Dairy Chit Chat- Please read Mod note in post #1

Timmaay

24/6/16

Recently we saw three posters close their accounts over disagreements in the dairy threads. While there is a lot of frustration and discontent with current milk prices and the processing industry, the recent tendency for dairy threads to become tit-for-tat arguments isn’t tolerable for those not involved.

All farming sectors go through difficult periods and during such times there may need to be changes in how threads are moderated.

Dairy threads are going to be more closely monitored and subject to stricter moderation for a while.

To that end we won’t tolerate baiting of posters, constantly reviving old arguments, posters with agendas or crusading for a cause.

Whether it’s discussion of the business or politics of the dairy or other sectors, we expect civility and tolerance toward each other and other opinions as diversity of opinion is needed as a source of different ways of looking at a situation.

"The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress." - Joseph Joubert

Also please be aware that what you may post as light-hearted banter can be read totally differently by someone adversely affected by the subject matter and evoke a reaction you hadn’t intended.

The ‘Off-Season’ forum, and its anonymous posting, is available for anyone to chat about their situation.

The Mod Team.




10 away from the 10000 posts! Frazz I think it's fair to say this thread has been a success!

Indeed it was! First thread can be found here- http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056872221

johnny122

whelan2 wrote: »

do you wear gloves? do you milk record? when were the liners last changed?

Changed liners. Just did a test on one's I thought suspect found 5 in the millions.

whelan2

johnny122 wrote: »

Changed liners. Just did a test on one's I thought suspect found 5 in the millions.

I used to have a problem, got rid of the millionaires, even if you are keeping their milk they are still infeCting the others. had a blip there last week went up to 309, milk recorded, was a cow was 7 million, I sent her to factory and am back under 200 now.

Buford T. Justice XIX

johnny122 wrote: »

Changed liners. Just did a test on one's I thought suspect found 5 in the millions.

Wear gloves always.

Scrape/wash the holding yard after each milking.

Get the milking machine serviced as poor vacuum and fluctuating vacuum can cause mastitis.

Check all the rubberware for holes like in pulse tubes and replace any with problems.

Draw each quarter of each cow before milking and treat as soon as you see clots. Check all quarters after milking at least once to find any hard quarters and treat those.

The liner, after coming off an infected cow, can infect the next 6 cows milked with that cluster. Be sure to disinfect each cluster either by dipping or spraying some premilking disinfectant.

Spray/dip each quarter after taking off the cluster. Use lots of spray and make sure the spray is getting to cover all around each tit, not just in the general direction of the tit. You should be using 10ml of dip if teat dipping and 15ml of spray for each cow if you are spraying.

Let the cows out into a clean area for a while after milking to let the teat ends close cleanly.

Make sure the roadways and entrances to each field are clean and dry.

Think about milk recording or at least get the whole herd done once with samples to find all the high scc cows. Recording for a year will show you the high cows and how they are responding to treatment. Then treat/cull as needed.

Been there, done that. Scc is ambling along at 100-115 the last while, thankfully. When you're drying off, you need to take special care of the high girls with injections/longer drycow therapy.

Mulumpy

Pre and post dip with lactic acid based dip during housing.
Clusters straight on during summer and post dipped.
Any cow that records above 1m is cultured if no obvious signs. Any cow that is over a second time is culled immediately.
Avg scc this year is 35k.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Mulumpy wrote: »

Pre and post dip with lactic acid based dip during housing.
Clusters straight on during summer and post dipped.
Any cow that records above 1m is cultured if no obvious signs. Any cow that is over a second time is culled immediately.
Avg scc this year is 35k.

I used to think that an scc under 50 wasn't possible but it is for everyone, tbh.

Mulumpy

Buford T. Justice V wrote:

I used to think that an scc under 50 wasn't possible but it is for everyone, tbh.

My avg last year was 126. Changed my dry cow tubes and culled hard in the spring so it's paying off. Only takes one bad case to feck it up. Clean yards, gaps and a stress free environment so important too. A dry summer also makes big difference.

Pacoa

Had a test of 42k at the start of july and the very day i got it on the phone the milking machine guy came and changed the liners. That evening the cows seemed to be holding the milk and two days later i have a mastitis case. Scc goes to 122k but its now back down at 70k.
So do yee guys notice cows holding milk like that after changing liners mid lactation or is it just my divas?


and the 10000 post goes to.......drumroll.......

Deepsouthwest

whelan2 wrote: »

anyone milking once a day on a sunday?

Have done it here for the last 6/7 yrs, normally start in mid/late September.

frogloch

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

I used to think that an scc under 50 wasn't possible but it is for everyone, tbh.

Did anyone ever tell you the old chestnut of [O your cell count is too low the cows will have no imunity to mastitis]. My milk machine serviceman used to be telling me that nonsense. The lower the better get all trace of infection out of them. I was selling 2 milking late calvers in the mart got their milk cell count tested and they came back 11k and 13k, I don't think they believed me in the mart it could be so low. What works for me is keep the hands off their teats. Don't go looking for a problem if you don't have one. Now if you have one look for it. You wouldn't let a surgeon move between patients without disinfecting his/her hands first.

einn32

Milking 480 in a 20 unit double out here in oz. Takes about 2.5 hours to milk. Wash down takes about an hour if you do the collecting yards. It does take it's toll on the body after a while I find but you don't realise it until your days off.

frazzledhome

einn32 wrote: »

Milking 480 in a 20 unit double out here in oz. Takes about 2.5 hours to milk. Wash down takes about an hour if you do the collecting yards. It does take it's toll on the body after a while I find but you don't realise it until your days off.

Are they in one herd?

einn32

frazzledhome wrote: »

Are they in one herd?

About 16 in a lame/old cow herd at the minute.

orm0nd

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Wear gloves always.

Scrape/wash the holding yard after each milking.

Get the milking machine serviced as poor vacuum and fluctuating vacuum can cause mastitis.

Check all the rubberware for holes like in pulse tubes and replace any with problems.

Draw each quarter of each cow before milking and treat as soon as you see clots. Check all quarters after milking at least once to find any hard quarters and treat those.

The liner, after coming off an infected cow, can infect the next 6 cows milked with that cluster. Be sure to disinfect each cluster either by dipping or spraying some premilking disinfectant.

Spray/dip each quarter after taking off the cluster. Use lots of spray and make sure the spray is getting to cover all around each tit, not just in the general direction of the tit. You should be using 10ml of dip if teat dipping and 15ml of spray for each cow if you are spraying.

Let the cows out into a clean area for a while after milking to let the teat ends close cleanly.

Make sure the roadways and entrances to each field are clean and dry.

Think about milk recording or at least get the whole herd done once with samples to find all the high scc cows. Recording for a year will show you the high cows and how they are responding to treatment. Then treat/cull as needed.

Been there, done that. Scc is ambling along at 100-115 the last while, thankfully. When you're drying off, you need to take special care of the high girls with injections/longer drycow therapy.

you forgot 1 of the worst causes of high scc

stray voltage

mahoney_j

frogloch wrote: »

Did anyone ever tell you the old chestnut of [O your cell count is too low the cows will have no imunity to mastitis]. My milk machine serviceman used to be telling me that nonsense. The lower the better get all trace of infection out of them. I was selling 2 milking late calvers in the mart got their milk cell count tested and they came back 11k and 13k, I don't think they believed me in the mart it could be so low. What works for me is keep the hands off their teats. Don't go looking for a problem if you don't have one. Now if you have one look for it. You wouldn't let a surgeon move between patients without disinfecting his/her hands first.

Keeping hands of teats,(cows ones anyway!!!)is crucial to stop spreading,introducing infection.thats one of key things vet told me a few years ago whenni had scc issues .i cleared things up by using milk recording records to find offenders,culturing a few samples to find what bugs ,culling out any older high scc cows,giving any young cows a long dry cow period and treating with cepravin,sealers,and a bottle of tylovet at dry off.things like gloves at milking .machine serviced ,clean yards and roadways etc should be a given

johnny122

mahoney_j wrote: »

Keeping hands of teats,(cows ones anyway!!!)is crucial to stop spreading,introducing infection.thats one of key things vet told me a few years ago whenni had scc issues .i cleared things up by using milk recording records to find offenders,culturing a few samples to find what bugs ,culling out any older high scc cows,giving any young cows a long dry cow period and treating with cepravin,sealers,and a bottle of tylovet at dry off.things like gloves at milking .machine serviced ,clean yards and roadways etc should be a given

No hands on titties lads ?? That's no fun :-)

just do it

frazzledhome wrote: »

Not even close. At least your moving

Sure a lad would have have no time for a fag break milking that many

just do it

Wild wet west Clare

Buford T. Justice XIX

orm0nd wrote: »

you forgot 1 of the worst causes of high scc

stray voltage

Yeah, meant to put that in.

There are different types of current problems as well.

When my Scc was around 200, i tested for voltage and nothing showed up. Then last year I lost a lot of sheds in the storm and the lights around the yard were acting up and causing the power to trip. So I had my electrician out every week trying to sort it out and it was ok till late in the year when it started acting up again and Scc rose again to 250.

Then this spring we lost power for a day due to a faulty water pump further down the line but my electrician said that excuse wasn't right. He told me that there was a problem on my transformer and ring and tell them it was dangerous, which I did.

They weren't happy coming out that evening but were very sheepish when they came down the pole after finding a badly installed yokey(technical term) on the transformer.

I've had no problems since and all this year the Scc is under 200, bar one period after starting up milking.

whelan2

frogloch wrote: »

Did anyone ever tell you the old chestnut of [O your cell count is too low the cows will have no imunity to mastitis]. My milk machine serviceman used to be telling me that nonsense. The lower the better get all trace of infection out of them. I was selling 2 milking late calvers in the mart got their milk cell count tested and they came back 11k and 13k, I don't think they believed me in the mart it could be so low. What works for me is keep the hands off their teats. Don't go looking for a problem if you don't have one. Now if you have one look for it. You wouldn't let a surgeon move between patients without disinfecting his/her hands first.

had a cow with a very low scc and she got gangrene mastitis , you could see her udder going black , she died

keep going

My opinions on scc is there multiple factors that can influence it but if you have cell count you have infection.then you have to break it down in to two areas is there issues that make the cows more prone(teat end condition, cow health and cow susepablity) or is it something in the cows environment-cleaniness, other infected cows, milkers habits and cow management.my view is stray voltage and weather are stress factors that only trigger high scc in already infected cow but I could see where weather would in crease environmental infection pressure

kevthegaff

just do it wrote: »

Wild wet west Clare

Few stones to be pick there:-D, aftergrass?

Bullocks

kevthegaff wrote: »

Few stones to be pick there:-D, aftergrass?

I bet you won't pick them by hand too easy !

just do it

kevthegaff wrote: »

Few stones to be pick there:-D, aftergrass?

Not my place but only a few miles away. Haven't ran by there in a while but think it's a grazing only paddock. Maybe a few surplus bales were taken off it.

just do it

Are they not cow dung? On mobile so can't see them that closely

frogloch

Why does it still say on the back of the glanbia milk statement quota litres and supply as % of current quota. I thought that was all behind us. Why not just supply litres? The annual reference butterfat is on aswell. It's still saying quota remaining to march as well.

keep going

The latest edition of dairy farmer from journal makes for interesting if scary reading

awaywithyou

keep going wrote: »

The latest edition of dairy farmer from journal makes for interesting if scary reading

whats scary bout it??

keep going

awaywithyou wrote: »

whats scary bout it??

The level of risk taken on particularly the hickeys and the two boys in america

awaywithyou

keep going wrote: »

The level of risk taken on particularly the hickeys and the two boys in america

dont know them hickey brothers.... but i'd say they have there heads well screwed on.... didnt read the american ventures.... but best of luck to them.... i thought it was a good publication... there is a guy from my area in it... good farmer...

i do wonder about this obsession with cross-breeding though.... it was mentioned in most articles i read.....

why hasnt jackie k made a trip to stan or any of the holstein only lads....?

mahoney_j

awaywithyou wrote: »

dont know them hickey brothers.... but i'd say they have there heads well screwed on.... didnt read the american ventures.... but best of luck to them.... i thought it was a good publication... there is a guy from my area in it... good farmer...

i do wonder about this obsession with cross-breeding though.... it was mentioned in most articles i read.....

why hasnt jackie k made a trip to stan or any of the holstein only lads....?

Christ you'll be excommunicated for that last statement !!!think Jackie would be way out of his depth in a place like that as spoofing would get him no where.interesting articles and profiles in the magazine though...