By Adrian A Barragan
Parlor personnel have a critical role in preventing mastitis in dairy cows. Our personnel are not only responsible for properly milking cows but are also responsible for detecting mastitis as early as possible to provide prompt and accurate treatment to mastitic cows. When training farm personnel, the first aspect that must be considered is communication. Around 50% of the farm personnel working in dairy operations in the U.S. are foreign born, and Spanish is the native language for 81% of them. One of the most common problems faced by dairy farmers that have Spanish-speaking employees is the language barrier. There are different ways that farmers can address this issue such as hiring a translator or relying on a bilingual employee. At Penn State Extension, extensive work is being done to increase our Spanish education portfolio and provide more resources in Spanish language for dairy farmers and their employees. However, often the language is not the only reason for lack of communication. In an on-going study, we found that regardless of the employee nationality or language, the number one improvement in the farm human resource management mentioned by participants was improving communication with their managers.
To ensure that the training information is conveyed properly, we must use the training methods that work better for the farm employee audience. It has been reported that only 60% of the dairy operations in the U.S. provide training to their personnel. Out of this 60%, 41% of the farmers provided oral presentation trainings, while only 12% provide training using interactive teaching methods, such as educational videos. Although any type of training (e.g., on-the-job, lecture, or a combination of both) would be beneficial, a combination of oral presentations and hands-on demonstrations have been shown to significantly increase the knowledge and skills of farm employees. In one of our studies, we found that employees that were trained using both oral presentations and hands-on demonstrations had a 23.7% gain in knowledge. Furthermore, using visual aids such as videos or photos is a great way to increase understanding and communication of job practices.
To prevent mastitis, personnel need to be trained not only about how to perform pen and milking practices but also about the "whys" behind these practices. By doing this, personnel will be able to understand the reasons behind these practices and the consequences of not following protocols. Contagious mastitis is transmitted from quarter to quarter or from cow to cow by an external factor such as the milker's hands. Therefore, milking practices related to diagnosing and milking mastitic cows are critical to prevent mastitis. Teat stripping is critical to accurately identify mastitis and prevent contagious mastitis from being transmitted to other quarters or cows. Often, this practice is done too fast and without looking at the milk being stripped. When training personnel, it must be emphasized that each teat must be stripped at least 3 to 4 times to not only provide good milk-let down stimulation but also to ensure that there is enough milk on the ground to assess conformational changes in that milk in order to accurately diagnose mastitis.