Is It Worth Chasing Milk Quality?

All the factories in this region have milk quality penalties for milk which does not achieve the highest standards. For all except BMCC's, the requirements in cost and effort to reach these standards on most farms are not high compared with the penalty for non-achievement.

However, the BMCC is a much more difficult quality parameter to influence in the short term. There are many farmers now who have milk bordering on falling into a lesser quality band due to the rising BMCC. In some herds it will be feasible and economic to maintain that higher quality standard and in others it will be frustrating and difficult to maintain that level into late lactation.

The typical 200 cow herd supplying one of the major dairy cooperatives would be faced with the following situation till drying off.

Period:
1st Dec 98 to 31 Mar 99 (125 days)
 
Production Average:
Fat 0.65 kg/day
Protein 0.52 kg/day
 
Typical margins paid to increase the quality standard from second to first premium:
  • Fat 6c per kilogram * 0.65 kg * 200 cows * 125 days = $975
    Protein 12c per kilogram * 0.52 kg * 200 cows * 125 days = $1560
  • Each cow producing at herd average will be earning $3.50 per day less feed and milking costs ($0.50)
    The net of $3 per day for 125 days = $375
  • Only four cows produce enough milk to make up the difference between supplying at one lesser quality standard.
In this herd, a cow with a cell count of 2 million that is producing herd average, will drop the BMCC by 10,000 if removed from the herd. As production of the herd drops in late lactation, the cell count goes up in proportion since less milk is available to dilute the cells produced. Therefore the number of cows that need to be removed from the herd continues to rise as the season progresses.

In most herds it is going to be more productive to stop new infections occurring and accept the higher cell count for the remainder of the year. It is then that appropriate steps can be taken to cull chronic carriers and treat the remainder of the herd with dry cow therapy.

 



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