EXPLANATION OF HERD SUMMARY
An evaluation of the dry period length between a previous lactation and the current one for cows currently in the herd. Normal dry periods should be 40-70 days, avoid both short and long periods.
- Average Days: - Average days dry for all cows who have subsequently calved.
- Cows by Days Dry: - Breaks down the number of dry cows by days dry. Shaded line at bottom gives percentage of cows by days dry.
- 305 ME: - 305 Mature Equivalent adjusts the current production record for the cow to what she would be producing at 3+ years lactation or greater as a mature cow. Calculated on a 305-day basis, averages are adjusted for age and season of calving. 305 ME for first lactation animals should be higher or equal to cows in second lactation or greater, if progress is being made.
- $ Value: - 305 ME Milk, Fat and Protein are based on a dollar value using the latest USDA formula.
- Production Index: - Divides a cow's ME by the average ME for the herd. It is the percentage ranking of 305 ME production for cows in each lactation group.
For example, 100 would be average.
- Cows: - Number of cows in that lactation on the latest sample day.
- DIM: - Average Days In Milk for cow's current lactation.
- Peak DIM: - Average Days In Milk where cows in that lactation group are at peak production.
- Peak Milk: - Average pounds of milk on the day of highest sample day production during lactation.
- MLM: - MLM is the estimated average milk production on test day if all cows in the herd were 150 days in milk, in their second lactation, producing milk that contains 4.0% Fat and 3.3% Protein. Management Level Milk can be used to monitor the effect of management changes. Changes in herd production level due to management changes are reflected in MLM more quickly than in the Rolling Herd Average. MLM is only calculated on cows with less than 306 days in milk.`
- Current MLM: -Management Level Milk average for the current test day.
- C-L: - This is comparing current test MLM to the last test MLM.
- DHI: - This is the pounds of milk DHI recorded on the test date adjusted to 24 hours.
- Sold: - Daily Average pounds of milk the farm reported sold on the 3 shipments prior to sample day.
- Shipped: - This is the percent of DHI milk that was shipped by the dairy on test day. In calculation, it is DHI milk divided by milk sold.
- Value: - Dollar value of total DHI milk shipped on test day, using reported milk price.
- S/cwt: - Reported milk price received per hundred weight, should be actual price.
A current evaluation of the herd's mastitis status based on somatic cell counting. The information is categorized by first, second, and other lactation animals as well as an average for the entire herd. Linear scores of 0 and 1 are considered negligible in respect to mastitis. Scores of 2 and 3 are suspicious. Scores of 4 or greater are positive for mastitis. Scores of 7, 8, or 9 indicates that cows are shedding extremely high numbers of somatic cells and are not only on the verge of clinical cases, but are seriously affecting milk quality if allowed into the tank. A goal should be to have 80% of the animals with linear scores below 4.
Compares Management Level Milk from current test to annual summary. Comparisons can also be made by stage of lactation and lactation number.
The Yearly Somatic Cell Count (SCC) summary shows the percentage of animals infected with an SCC over 200,000. The table also compares the status of cows during different lactation's and stages of lactation. The number of tests the data is based on is stated at the bottom of the Yearly SCC Summary.
Changes in SCC Status describes the dynamic changes that occur in a herd's mastitis infection rate.
- Fresh vs. Last Dry Off: - Compares animals SCC status at the last test before dry off to their status at the first test after freshening. Cures are those animals that had a SCC over 200,000 at dry off and freshened with a SCC under 200,000. Chronics are those animals that were dried off infected and were still infected at fresh date. Negatives are the percent of animals that were not infected at dry off and are still not affected at fresh date. New infections are those animals dried off without infection and freshened infected.
- Current vs. Last Test: - Compares those animals at last test to the current test of those animals cured; chronics, those still infected; negatives, those still not infected; and new infections, those animals not infected at last test but are infected at current test.
Information for the most recent test day is listed on line one and in succeeding order by test date for the past 13 tests. Herd trends can be evaluated for any of the items in the table. Two comparisons may be meaningful, one with the preceding month and one with the same month one year previous.
- ROLLING HERD COLUMNS: - Indicates the average milk, pounds of fat and protein
production for the last 365 days, with the yearly period ending on the current test date. Production from the current test replaces production from a year ago in the calculation.
- TEST DAY COLUMNS: - Indicates the number of cows in the herd tested, giving the
percent of total cows in the herd milking at the test date. Milk-is the average pounds of milk/cow in the herd for the test and % ship-is the pounds of milk tested by DHI compared to the pounds of milk shipped. If this percentage is over 100, then DHI records show more milk was shipped. Average percent milk sold in Minnesota is 101%.
- QUANTITY: - Indicates number of cows milking on test day, number of cows freshening since the last test during the test period, average DIM, average pounds of milk, Management Level Milk, % Fat and % Protein. The Average DIM indicates the average days in milk (stage of lactation). The average milk production is expected to increase when the average Days in Milk (DIM) drops by 15 days or more. Similarly, milk production is expected to decrease when DIM increases.
- QUALITY: - Indicates Raw SCC (weighted by lbs. of milk), average SCC linear score (average for all the cows), number of infected cows (those animals with a SCC over 200,000), fresh infections (those animals fresh this test period and infected),and new infections (the number and percent of those cows infected at current test and not at previous test).
- SCC: - Herd average linear SCC may be compared to previous months, especially the preceding month and the same month one year earlier. An increase in SCC score indicates that subclinical mastitis is becoming increasingly more common and severe.