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Four hundred fifty milk quality professionals from 35 countries attended the National Mastitis Council (NMC) Regional Meeting, held Aug. 12-14, in Ghent, Belgium. The event attracted udder health researchers, dairy processors, veterinarians, dairy producers, milking equipment dealers and dairy suppliers.
In a captivating first session, Ynte Schukken, chief executive officer at Royal GD in Deventer, the Netherlands, and a professor of management of farm animal health at Wageningen University and professor at Utrecht University’s Veterinary College, addressed udder health challenges for an evolving dairy industry. “Numerous challenges face the dairy industry that impact udder health,” Schukken stated. “Technologies continue to evolve that will help dairy producers reduce antimicrobial use, reduce the industry’s carbon footprint, improve animal welfare and improve cattle life expectancy.” Additionally, Schukken shared some current research and innovations that are fostering many positive outcomes to improve milk quality, udder health and animal welfare.
Furthermore, the three-day event revolved around the latest updates on mastitis and milk quality – presented by world-renowned mastitis experts. Topics included mastitis diagnostics, employee training and communication, machine learning, dairy equipment automation, data analytics, mastitis monitoring, antimicrobial stewardship, genomics, nutrition, treatment innovation through bacteriophage-derived endolysins and mammary gland immunology.
“This year’s NMC Regional Meeting was truly an unforgettable experience,” said Sarne De Vliegher, NMC Regional Meeting co-organizer and Ghent University, professor in veterinary law, deontology and practice management and M-teamUGent chair. “Speakers shared the latest innovations in the field of mastitis prevention, treatment and control.”
Sofie Piepers, also with the Ghent University, CEO of MEX and meeting co-organizer, added, “These leading udder health experts offered cutting-edge insights in a variety of topics – challenging attendees to ‘up their game’ in improving on-farm milk quality metrics. Plus, some presenters projected future technologies that may lead to enhanced milk quality.”
“Ghent provided a phenomenal setting to help NMC further its global reach,” said NMC President Keith Engel, business development manager – hygiene & milk quality at GEA Farm Technologies. “NMC leaders send a hearty thanks to Sarne and Sofie and their team for organizing an outstanding event that fostered outstanding networking opportunities and future collaborative projects.”
The National Mastitis Council 64th Annual Meeting is scheduled for Jan. 27-30, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C., USA. Next year’s NMC Regional Meeting is set for July 22-24, in Rochester, N.Y., USA.
National Mastitis Council is a non-profit professional organization devoted to reducing mastitis and enhancing milk quality. NMC promotes research and provides science-based information to the dairy industry on udder health, milking management, milk quality, animal welfare and food safety. Founded in 1961, NMC has about 1,000 members in more than 40 countries throughout the world.
