cows to calve.  Dr. Jim Bennett refers to the need and desire to manage cows pregnant with twins differently.  Some folks want to be able to report when a cow was pregnant with twins but no longer is, so that when the calf is born, if it is a heifer, they can test it.

We recently showed your Field Reps how to provide “Pregnant with Twins” information on the reports provided to you on sample day.  You can start reporting pregnant with twins on your next DHIA sample day, and receive the revised lists on that sample day. Old diagnoses of pregnant with twins can be updated on your next sample day as well.  Report the sex of the calf from ultrasounds the same way.  On-farm software users have had this ability for some time.  Note Twins do not yet show on any reports you receive in the mail from DHIA.

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March Milk Quality Top 100 based on Raw SCC

	SCC	cows		SCC	cows
TIM & SUE HOESE	34	35	DAVID HALLBERG&STEPH LARS	78	59
ROBERT MILLER	36	59	RICK STOCKER	78	81
DAVID BUCK	38	66	CLETUS MILLER	78	30
DAN AND JOLENE SCHLANGEN	42	70	BOB GRUBER	79	63
SCHEFERS BROS	45	80	MIKE + DONNA TELLERS	79	58
KIMM'S DAIRY	45	82	KCE FARM	80	107
NORBERT BROWN	46	35	PETERM&LYNN HENDRICKSON	80	72
MARK KLEHR	47	55	SONNEK FARMS	80	77
CB FARMS LLC	48	48	CHUCK KLAPHAKE	81	93
DEWEY HERBER	48	143	MIKE MOTL+KIM HARFF	81	87
RKB DAIRY	49	100	MIKE HAGLUND	81	50
CRAZY DAISY DAIRY	51	128	TRAVIS-RICHARD SCHLOSSER	82	32
TERRY KOLSTAD	51	30	TIMOTHY-MAYLA KLEMEK	82	35
HAPPKE HOLSTEIN FARM	51	72	SCHLIEP FAMILY DAIRY	82	64
DANIEL HALLBERG	51	58	CRAIG & JANNA LOEN	82	44
BRAD GLENZ	52	59	ZUMBRO VIEW FARMS LLC	83	51
RICK HEUER	52	102	DEAN FRISLE	83	70
PANEK DAIRY	52	61	JOHN E SAUBER	83	57
GENE SCHMIDT	54	35	BRUCE AND JILL BOETTCHER	84	154
JOHN ROBERS	56	20	GOLBERGS LAKEVIEW DAIRY	84	115
GLEN CHRISTEN	57	41	LAVERNE THILL	84	101
DONALD + DARLENE MATROS	57	75	JAMES SCHROEDER	84	70
FUNKS MIDWAY DAIRY	57	574	SCHREIBER BROS	84	85
JERON NATHE	58	293	DENNIS AND WAYNE WOLTERS	85	107
BOB & TERRI KETCHUM	62	123	EARL FELLING	85	73
MAAS FARMS	62	40	LARRY AND DIANNA BRAEM	85	41
MATT BERKTOLD	63	169	JEFF PETERMEIER	85	27
ERIC CRABTREE	63	62	OREN AND JULIE OLSEN	85	87
CRONK DAIRY	64	36	CORNER POST FARMS	85	58
DAVID SMITH	65	30	DEAN RAUSCH	86	71
FRANK PATRICK	65	56	SIBERT FARMS	86	58
BETH DEPPA	67	66	KUECHLE DAIRY	87	222
DAVID + RICHARD BROWN	68	93	LYLE AND WANDA HONEBRINK	88	105
LYNN AND DAN SCHULTZ	69	26	REUBEN AND JANICE STOMMES	88	69
DAVE LEMKE	69	34	RON HEMMESCH	88	119
STEVE & ALAN OELTJEN	70	78	MIKE KUGATH	88	49
ROGER ALDINGER	71	63	T J ZABEL FARM	90	142
CURT MAREN JEREMY HOLST	72	103	DEAN + ELIZABETH JOHNSON	91	81
ROADSIDE DAIRY	72	145	ROLLING RIDGE ACRES	91	306
JAY + MARIE NOSKA	72	51	JEFF MILLER	91	57
JIM & RANDI WINGERT	73	91	JIM KULINSKI	92	49
SONDAG DAIRY	73	38	CURT + JACKIE BEKIUS	92	62
BRUCE AND JODI HEIM	74	176	STACY & JULIE MILLER	92	87
JEFF VOLLRATH	74	30	CORDES-MAID HOLSTEINS-	92	54
RONALD AND SUSAN JOHNSON	75	61	SCHULTE FARMS	93	242
STEVE + LORRIE HELLMANN	75	47	JASON & JOHN SCHROEDER	94	54
JERRY + BEV POHLMANN	76	69	RONALD FIELD	94	32
SPEEDLING GRANER FARMS-	76	262	GREGORY P. ZILKA	95	32
ROBERT ERTL	76	45	BECKER FARMS	96	827
KEVIN ANDERSON	77	49	LARRY LEXVOLD FAMILY	96	67