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| We have several Amish families that custom feed bottle calves and goats for us. Most have two to five family milk cows that they hand milk each day to ensure proper feeding quantities to our stock. We warn them that if they can wreck a calf in two days they can kill a pen of goats in 24 hrs. Needless to say we have identified that there is quite a variation in the quality of milk they have from farm to farm and cow to cow. Some kid nurserys are struggling on milk and are fine once converted to replacer. They add DK-II to the milk to reduce bacteria but we are finding some milk might not be capable of cleaning up.
We are exploring options to test milk bacteria on a regular basis on farm to ensure quality and eliminate bad cows. I’ve read a little into somatic cell counters that are really high to simple color indicators for mastitis that are fairly cheap. Does anybody have a suggestion on a test to run for quality (more the bacterial side and not component) or which equipment to invest in? I don’t know what’s precise enough for my needs but yet cost effective. I see a Mas-D-Tec might be a middle of the road device for around $450. Might be testing 50 cows monthly is all but one bad quarter can drop 40 bottle kids at $40 a piece within a few days so I’m willing to spend a little too. | |
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Milk Quality Testing
