We pay larger bonuses than that, and our plant pays less. I have no problem giving 1/2 of the bonus to the milkers, since they are the ones who earned it.

Do you test every cow for SCC? That's where to start. Sometimes just a couple chronic high ones can cause your tank SCC to be high, culling is the only treatment for some.

Keep your freestalls clean, try to use inorganic bedding if it will work for you. We use lime in our stalls. Our fields need lime more than they need sand.

We predip with an iodine product, wipe with paper towels, and postdip with a chlorhexidine product. My theory is one will get what the other won't, iodine base is cheaper.

Make sure your milk machines are working properly, not too much vacuum and have the takeoffs set to remove soon enough. Don't worry about the last few drops, and strongly discourage re-attaching units. We change inflations on a schedule, about 20% sooner than the estimated service life.

In the last 5 years, we have had a monthly average SCC over 100 once.