A major focus on improving udder health and milking parlour performance at a Ceredigion dairy farm has reduced herd somatic cell count (SCC) to under 100,000 cells/ml for the first time in 15 years.

In 2020, the clinical mastitis rate in the herd of spring-calving crossbred cows at Nantybach, Llangranog, had been running at 26 per 100 cows and the SCC was nudging upwards to 200,000 cells/ml.

To tackle this, the Mossman family enlisted the help of vets who are highly experienced in udder health and milking efficiencies.

As a consequence, the mastitis rate has reduced significantly, to 15 cases per 100 cows.

The interventions included assessing activity during milking with a dynamic milking test carried out by Dr Sotirios Karvountzis, of Mendip Vets.

That test highlighted several issues, from overmilking due to poor Automatic Cluster Remover (ACR) function to inadequate vacuum reserve during milking and wash‐up.

Chris Mossman, who farms with his wife, Debbie, and daughter, Bella, says this was due in part to the 20/40 swingover parlour being upgraded to 24/48 and ACRs installed.

“We hadn’t taken into account the impact of those changes on the cows,’’ he says.

“The vacuum reserve always seemed to be fine when we had our annual static test but the dynamic test graphs clearly showed that we didn’t have enough vacuum reserve to milk the cows well enough.’’

These issues were rectified with a new vacuum pump and by adjusting the ACRs.

The dynamic test also highlighted issues with milk flow.

Graphs showed peak flow immediately after units were attached to teats and for the next 15 seconds but for the 60 seconds thereafter the flow reduced and momentarily ceased – an event known as biphasic milking.

To resolve this, Dr Karvountzis worked with the team responsible for milking at Nantybach – Dan Davies, Kimberley Pinner and Harry Platten – to help implement changes to the milking routine to ensure a 60-90 second time lag between milk flow stimulation and let-down.

Teats are now wiped in groups of eight and units attached in the same order in which they were wiped, from first to last.

The process had been a good training exercise for the whole farm team, says Mr Mossman.

“Staff are an important part of it, they are the people who put everything into practice in the parlour.

“They now understand the finer detail of how the milking machine work, how it impacts on the cows, the milk let-down process and were able to see it real time with the parlour testing – it gave a clear picture of ‘this is what we started with, this is what we did differently, and this is where we are now’.’’

It has also made milking more efficient.

“We have the same routine for anyone who comes in to milk, everyone knows what they are doing so it makes the whole system more efficient with much improved cow flow,’’ says Mr Mossman.

The business has also worked closely with the University of Nottingham and the AHDB to implement the AHDB Mastitis Control Plan.

The combined approach to improving udder health has yielded significant gains.

Incidence of mastitis has plummeted and, as a consequence, antibiotic usage, to 6mg/kg population correction unit (PCU) from 20.

Healthier cows mean a more profitable herd but for the Mossmans their focus on controlling mastitis goes beyond the financial gains.

“It is about cow welfare and producing a food product to the highest possible standards, and it is also about providing a good working environment for our staff,’’ says Mr Mossman.

Overmilking is one of the primary causes of damage to the teat end which, in turn, is one of the many defence barriers of the udder to mammary infection, says Dr Karvountzis.

“It is a common misconception that automation comes with greater efficiency but many ACRs on dairy farms are not functioning properly, resulting in overmilking of the quarter.

“The primary contributor in the malfunction of the ACR is a lack of testing in those devices.’’

The static test that each milking parlour has to undergo at least once a year does not include a health check of ACR function.

A dynamic parlour test is a way of assessing the parlour during the actual milking process and it will identify ways in which it can be improved and made more efficient.