Detection of bovine mastitis through present-day sensor technology on farms with automatic milking systems
2011
Brandt, M. | Haeussermann, A. | Hartung, E., Christian-Albrechts-Universitaet, Kiel (Germany). Institut fuer landwirtschaftliche Verfahrenstechnik | Knappstein, K.
Automatic milking systems (AMS's) are equipped with different sensors for monitoring milk quality. Among other things, these sensors record the electrical conductivity, quantity, colour and somatic cell content of the milk. In order to test currently used sensor combinations in terms of their reliability in detecting mastitis, twelve working farms in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein with DeLaval, Lely and SAC AMS's were studied. The results of the cytobacteriological analyses of quarter foremilk samples taken from all lactating cows showed udder health to be unsatisfactory on most of the farms. The percentage of bacteriologically positive quarters was between 13% and 48%. Between 2% and 18% of the cows exhibited atrophied udder quarters. In 2% of the samples, visual inspection of the foremilk revealed an abnormality in the form of flakes. To detect diseases of the udder, farmers primarily made use of milk-quantity, milking-interval and electrical-conductivity data, as well as _depending on the system _ information on changes in colour and cell count. Detection rates for quarters which exhibited flakes in the foremilk at least once during the period under investigation stood at between 20% and 100%, whilst for quarters with a cell count of over one million cells/ml the figure stood at between 44% and 100%.
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