This blog provides information about milk quality & udder health issues
of importance to dairy producers &
farm advisors.

Posts by Sandy Costello Ph.D.
Milk Quality & Mastitis Specialist

Friday, December 18, 2009

Penn State Winter 2010 Workshop Series - Best Milking Practices





Renew or Expand Your...

Milking Practices to Reduce Mastitis
Risk and Reduce Your Frustration
"Fitting it all in a 'days' work"





What is Happening...
Workshop Series:
"Best Milking Practices"

Offered By:
Penn State Cooperative Extension

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (note: program will start at 9:30 a.m. sharp - if late milking still join us)

Register By: 1-week before workshop date

Description:
There is not necessarily one right way to milk cows. However, there is often a best way based on milking facilities, people, and preferences. In addition, the parts of the milking process should be done a certain way and for specific and science-based reasons. Milking practices should be consistent - same way every milking and every day. Cows like consistency which affects their well-being, risk of mastitis, and milking speed. These are all things important to the cow. However, good cow well-being, low mastitis risk, and steady milking likely also reduce your frustration (a.k.a. greater 'happiness').


 This hands-on workshop will reinforce 'best milking practices' including cow milking stimulation and essentials of milk let-down. Equipment to demonstrate impact of prepping practices on milk flow will be used to validate (convince you?) that 'best milking practices' - prepping practices that match intended purpose and gentle cow handling - are important to milk let-down and milking speed.


Agenda:
9:00 to 9:30: Registration

9:30 to 11:00: Best Milking Practices
Anatomy, Purpose of Each Task and Fitting it All Together

11:00 to 11:30: Impact of Milking Practices on Teat Health

11:30 to 12:00: How Prepping Affects Milk Flow

12:00 to 12:30: Lunch

12:30 to 1:00: Travel to Farm

1:00 to 2:30: On-Farm Milking Practices and 'Practice Concepts Learned'

 Please note the afternoon session wil be on-farm. Please bring proper footwear that can be sanitized for biosecurity reasons, as well as, warm and clean clothing. We will provide plastic boots for additional protection on-farm.





This Workshop Will Suit You Best If...
You are a producer and you or your employees milk in a stall barn or a smaller parlor.

We will spend a lot of time talking about things you do that affect time of detaching. These concepts apply to manual detach, stall barns with detachers or end of milking indicators, and small parlors - less than double-10 with or without detachers (yes there are some - honest :-)).


Fee...

We are trying something different for these workshops and will see how well it works for future planning.

Producer Fee: $10/person
Producer is responsible for this cost to attend
Producer Sponsor Fee: $20/person
We are requesting that each producer be 'sponsored' by one of their milk quality advisors. This might be your veterinarian, nutritionist, lender, dairy supply company, milk plant inspector, milking equipment dealership, or DHI technician. As a producer, please talk with us if you feel this will prevent you from attending.


Note: The Producer Sponsor Fee is an additional fee that is part of the cost for a producer to attend. It is not intended to replace the producer fee. Please ask if you have questions. As an advisor, if you want more details about sponsoring a client or clients who you feel will benefit and use workshop information, please contact an educator listed below.




 Logistics...

Workshop Dates, Educator Contact, and Locations:

Tuesday January 19, 2010: Central Pennsylvania - Blair County
Educator Contact: Amber Yutzy - Dairy Herd Health Educator - Central Region
Phone: 814-643-1660
Fax: 814-643-1669
E-mail: anl113@psu.edu
Workshop Location: Martinsburg, PA


Wednesday January 20, 2010: Northeastern Pennsylvania - Tioga County
Educator Contact: Craig Williams - Dairy Extension Educator - Northeast Region
Phone: 570-724-9120
Fax: 570-724-9120
E-mail: jcw17@psu.edu
Workshop Location: Middlebury Center, PA


Thursday January 21, 2010: Central Pennsylvania - Juniata County
Educator Contact: Amber Yutzy - Dairy Herd Health Educator


Wednesday Feb 17, 2010: Southeastern Pennsylvania - Lancaster County
Educator Contact: Sandy Costello, Ph.D. - Dairy Herd Health Educator - Southeast Region
Phone: 717-240-6500
Fax: 717-240-6548
E-mail: ssc10@psu.edu
Workshop Location: Paradise, PA


Thursday March 11, 2010: Southeastern Pennsylvania - Franklin County
Educator Contact: Phil Wagner - Dairy Extension Educator - Franklin County
Phone: 717-263-9226 Extension 228
Fax:717-263-9228
E-mail: pew1@psu.edu
Workshop Location: Chambersburg, PA



Please contact specific educator contact for site specifics, registration and sponsorship and other details, and Sandy Costello for overall program content details. Thanks! Costello E-mail: ssc10@psu.edu

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Penn State Winter 2010 Workshop Series - Mastitis Records

Learn how to...

Use Your Mastitis Records to Make More Money




What is Happening...

Workshop Series:
"Mastitis Records: Evaluating What Works and What Doesn't"

Offered By:
Penn State Cooperative Extension

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (note: program will start at 9:30 a.m. sharp - if late milking still join us)

Registration By: 1-week before workshop date

Description:
Mastitis is the costliest disease on most dairies. Costs vary a lot from herd to herd. A recent Penn State study funded by the Northeast Center for Risk Management Education on 30 dairies found that milk plant incentives varied from a cost of $45 per cow per year to a supplement of more than $140 per cow per year. In addition to milk quality dollars, cost of mastitis in the average herd is estimated to be another $200 per cow per year while the average clinical case of mastitis may cost another $108.


The only way to determine costs of mastitis and impact of quality milk practices is to start with a great understanding of available records and ways to keep and use them more effectively. Milk plant records, DHI records, and clinical mastitis records should be used together to set goals and track progress toward reducing mastitis and receiving higher milk quality dollars.


Thus workshop will help you to better use your DHI mastitis records, and culture results, keep track of clinical mastitis, better monitor your progress toward higher quality milk dollars, and to communicate more easily and more often with your milk quality advisors.

Agenda:

9:00 to 9:30:  Registration

9:30 to 10:00:  Milk Quality Records

10:00 to 11:30:  DHI Records

11:30 to 12:30:  Clinical Mastitis Records

12:30 to 1:00:  Lunch

1:00 to 2:15:  Case Studies and Records Work

2:15 to 2:30: Evaluation

This Workshop Will Suit You Best If:
  1. You are a Pennsylvania Dairy Producer and Have DHI Records Processed through Lancaster DHIA or Dairy One
  2. You mainly use DHI Records in paper form (mailed to you each month)  with limited on-farm computer software to evaluate mastitis



Fee...

We are trying something different for these workshops and will see how well it works for future planning.

Producer Fee: $10/person
Producer participant is responsible for this cost to attend

Producer Sponsor Fee: $20/person
We are requesting that each producer be 'sponsored' by one of their milk quality advisors. This might be your veterinarian, nutritionist, lender, dairy supply company, milk plant inspector, milking equipment dealership, or DHI technician

Note: The Producer Sponsor Fee is an additional fee that is part of the cost for a producer to attend. It is not intended to replace the producer fee. Please ask if you have questions.
As an advisor, if you want more details about sponsoring a client or clients who you feel will benefit and use workshop information, please contact an educator listed below.



Logistics...

Workshop Dates, Site Educator In Charge, and Locations:

Wednesday Feb 10, 2010: Central Pennsylvania - Clinton County
Educator Contact: Amber Yutzy - Dairy Herd Health Educator - Central Region
Phone: 814-643-1660
Fax: 814-643-1669
E-mail: anl113@psu.edu
Workshop Location: Mill Hall, PA

Friday, Feb 12, 2010: Central Pennsylvania - Fulton County
Educator Contact: Amber Yutzy - Dairy Herd Health Educator - Central Region
Workshop Location: McConnellsburg, PA

Wednesday, Feb 24, 2010: Southeastern Pennsylvania - Lancaster County
Educator Contact: Sandy Costello, Ph.D. - Dairy Herd Health Educator - Southeast Region
Phone: 717-240-6500
Fax: 717-240-6548
E-mail: ssc10@psu.edu
Workshop Location: Paradise, PA

Thursday, Feb 25, 2010: Southeastern Pennsylvania - Cumberland County
Educator Contact: Sandy Costello, Ph.D. - Dairy Herd Health Educator - Southeast Region
Workshop Location: Newburg, PA

Wednesday, Mar 3, 2010: Northeastern Pennsylvania - Tioga County
Educator Contact: Craig Williams - Dairy Extension Educator - Northeastern Region
Phone: 570-724-9120
Fax: 570-724-8137
E-mail: jcw17@psu.edu
Workshop Location: Middlebury Center, PA

For brochures or more information, please contact us!