by Amanda Smith, Associate Editor
As many milk buyers push producers toward a 400,000 somatic cell count (SCC), the national average for DHI herds is already well below that level. This past year, the DHI test herd SCC dropped under 200,000 cells/mL. Nationally, the 2013 average fell 1,000 cell/mL to 199,000, noted the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding's research report.
The top five dairy states averaged 193,000 cells/mL. Among all states, New Mexico led the charge at 147,000 cells/mL, while Alabama rounded out the bottom, averaging 359,000.
In 2012, 16 states had test-day averages less than 200,000. This past year, 18 states fell under the 199,000 cells/mL benchmark, while 30 states and Mexico had cell counts above this new threshold.
Average DHI test-day SCC has declined every year since 2005. Of herd test days, 11.6 percent exceeded 400,000. A mere 1.5 percent of test days went beyond the legal cut point of 750,000. For five southeastern states, herd test days over 400,000 cell/mL ranged from 27 to 37 percent.
Herd size and milk quality were also strongly linked. As herd size rose, milk yield generally followed, while SCC declined. If the legal SCC limit is lowered to 400,000, 16.8 percent of monthly tests for herds with fewer than 50 cows would fall above this cutoff. In contrast, only 0.3 percent of test days for herds milking over 3,000 cows were above this benchmark.
The highest quality milk was produced in November and December at 184,000 and 183,000 cells/mL, respectively.
