Antibiotic usage and antibiotic resistance are two topics that continue to generate concern throughout the world’s food and medical communities

“We always say prevention is key to milk quality,” said Penn State Extension educator Greg Strait. “We try to help cure the problem . . . but we want to prevent that problem when we arrive...

There are about 100 organisms that can cause infections in the udders of dairy cows. Selecting the best path of management for an individual case of mastitis starts with knowing what type of bacteria

often, we do the same thing time and time again out of habit. We can get comfortable with familiar treatments and be reluctant to change, or perhaps we don’t even assess how well they are working

When it comes to mastitis, milk culturing can answer a very important question: “Are we dealing with contagious or environmental organisms?”

Mastitis management through milk culturespresented by Mike Zurakowski, D.V.M., Quality Milk Production Servicessponsored by OzoleaMike Zurakowski, D.V.M., with Cornell University’s Animal Health...

The numbers are in . . . the national bulk tank climbed to a 3.92% milkfat average in 2019. That’s up from 3.89% just one year earlier

Mastitis is one of the most common diseases of dairy cows. There are two principle types: clinical and subclinical. Clinical mastitis is when there are obvious changes to the milk and udder. Mil

The 59th annual meeting of the National Mastitis Council (NMC) was held in late January

Bedding and towels both play a critical role in milk quality and the potential need for antibiotic intervention to treat infections. University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine researchers

On many dairies, the milking equipment is the hardest working but often the most neglected equipment. Even most old farm trucks get the oil changed on a regular basis, but for some reason we think that...

When it comes to positive tanker loads of milk for antibiotic residues, dairy farmers collectively reached a new threshold for quality control

Why are all teats dipped with a pre- and postmilking teat disinfectant? Are pre- and postmilking teat disinfectants designed the same?

It’s no secret that milk quality has improved enormously over the last few decades. In fact, DHI records indicate that the national average for somatic cell counts has fallen from 304,000 cells/mL...

Although there is always room for improvement, the United States dairy industry has been a leader in milk quality

Every time a person sprays while cows are still in the parlor, bacteria are being pushed through the air and onto cows

We’ve never been the herd with the lowest somatic cell count (SCC). Our numbers have always bounced around, and we’ve literally tried everything to stabilize them

Andrew was telling me that he now only treats around 20 percent of cows with dry cow antibiotics. He just wished that he made the move to selective dry cow treatment sooner

A goal of almost any dairy farm is to reduce the herd’s somatic cell count. A low somatic cell count creates a higher quality product to sell

The adoption of automatic milking systems, or robots, on dairy farms across the country and the world has resulted in changes to cow comfort, management techniques, labor control, and producer lifestyles