streptococcus uberis the true costs of labour - positive action · over the past years...

30 International Dairy Topics — Volume 4 Number 3

1

Over the past years Streptococcusuberis has become one of the topthree pathogens in dairy. In housedcattle, infection rates are highest inthe first 75 days of lactation.

Up to 60% of cases stem from newinfections picked up at drying off orin the two weeks before calving.

Streptococcus uberis can alsoaccount for a large portion of theclinical cases at grass especially inhot weather when cows camp undershade trees and are more likely topick up the pathogen from faecalcontamination of the pasture.

While considered an environmentalpathogen, persistent infection withStreptococcus uberis meanwhilemake up to 20% of all cases.

Obviously some strains havebecome ‘cow adapted’ making themresponsible for the contagious spreadof the organism from cow to cow atmilking time and for raising bac-toscans in the bulk milk sample.

Although Streptococcus uberis aresensitive to penicillins, effective treat-ment is not easy to achieve. For theantibiotic to work the bacteria needto be actively dividing.

This organism, however, can gothrough phases of slow multiplicationand even dormancy which can makethe standard tube treatment ineffec-tive.

Streptococcus uberis can alsoinvade the epithelial cells in the udderand can sometimes persist withoutaffecting the cow and this makes the

bacteria more difficult to eradicate. Inorder to tackle Streptococcus uberiseffectively the following strategy hasbeen shown to work:● Improve hygiene in cow accommo-dation. Keep bedding clean and dry.● Prevent grazing on contaminatedpasture in hot weather and changecalving paddocks regularly.● Pay attention to milking routine –gloves, pre-dipping or using med-icated teat wipes are all effective toolsto ensure hygienic conditions.● Ensure your milking machine isworking efficiently (when was yourlast test?) and change liners every2500 cow milkings. (Have youworked it out – how many units haveyou got and how many cows do youmilk?)● Treat clinical cases promptly.Particularly when seeing recurringcases, consider systemic treatment.

Most often, cell counts in unaffectedquarters will also rise. Here, forexample, penethamate has beenshown to build up in highly effica-cious concentrations in the udderleading to cure even in difficult totreat cases, while also significantlyreducing cell counts in total, includingunaffected quarters.● Consider using a teat seal backedup with intramammary antibiotics tocontrol infections in the dry period.● Know your enemy – milk sampleproblem cows to isolate the pathogenand carry out post treatment sam-pling to monitor cure rates. ■

Streptococcus uberis

RABDF is urging alldairy producers toinclude from now on

the value of their family labour intheir farm accounts in order tocalculate and standardise the truecost of milk production.

A detailed study conducted bythe Association concluded thatfamily labour costs 3.81p perlitre. Some 500 dairy farmerswere included with an averageherd size of 156 cows and yieldof 7,112 litres. These herds wereessentially family run with anaverage 3.62 people, the farmerworked an average 57 hours per

week and 64% of spouses and42% of sons or daughters wereinvolved in the business.

RABDF determined from thestudy that the average cost offamily labour to run a technicallyefficient, average size dairy enter-prise amounted to £42,241– theequivalent to £271 per cow or3.81p per litre.

On a 150-200 cow unit, familycontributions added to hiredlabour pushed up the total labourcost to between 5.5p and 6.0pper litre.

FaxNOW +44 1926 [email protected]

The true costs of labour

Practical mastitis advice from:

30,31,32,33,34, news 13/5/05 11:54


Trial work with highyielding dairy cowsin Holland has con-

firmed the ability of a 100% pro-tected fat product based on highlevels of C:16 fatty acids todeliver a superior butterfat upliftcompared with a calcium soapbased on 84% fat.

Cows fed 100% protected fat inthe form of Energizer-RP10 expe-rienced a significant and costeffective butterfat hike of 0.21%over the milk fat level achievedby the animals fed the calciumsoap product.

In the trial, 46 Dutch Holsteincows were grouped according toage, lactation stage and produc-tion level and divided evenly intotwo groups.

The animals were fed a basicration for M+25 litres based ongrass and maize silage, wholecrop and soya via a mixer wagononce daily.

Concentrates containing either5% calcium soap or 5% Energ-izer-RP10 were fed through out ofparlour feeders according to pro-duction level to a maximum of9.5kg/head/day.

There were no significant differ-ences in milk yield between thetwo groups with cows averaging33 litres/day throughout the trial.

However, milk from cows fed

the concentrate containingEnergizer-RP10 had a signifi-cantly higher fat content (4.73%)than that from the group fed thecalcium soap (4.52%).

"C:16 products and particularlyEnergizer-RP10 can deliver signif-icant milk butterfat increases,even in herds already benefitingfrom impressive baseline levels,“Dr Alan Reeve from C&H Nut-rition told International DairyTopics.

“If your milk buyer puts a pre-mium on butterfat content, thenEnergizer-RP10 is definitely a costeffective addition to the lactatingcow ration."

FaxNOW +44 1928 716 [email protected]

Superior milk butterfats

2

On farm, antibiotics are routinely usedfor the treatment of clinical mastitis dur-ing lactation and for high somatic cellcount (SCC) cows at dry-off. Treatmentof persistently high SCC cows, how-ever, during lactation is rather theexception than the rule although antibi-otics specifically registered for treatinghigh SCC cows during lactation areavailable in most European countrieseither as an intramammary (pirlimycin)or as a systemic treatment (penetha-mate hydriodide).

The reasons for not treating highSCC cows with antibiotics are superim-posed by perception and expectation:a treatment effect is not obvious, beforeand after treatment the cow seemshealthy and the milk appears normal.In addition, many consultants adviseagainst treating high SCC cows duringlactation as not effective and thereforenot economic, an attitude not sustainedby a lot of scientific evidence.

It is certainly correct to argue thatcuring persistently high SCC cows doesnot improve milk production. At thispoint however, the indirect effects andbenefits of cure are overlooked: ● Prevention of flare ups of clinicalmastitis; studies following high SCCcows for nearly two years have clearlyshown that in time these cows haverepeated clinical flare ups. As a resultof treatment, cure of high SCC cows islikely to prevent clinical mastitis in thesame cow as well. ● Prevention of transmission of theinfection to other herd mates. Strep-tococcus uberis and Staphylococcusaureus are the most important bacteriacausing a persistently high SCC incows.

Both bacteria can easily be transmit-ted to other cows in the milking par-lour. Thus, curing such high SCC cowswill also prevent the transmission toother cows in the herd.

If these indirect effects of treatment,prevention of clinical mastitis and pre-vention of transmission are taken into

account, treatment might well beworthwhile and rewarding.

This was proven to be true in recenteconomic modelling studies. However,the economic efficacy is dependant ona number of factors which would haveto be assessed first in order to deter-mine the treatment success such as cowfactors (the age, SCC, lactation stageand quarter location), the probabilityof transmission on a farm, the bacterialstrain and the duration of treatment.

For example, treating a penicillinsensitive Staphylococcus aureusinfected heifer with a SCC lower thanone million cells/ml late in lactation ina front quarter for three days is eco-nomically profitable, whilst treatment ofa cow of third and higher parityinfected with the same strain but at aSCC level of one million cells/ml andmore in a front quarter for three daysin mid lactation will not be economi-cally reasonable. This shows that eco-nomic efficacy can only be reached byselecting the right cow for which treat-ment is justified and the right treatmentduration.

Certainly, the outcome of such atreatment schedule is not independentof general economic factors such asmilk prices and the presence orabsence of milk quotas.

A practical approach on every farmis shown below.

With the continued strive for highermilk quality on one side and the needto scrutinise the input level on the otherside, these recent findings will proba-bly change the views on treatment ofhigh SCC cows during lactation. Amore targeted treatment of the rightcow can make treatment success morepredictable, lead to a higher probabil-ity of cure and therefore, can be eco-nomically rewarding.

This way, treatment of cows withhigh SCC during lactation one day willmove from an exception to an integralpart of the dairy farm managementprotocol. ■

Treatment during lactation?

Alltech’s new prod-uct Optigen 1200has been registered

for sale in Mexico and Brazil, twoleading Latin American dairymarkets. The product, also sold inSaudi Arabia, China and south-east Asia, is already selling at fullproduction capacity, leadingAlltech to search for a secondproduction facility.

Optigen 1200 has been des-cribed as a ‘space generator’ as itdelivers 274% crude protein on adry matter basis, thereby creatingspace in the diet that can be usedto meet specific goals such aslowered feed costs, increasedmilk production and improvedruminal function.

“Our customers in Latin Am-erica and the Middle East haveseen the benefits of Optigen 1200

and are sold; so much so that wealready have a team in placelooking for a second productionfacility,” Alltech’s president DrPearse Lyons told InternationalDairy Topics. “As this productbecomes more mainstream, it willbe used to elevate dairy produc-tion by maximising the diet’snutritional value.”

Optigen 1200 is a polymercoated, prilled non-protein nitro-gen. The nitrogen release is bydiffusion into the rumen at a slowand even rate. Certain rumenbacteria, particularly fibre digest-ing bacteria, need nitrogen forgrowth. A constant and steadysupply of nitrogen to the rumen isessential for optimal fibrolyticbacteria populations.


Rumen ‘space generator’


Priorities1. Optimise udder health management2. Treat high SCC cows with

antibiotics

Priorities1. Udder health management is okay2. Do not treat in general, but select

cows for treatment

Cow criteria that increase cure:1. Young cows (parity 1 or 2) 3. SCC <1 million2. Infection in front quarter 4. Days in milk >200 days

BreedingStock, Equipment &Supplies18813 Greendale Street Bloomington,Illinois 61704, USA

Phone:+1 309 663 5153Fax:+1 206 350 0183Email: [email protected]

% of new infections/year <10%>10%

30,31,32,33,34, news 8/7/05 15:42 Page 1


Smart Innovations Milfos International’sability to developinnovative new ver-

sions of existing successful prod-ucts is enabling them to keep atthe forefront of milking technol-ogy.

According to Milfos director,Jamie Mikkelson, although theirnew iCIP Jetter looks deceptivelysimple in design it required somecomplex tooling to produce thecomponents.

By utilising the latest ComputerAided Design (CAD) software,Milfos was able to ensure that thedesign objectives were met.

The iCIP rubber cup pipelinemounted jetter assembly is a newgeneration jetter moulded in thelatest durable high resistant plas-tics.

It has been designed to accom-modate a varying range of clus-ters and liners. The teat cup linerfits securely into the rubber cupcleaning the head of the linerthoroughly. The rubber cup pro-tects and extends liner life anddoes not distort the liner mouth-piece.

This jetter includes an innova-tive ‘one piece’ non return valveand easy flow rate adjustmentdevice.

Milfos were able to view andapprove the detailed 3D CAD

models on screen well beforeproduction started. This virtualmodel making helps eliminateissues that are often missed withtraditional design methods.


Aflatoxin lateral flow test kitAnalysing aflatoxinsin agricultural prod-ucts is a must in order

to protect the health of humanbeing and animals. Existing meth-ods, such as TLC, HPLC, GC andELISA, either need high initialinvestment and skilled chemists,or require laboratory environmentand have long testing time.

The real needs of the industryare rapid on-site test methods toobtain results within minutes butdo not require professional train-ing and high investment.

At the same time the cost pertest needs to be reasonable.Romer Labs has developed theAgraStrip total aflatoxin lateralflow test kit to meet the industryrequirement.

The test kit is an easy to useimmunochromatographic assaywith three cut off levels – 4, 10and 20ppb. Semi-quantitativeresults are obtained within a fewminutes.

[email protected]

3

Mastitis continues to be a disease ofgreatest economical impact in dairyherds mandating conscious decisionsto minimise losses and costs associatedwith it. As a first step, mastitis has to bedetected preferably at an early stage.Early diagnosis is crucial because itallows for a timely treatment resultingin higher likelihood of cure.

Ideally, mastitis detection techniqueshave to be reliable, cheap and easy toconduct. These criteria are met bymeasuring the increased conductivityof milk of inflamed udders in the milk-ing parlour for detection of clinicalmastitis, and by routine cow SCC test-ing and the California Mastitis Test forcases of subclinical mastitis.

Know your bacteria

Successful mastitis control, however, isnot granted by early detection of thedisease alone. As a second importantstep the mastitis causing bacteria haveto be known.

Why? Simply, because different bac-teria cause entirely different diseasemanifestations requiring differentapproaches in their prognosis and,consequently, different control strate-gies.

The most sensitive and specific diag-nostic to determine the pathogen isbacteriological culturing (BC). How-ever, it is an expensive method, espe-cially when conducted at quarter level.Cheaper alternatives for BC at thequarter level are composite cow milksampling or even sampling the bulkmilk. The main disadvantage of thesealternatives is the loss of information.

The optimum diagnostic strategy forthe identification of the pathogen(s)depends on the farm situation.

Where the bulk milk somatic cellcount (BMSCC) and the prevalence ofclinical mastitis are low, bacteriologicalculturing of milk samples from the bulkmilk tank (BMT) in combination withroutine monitoring of cow SCC is a rel-atively cheap and good way to moni-tor mastitis and signal problems earlyon.

Where BMSCC is low while preva-lence of clinical mastitis is relativelyhigh, the disease likely involves bacte-ria that cause temporary, sometimessevere, clinical signs and a short termrise in SCC. Then, E. coli is a likelycause of this mastitis. To confirm this,milk samples of the affected quarter

should be analysed. However, whenboth the BMSCC and the incidence ofclinical mastitis are high, the clinicalmastitis cases are mainly flare-ups ofhighly prevalent subclinical infections.In those herds the infected cows andthe mastitis causing bacteria need tobe identified.

Since BMT milk sample culturing isnot giving information on individualcows, here routine individual SCC test-ing is an easy and inexpensive way tosingle out infected cows. Additionally,a small number of cows should ran-domly be sampled for bacteriologicalculturing. In any event, bacteriologicalculturing remains an expensive diag-nostic. Recent research revealed thatthoroughly monitoring and interpretingSCC patterns also provide good,though less detailed information at lowcosts and in a practical way.

There is a high correlation betweenmastitis pathogens and their corre-sponding SCC pattern over time whichcan give indications on the type ofpathogen: the contagious bacteriacause chronic or intermittently highSCC, the environmental more shortterm high peaks of SCC.

Assess antibiotic sensitivity

Before deciding on a mastitis controlstrategy, thirdly the antibiotic sensitivityof the mastitis causing pathogen needsto be assessed for effective treatment.

Again, the best but most expensiveway to obtain this information is send-ing milk samples on a regular basis tothe regional laboratory for antibioticsensitivity testing after bacteriologicalculturing. Less expensive with analmost immediate availability of resultswould be on-farm testing.

The reliability of commercial test kitsavailable for antibiotic sensitivity test-ing and their practicality on farmshould be investigated by the dairy-man before their implementation.

In summary, early detection, bacteri-ological culturing and antibiotic sensi-tivity testing as a three prongedapproach seems to be a very suitablediagnostic strategy as a basis for effi-cient mastitis control.

At the end, which diagnostic route totake largely depends on the farmer’swillingness to take risks. He must weighthe costs of diagnostics against theinformation they deliver to get to anoptimal diagnostic strategy. ■

Applying diagnostic tools

Beckman Coulter hasannounced the com-mercial availability

in Europe of its InPro CDI kit forbovine spongiform encephalopa-thy (BSE) in cattle.

The assay was recently approv-ed by the European Community(EC) for shipment.

The InPro CDI (Conformation-Dependent Immunoassay) testwas developed at the Universityof California, San Francisco in thelaboratory of Nobel LaureateStanley B. Prusiner, MD, founderof InPro Biotechnology Inc.

The kit provides customers witha highly sensitive BSE diagnosticassay that can be used in bothhigh and low volume laborato-ries.

The InPro CDI is offered as amanual test or can be automatedon Beckman Coulter’s Biomek

Assay Workstation. Proprietarysample tracking software that iscompatible with both the manualand automated assays is alsoavailable.

The availability of this test wasmade possible by an earlieragreement granting BeckmanCoulter exclusive, worldwidetechnology licensing rights toInPro Biotechnology’s previouslyEC approved CDI-5 assay.

Beckman Coulter adds itsstrengths in automation,immunoassay development,reagent manufacturing and diag-nostic testing to bring the InProCDI kit to market.

The company is actively work-ing with InPro Biotechnology todevelop new prion testingadvancements.


New BSE testing kit


30,31,32,33,34, news 16/9/05 11:21 Page 1


New generation modifierXtract for dairy cowshas recently beenlaunched to the

international feed and dairyindustry. It is a patent pendingproduct representing five years ofintensive research by universitiesand trial stations around theworld under the leadership of thetechnical teams at Axiss FranceSAS and ADM Alliance Nutrition.

Screening of more than 50 plantextracts and their active sub-stances followed by extensiveanimal trialing has demonstratedthe consistent efficacy of theXtract formulation. A key productfeature is its manufacturing by aunique Iso-Fusion technologyprocess in which a standardisedcombination of the ingredientsare contained within a micro-encapsulated protective matrix,enhancing product stability andanimal acceptance.

Xtract acts primarily on rumenmetabolism by decreasing aceticto propionic acid ratios andammonia nitrogen levels leadingto improved protein and energy

4

When asked what to expect from amastitis product, high efficacy and ashort milk withholding period appearas the most important criteria for prod-uct selection. Both, however, dependon a multitude of factors and can, attimes, be contradictory.

First and foremost an antibiotic mustbe effective against the pathogen iden-tified as causing mastitis. Appropriateinformation on sensitivity of thepathogen to antibiotics need to be gen-erated from a milk sample.

Further, a certain level of distributionand of concentration in milk and in theudder parenchyma has to be achievedto fully reach the pathogen for effectiveelimination.

Two routes of administration exist forthe treatment of mastitis – the treatmentdirectly at the udder (local treatmentvia intramammary syringe) or via thebloodstream (systemic treatment via anintramuscular, subcutaneous (under theskin) or intravenous injection).

Local treatment is traditionally usedas a first line of treatment in almost allcases of mastitis. Official recommenda-tions practised particularly in theNordic countries, however, considerlocal treatment rather as additional tosystemic antibiotic treatment in case ofhighly acute and severe clinical cases.

Systemic treatment has recently beenfound to also be of benefit in treatingsubclinical mastitis under certain condi-tions.

Thorough milking just before treat-ment is a pre-requisite for any localtherapy. For treatment success, a suffi-cient release of the antibiotic is key toreach all affected tissues in efficientconcentrations.

Here, the particle size of the activeingredient is crucial: smaller particlesresult in a better and more even distrib-ution of the antibiotic allowing it toreach distant parts of the parenchyma,while products with large particle size(>40nmm) or uneven distribution ofparticle size may be inadequate toaccomplish this.

This type of information though, assome of the following, is not availablethrough the package insert and toobtain so requires consultation with theveterinarian.

A product suitable for intramammarytherapy needs to comply with the fol-lowing:

● Least possible level of irritation to theudder tissue (sometimes, however, acertain, but low level is considered pos-itive to stimulate an unspecific immuneresponse).● Efficacy against the bug. ● Antibiotic should bind as little aspossible to milk proteins and udder tis-sue (binding to proteins restricts thedrug’s activity), but should exhibit suffi-cient binding to milk lipids (acts as car-rier without affecting the drug’sactivity).● Quick release of the antibiotic fromthe formulation.

With a systemic treatment the antibi-otic gets into the udder via the blood-stream.

As an advantage all four quartersare targeted (of benefit, when morethan one quarter is affected) and theantibiotic is available throughout theentire udder also reaching sectionswhere milk ducts may be blocked byinflammation or abscesses.

The ideal antibiotic should complywith the following:● As many systemic antibiotic formu-las registered for mastitis are based onsuspensions, where the active is to bereleased from particles, again the par-ticle size is an important treatment suc-cess factor.● High availability of the antibioticfrom where it is injected: the antibioticneeds to get into the blood quickly toallow sufficient accumulation in theaffected tissue.● Only antibiotics that have no electricload while in the bloodstream are ableto cross the milk-blood barrier andreach the affected tissue (for examplepenethamate as the non-dissociatedform of penicillin crosses the barrierand reaches the udder tissue where itdissociates into the active penicillin anda salt).● Efficacy against the causative bacte-ria. ● Low binding to plasma proteins, butgood solubility with lipid compounds.

Following the above requirementsensures a high availability and efficacyof the antibiotic where it is needed.

It then becomes obvious that antibi-otics for systemic treatment with a zeromilk withholding period are question-able to result in a successful treatmentof a mastitis solely contained to theudder. ■

Mastitis products – selecting for therapy

Tests have shownthat organisms utilisenatural vitamin E

much better than synthetic vita-min E. In this respect vitamin Ediffers from most other vitaminswhere there is no chemical differ-ence between the natural vitaminand the one produced syntheti-cally.

Vitfoss has made use of thisknowledge in the development ofa new milk replacer.

Young calves must be able toutilise the vitamins as good aspossible in order to make theimmune system work well.

Therefore, Vitfoss offers milkreplacers containing natural vita-min E. Together with the contentof synthetic vitamin E the milkreplacers from Vitfoss now have avery high content of vitamin E.

The focus on vitamin E is notnew to Vitfoss. Early in 1999 thecompany increased the content ofvitamin E in all milk replacersfrom 110 to 300mg vitamin E perkg. This increase in the content ofvitamin E was caused by theknowledge about the importance

of vitamin E to the immune sys-tem and the general health status.

Also in other manners their milkreplacers have gone through adevelopment. They have intro-duced new milk replacers con-taining dietetic fibres – Vitfoss-Fibermax.

This product consists of plantfibres and has proven to be ahighly appropriate raw materialin milk replacers, especially forthe youngest calves.

Vitfoss-Fibermax should begiven to the calves throughout themilk-feeding period, as the objec-tive is to prevent diarrhoea ratherthan to cure it.

Via its soothing effect the prod-uct also makes it possible to feedthe calves greater amounts ofmilk without irritating the intesti-nal environment.

Vitfoss-Fibermax is not onlyavailable as an ingredient in milkreplacers – it is also available as araw material that the farmer canadd to whole milk or to the pre-ferred milk replacer.


High quality milk replacers


utilisation. As a consequence, anaverage increase in daily milkproduction of 1.5kg was observedin early lactation trials carried outin the USA and Europe with anaverage return on investment of12 to one.

Due to its high degree of stabil-ity, Xtract is ideal for compoundfeeds, but is equally successfulwhen to TMR’s or on farm directfed supplements.

The recommended feeding rateis 375-500mg/cow/day.


Rumen specific yeastLallemand has justbeen granted perma-nent authorisation

from the European Commissionfor its rumen specific yeastLevucell SC as a feed additive fordairy cows.

Authorisation has been grantedfor both Levucell SC 20 andLevucell SC 10ME.


29,30,31,32,33,34, news 4/11/05 10:50 Page 2

Adisseo and Kemin areentering into a newstrategic partnership in

order to accelerate the ruminantbusiness in the EMEA zone.

The scientific community hasdemonstrated that the principles ofamino acid nutrition for ruminantsare both biologically and economi-cally effective.

Through their partnership,Adisseo and Kemin aim to transferthis new exciting knowledge intowidespread practices in the feed andmilk production sectors at an accel-erated pace. The objective is for theproducts manufactured by Adisseoto become the reference in rumi-nant nutrition.

To this end, Adisseo will bring itsscientific and technical expertise inthe field of ruminant nutrition toKemin, which will undertake themarketing, commercialisation, distri-bution and support of Adisseo'srange of ruminant products. These

include Smartamine, MetaSmart Dryand MetaSmart liquid and Microvit ASupra Ruminant. A special projectteam composed of specialists fromeach company will be in charge ofthis partnership.

Kemin will market and distributethe Adisseo ruminant range of prod-ucts from January 2006. Theyalready have existing experience inthe ruminant sector and bring to thispartnership a strong commercialnetwork throughout Europe, theMiddle East and Africa with morethan 30 representatives and techni-cians providing high level nutritionaland commercial support.

“Both our companies and cus-tomers will benefit from this strate-gic alliance which brings together thecomplementary expertise of twoleading feed additive companies,” DrJohn Springate, CEO of Kemin AgriFoods Europe, told InternationalDairy Topics. bb ttiinn..mmaarriieenn@@kkeemmiinn..ccoomm


5

Losses and damages caused byclinical mastitis are widelyknown, such as reduction in milkyield and quality, increased rateof culling, elevated productioncosts from treatment and milkdiscard as well as negativeimpact on fertility, if mastitisoccurs in the early stage of lacta-tion.

The economic impact of masti-tis is directly linked to the effectsof inflammation associated withthe original infection.

Excessive or lingering inflam-matory processes in the endresult in irreversible damage toaffected udder tissue, impactingits physiological functions andthus the cow’s productivity.

In acute mastitis clinical signsare usually obvious and severe.

Acute mastitis is not onlycaused by E. coli but also bystreptococci and staphylococci.

Those pathogens and espe-cially their toxins induce the typi-cal clinical signs of inflammation– fever, impaired demeanour,atonic rumen, pain and up tomassive local inflammation ofthe affected quarter.

Recent research revealed thatnext to inflammation pain is pre-sent also in moderate and evenmild mastitis.

Moreover, it was demonstratedthat direct pain as a result ofinflammation can be followed bya state of hypersensitivity in tis-sues affected by mastitis, whichmay persist well beyond the ini-tial period of inflammation.

It may be concluded that thisseverely reduces the cow’s will-ingness to accept milking equip-ment and to release milk possiblylong after the initial event ofmastitis is cured.

In addition to potential irre-versible damage to the udder tis-sue caused by the inflammation,subsequently, the return to fullmilk performance may be further

slowed. NSAIDs (Non SteroidalAnti-Inflammatory Drugs) havebeen demonstrated to be veryinstrumental and effective in con-trolling inflammation and reduc-ing its negative effects.

As a result, the restoration ofthe cow’s condition and wellbeing and, consequently, itsability to perform are acceler-ated.

Historically, NSAIDs have par-ticularly been used in cases ofacute toxic coliform mastitis.

In this respect, NSAIDs havedemonstrated their efficacy incontrolling the formation ofendotoxin triggered inflamma-tory mediators.

Recent research has proventhat this efficacy is not limited toE. coli mastitis, but is of essentialvalue in all types of clinical mas-titis.

Furthermore – and sparked byanimal welfare considerations –the impact of pain and the needfor control of pain and the sub-sequent hypersensitivity associ-ated even with mild and mod-erate mastitis have been high-lighted.

A recently conducted fieldstudy demonstrated a highly sig-nificant and lasting effect of asingle dose of meloxicam inreducing pain and hypersensitiv-ity in mastitic cows.

With choices given, the dura-tion of action – at full efficacy –and convenience in administra-tion (dose volume, number ofinjections required to achieve fullcontrol of inflammation) areimportant criteria when selectingthe NSAID.

The use of NSAIDs in clinicalmastitis, especially a long actingproduct, may have a strongerindication than previouslythought to reduce pain, and torestore well being and productiv-ity in dairy cows suffering frommastitis. ■

Effective control ofinflammation pays


Strategic partnership

Cow signals – a practical guidefor dairy farm managementby Jan Hulsen

Very rarely does one pick up a book for review and say that it is a‘must have’ for all dairy farmers’ but one does just that with CowSignals. For a start it has an essential prerequisite for most farmers –plenty of good quality colour pictures and diagrams with minimal,but essential, text.

The book considers key aspects of the cow’s life such as grazing,housing, eating and ruminating, milking and the dry period and, in sodoing, uses top quality photos to give real examples of the things thatevery good stockman should be looking for. A quote early in the bookclearly defines the book’s objective – ‘Not knowing something is for-givable, but not seeing something is stupid’!

Scattered within the book are Picture Puzzles, which the reader isasked to interpret.

These photographs help a farmer fine tune his skills, be they in heator lameness detection, assessing dung, body condition scoring,causes of unrest in the parlour or understanding teat health or groupbehaviour.

The book even dares to classify dairy farmers into four categories –cow minded, techie, cost cutters and entrepreneur. It is worth buyingthis book just to find out which one you really are!

Cow signals – a practical guide for dairy farm management •Author: Jan Hulsen • Publishers: Roodbont

29,30,31,32,33,34, news 19/1/06 10:40 Page 2


6

The necessity to dry off cows atthe end of lactation is consideredgood practice: the cow is allow-ed to redirect resources frommilk production to the growingfetus and to build body reserves,and the udder tissue can toreconstitute in order to preparefor the next lactation.

Recent experiments comparingdried off cows to cows that havebeen milked continuously untilfreshening have demonstrated aconsiderably lower peak milkperformance in non-dried offcows. There are, however, somebacteriological risks associatedwith drying off: ● Presence of existing (noticedor unnoticed) mastitis from ear-lier in the lactation.● Mastitis during dry period,either due to flare ups of persis-tent infections or as a result of anewly acquired infection.● Clinical mastitis shortly afterfreshening as a result of aninfection acquired during the dryperiod.

These risks usually require theadoption of a dry cow therapyplan involving an appropriateintramammary dry cow antibi-otic. Here, two main optionsexist according to farm specificneeds and conditions: a blanket(antibiotic dry cow therapy forall cows) approach is advised, ifherd udder health parameterssuggest so (a high rate of cowsin herd with Somatic Cell Count(SCC) of more than 300,000 orcontinued movement towards ahigher bulk milk SCC, a bacteri-ological herd history for a cer-tain pathogen, high averageincidence of clinical mastitis).

If herd parameters are gener-ally below critical levels, aselected dry cow treatment pro-gram can be used based on theudder health assessment of theindividual cow.

Historically, contagious patho-gens such as Staphylococcusaureus and Streptococcus dys-

galactiae were considered keyissues to be prevented by drycow therapy.

Recent British data however,indicate that the rate of newinfections acquired during thedry period and resulting in clini-cal mastitis shortly after subse-quent freshening which can beattributed to environmentalpathogens (including E. coli) isnot trivial. Consequently, whenselecting for an appropriate drycow product, thorough thoughtsshould be given to the length ofprotection a product can give (6-7 weeks) and the range ofpathogens that it is able to con-trol (to include E. coli).

How to dry off

Animals should be checked intime (two weeks) before dryingoff for udder health status. Whenclinical symptoms, SCC levels(exceeding the 200,000 markfor the last three readings), CMTtest results or information onbacteriology indicate the pres-ence of infection/mastitis, anappropriate antibiotic therapymust be performed.● Shortly before drying off, theudder health should be re-assured.● Dry off should be done com-pletely in one step, no gradualdrying off.● At drying off (6-7 weeks priorto freshening) udders should bestripped out thoroughly andentirely.● Inject a dry cow tube perquarter after proper cleaning ofteats.● An internal teat sealer canprovide additional protection.● Move animals to separate anddedicated dry cow section.● Check on animals regularlyduring dry period, keep cleanenvironment.● Consider using external teatdipping on a regular basis.

Drying off – in theory and practice


The MilkoScan FT2from Foss is a newanalyser that allows

dairies to improve analysis opera-tions with significant benefits to busi-ness, including the ability to savethousands of kilos of raw material inannual production.

The MilkoScan FT2 offers a 20%improvement in accuracy for mainparameters in milk com-pared to the existingand highly popularFoss MilkoScan FT120.

This allowsdairies to pushstandardisation ofkey parameterseven closer to productiontargets. For instance, in dairy pow-der production, a plant producing300 tons per day can save around12,600kg of protein per year.

Among other advantages offeredby the new MilkoScan FT2 is theopportunity to get faster resultscloser to the production line.

A highly stable FTIR interferome-

ter avoids any worries about vibra-tion and the instrument also has asplash proof and dust proof enclo-sure. Instrument stability also meansreduced costs in calibration becauseit delivers consistently accurateresults over long periods.

Improvements in instrumentdesign speeds up analysis of viscousdairy products such as condensed

milk that cannow be mea-sured directlywithout dilution.

The durabledesign alsoallows significantreductions inmaintenancework by up to

30% compared tothe MilkoScan FT120.

The Foss Integrator softwarekeeps an automatic record of every-thing that goes on, giving dairy pro-ducers an answer to growingdemands for product documenta-tion. bb bbbb@@ffoossss..ddkk

MilkoScan success

Cooperative Res-ources Internationalhas launched a wide-

scale field trial of Decisive semen foradvanced gender selection, as part ofits selection as the first artificialinsemination (AI) organisation tomarket Monsanto Company’s newproduct.

“The first of the Decisive field trialsemen is being shipped to participat-ing dairies across the continentalUS,” Steve Schnell, CRI vice presi-dent of dairy genetics, told Inter-national Dairy Topics.

“We believe the protocols in placewith these field trial herds, along withtheir dedication to exceptional herdmanagement, will help ensure thedelivery of impartial trial results.”

When commercially available,Decisive semen will give producersnot only the opportunity to selectfor heifer calves, but also to acceler-ate genetic advancement and im-prove herd quality specifically whencreating replacement heifers fromtop genetic merit cows and heifers.The first shipment of trial semen,produced from proven CRI sires,was shipped from the CRI produc-

tion centre in Ithaca, New YorkState. Herds representing over onequarter million dairy cows appliedfor participation in the field trial.Following the high level of interestnearly 40 herds from across the USwere selected to participate. Resultsof the field trial are expected to con-firm the ease of use, the consistentdelivery of semen selected for gen-der and the overall reproductiveperformance of Decisive.

Monsanto’s process of producingDecisive semen changes the ratio ofmale to female cells by selecting forthe sperm cells of the desired gen-der, in this case females.

Decisive semen will enable consis-tent delivery of semen selected forgender, improving the odds of get-ting a heifer calf to 85% predictabil-ity. Decisive is a product that will fitinto current AI programmes withoutspecial requirements, giving produc-ers the freedom and power to builda better herd.

CRI expects Decisive semen to becommercially available the secondhalf of 2006 through its global net-work of employees and distributors.bb aammyytteeppllaattee@@ccrriinneett..ccoomm

Decisive semen trial

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