Magazine on Mastitis and Milk quality for the dairy professional

Management

Training

Milk & Honey: Israel’s path to milk quality and udder health excellence – Part one

12 min read ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

You have probably heard and read a lot about Israel recently. This article aims to provide you with a closer look at the dairy industry in Israel, showcasing its advancements, history, and contributions.

The Israeli dairy industry tradition meets innovation

Israel’s dairy industry, recognized for its efficiency and innovation, plays a vital role in the global dairy sector. Despite its modest size, the industry is notable for achieving high milk production levels per cow through the integration of technology and innovative farming practices. Israel’s approach to overcoming environmental challenges such as water scarcity and arid conditions has provided valuable insights into sustainable dairy farming, contributing to its respected status in the worldwide agricultural community.

According to the Yearbook of the Israeli Dairy Council for 2022 report, Israel is home to 659 dairy farms, with around 120,000 cows recorded in the herd book. These cows achieve an impressive average milk production of 12,074 liters per cow per year, contributing to the country’s total annual milk production of approximately 1.554 billion liters. This data underscores the high efficiency and productivity of the Israeli dairy sector, reflecting its significant role in the national agricultural landscape.

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Management

Dairy farming in China

17 min read ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

China’s dairy industry is evolving at an incredible pace, with large farms on the rise and continuously improving in all aspects! As part of his work, William Smits travels to China multiple times each year to support these impressive operations and provide training to DeLaval’s service and advisory teams.

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Management

Slovakia mastitis case study

14 min read ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Mikas Farm is Slovakia has expanded from 1,200 cows in 2018 to 2,100 cows in 2023. Over the past five years the mastitis rate (cases of mastitis per 100 cows per year) has reduced from 76 to 26. This article describes the journey in reducing mastitis. The herd houses its cows all year round. Cows are milked 3X and fed a TMR diet based around maize silage. In 2018 the average yield was 35 litres/cow per day.

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Management

Dairy farming in Oceania

13 min read ,  ,  , 

William Smits had the opportunity to travel around few of the main milk producing regions of New Zealand and Australia and have a closer look at the way cows are milked from the perspective of milking efficiency, milk quality and udder health. He shares his impressions and findings based on observing milking sessions and doing wet testing in 17 farms, and discussions with the farmers, the milking system dealers and his colleagues at DeLaval.

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Management

Selective dry cow therapy in Ireland – CellCheck

8 min read ,  ,  ,  , 

The majority of antimicrobial use on dairy farms is for mastitis treatment and prevention. Dry cow antibiotic therapy (DCT) is the administration of long acting intramammary antibiotics at the time of dry off. This practice gained widespread implementation in the 1960’s as part of the ‘five-point plan’. Blanket dry cow therapy, which involves treatment of all quarters of all cows at dry-off, has been commonplace in Ireland for many years. However, the recent European Veterinary Medicines Regulation (2019/6) and the requirement to use antibiotics more prudently, means that preventive antibiotic usage in groups of animals, including dairy cows at the end of their lactation, is no longer acceptable. Only those animals with diagnostic evidence or a clinical diagnosis of infection at drying off should receive an antibiotic. This is known as selective DCT (SDCT). A key aim of the recent legislation is to protect human health, and to keep antimicrobials, – in particular antibiotics, working to treat disease. When antimicrobial resistance (AMR) develops and spreads, then antibiotics can no longer be relied upon to treat disease in people or animals. AMR is a serious global public health threat with potentially devastating consequences for us and our families.

Adopting a selective approach to dry cow treatment will require both a change in mindset and practice for many Irish farmers and their prescribing veterinary practitioners. To facilitate this change, CellCheck, the Irish national mastitis control programme, developed a Dry Cow Consult a number of years ago. The objective of this Dry Cow Consult was to enable farmers to engage with their trained nominated vet to develop farm-specific selective dry cow treatment (SDCT) plans, where appropriate.

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