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Dairy barns aren’t meant to be havens for birds. While European starlings are often the most visible and destructive birds on dairy farms, they typically don’t present a year-round concern. But other birds do.
Dairy farmers may not have to dig too deep, learn to maintain new equipment or radically change production practices in order to reduce nitrogen runoff from agricultural fields. Good manure management, along with help from a few friendly microbes, may be the next big thing in cleaning up our waterways.
Dr. Michaela Kristula, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, began her presentation on mastitis management by telling dairy farmers that they are the most important factor in controlling mastitis in their dairy herds.
High-quality milk is within your reach, she said, if you simply establish a protocol for managing mastitis and make sure it is routinely and consistently followed.
Managing mastitis begins with controlling the factors that make infection more probable. Cleanliness in both the barn and the milking parlor, and proper maintenance and use of milking equipment, are all factors that make infection less likely to occur. Overall cow health also plays a major role in decreasing the likelihood, or the severity, of infection.
“Mastitis is the result of a bacterial infection in the mammary gland when it is weakened or overwhelmed,” Robert J. Van Saun, Penn State Extension veterinarian, said, addressing participants in the recent Penn State Mastitis and Milk Quality Conference.
Mastitis prevention is contingent upon having operational protocols in place that reduce the likelihood of developing infections or of transmitting the disease. But having the right procedures in place isn’t enough if your employees don’t follow them.
Perhaps the employees aren’t trained effectively, don’t fully understand the training they received or aren’t providing feedback on what is or is not working in the day-to-day operations.
Lewis Horning, a Pennsylvania dairy farmer, has switched to robotic milking, utilizing a Lely robotic milker. He spoke about his experience with the change to a robotic milking system at the Penn State Mastitis and Milk Quality Conference.
Dairy industry personnel joined with two dozen veterinarians and an equal number of Pennsylvania dairy farmers to learn best practices for managing mastitis and maintaining milk quality.
Dairy farmer Mike Thresher is also a dairy specialist with Morrison’s Custom Feeds. Thresher has been working with both organic and conventional dairy producers in Vermont for more than a decade.
Thresher has found that more dairy farmers are becoming interested in grazing – and that myths and missteps abound when opting to graze the herd.
Anaerobic digesters are utilized on dairy farms across the country. Microbial action processes manure or other biodegradable waste products into solid and liquid components along with biogas.
Digested solid manure components are then used as bedding or compost, and the liquids applied as a natural fertilizer. The resulting biogas is often used to power a generator to produce electricity.
