Somatic cell count penalty level due to drop

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

But, say industry insiders, with average levels in Ontario well below 400,000, the change shouldn't be onerous

by SUSAN MANN
 

The last time Ontario lowered its somatic cell count (SCC) penalty level, in the early 1990s, some farmers had difficulty adjusting, particularly ones not using any best management practices, says Alex Hamilton, field services manager for Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO). Now the level is about to drop again.

Ben Loewith, chair of Progressive Dairy Operators (PDO), says the switch to lower SCC penalty levels is long overdue. PDO, formerly known as the Ontario Large Herd Operators Group, focuses on innovative dairy technology. Loewith a dairy farmer himself, says the change "brings Canada more in line with international quality standards. I think the last thing we want to do is stand out by having a lower quality standard than other countries."

The somatic cell count penalty level was gradually reduced over six years to 500,000 cells per millilitre from 750,000, starting in 1989. (A low somatic cell count is a sign of udder health.) At that time, Hamilton says, some producers consistently had SCC counts higher than 800,000. They had to implement new on-farm management strategies to lower their count.

This time, the penalty level is being reduced from 500,000 to 400,000 cells per millilitre  as of 2012. DFO supports the national move and is taking a leading role in its implementation. It has already requested the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission approve the regulatory change for Aug. 1, 2012, in Ontario and it is part of an industry-wide working group developing educational materials for farmers.

Hamilton says that, this time, the transition for farmers should be smoother. "You're not dealing with the huge critical changes I was seeing back in 1989, when some producers weren't even teat dipping."

CanWest DHI says in its March SCC special edition newsletter, Catalyst, that SCC is a very good indicator of mastitis infections, which continues to be the most costly disease of dairy cattle, "robbing the industry of millions of dollars annually."

SCC is one of the best indicators of sub-clinical mastitis and about 85 per cent of cows with an SCC level greater than 200,000 cells per millilitre are infected with a mastitis-causing pathogen. As SCC increases, so do milk production losses, according to the newsletter.

In a 2009 article published in Le producteur de lait quebecois, consulting veterinarian Jerome Carrier estimates that, in a Quebec herd with average udder health status, intramammary infections caused recoverable losses of $200 to $250 per cow per year or $2 to $3 per hectolitre.

Rejean Bouchard, assistant director policy and dairy production for Dairy Farmers of Canada, says national leaders have supported the change to a lower penalty level because other countries are lowering their levels.

Other regions, such as Europe, have either already moved to the 400,000 level or are planning to change. In the United States, the current level of 750,000 is being lowered in increments to 400,000 by 2014.

For this year, Ontario SCC averages in cells per millilitre were 231,000 for January, 225,000 for February and 222,000 for March. (At press time, the April number wasn't posted yet on the Canadian Dairy Information Centre website.)

Bruce Keown, dairy food scientist with the Ontario agriculture ministry, says he doesn't think the change to the lower penalty level will be particularly onerous for farmers. Only a very small percentage of farmers would be within the penalty range at the lower level. "This is not a draconian step by any stretch of the imagination," he says.

Milk with a lower SCC makes a better final product for consumers, Loewith says. "There is a correlation between longer shelf life and lower somatic cell counts."

Farms that are chronically hovering at the current 500,000 level should be looking at serious management changes – "not because of the penalty, but because of the quality of milk they're putting out," he says.

Prof. Ken Leslie of the University of Guelph's department of population medicine says that, if farmers implement the cornerstone principles for mastitis control (North American version) found on the National Mastitis Council (NMC) website, they shouldn't be challenged by the penalty level change. The NMC website is at: www.nmconline.org/. BF