Farms.com Home   News

MN State dairy farmers continue to show superior dairy cow care

MN State dairy farmers continue to show superior dairy cow care

Commissioner Frederickson honors top dairy farms for having lowest somatic cell counts

Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson today released the annual list of 100 Minnesota dairy farms demonstrating superior dairy herd management skills as measured by their cows’ low somatic cell count average.

Somatic cell count is a key indicator of milk quality – lower is better.  Although somatic cells occur naturally and are not a food-safety concern, dairy farmers and processors monitor them because milk with a high somatic cell count is less efficient for producing cheese.  Milk with a low somatic cell count also has a longer shelf life.  Processors pay premiums for milk with low counts, and a farmer whose herd has a very low count can receive significantly more per hundredweight compared to a farmer whose herd average is high.

Commissioner Frederickson said producers on the top 100 list excel at long-term herd management.

“These farmers do a great job following best-management practices in caring for their dairy cows and the result is high-quality milk with low somatic cell counts,” Frederickson said.  “The Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the University of Minnesota have been working with the state’s dairy farmers for years to reduce somatic cell counts and that long-term effort is paying off.”

The farmers making the top 100 list will receive a certificate of congratulations signed by Commissioner Frederickson.

 


Trending Video

Sheep Farming Life | Difficulties & Fun Discoveries!

Video: Sheep Farming Life | Difficulties & Fun Discoveries!

Sheep farming life includes difficulties and, in today's episode at Ewetopia Farms, it also includes some fun discoveries and interactions with our young lambs and adult rams. Lambing season is almost done on our sheep farm in Ontario, Canada, but today, we had two more ewes deliver lambs. The Suffolk ewe was rejecting her lamb due to mis-mothering with the Dorset ewe who had lambs at the same time. The Dorset ewe gave birth to twins, with one being extremely small. See how we approach these two problems in the hopes of getting one mother to bond and the other not to mistakenly harm her lamb. We also make a discovery when looking at our two favorite Suffolk lambs, which was a surprising coincidence! Then we catch up with some of our more popular Suffolk and Dorset rams.