National Mastitis Council Newsletter

Join Us in Orlando for the NMC 59th Annual Meeting

In This Issue

Join Us in Orlando for the NMC 59th Annual Meeting NMC Seeks Silent Auction Items Premier Sponsor: GEA RELIM V Annual Meeting Features an NMC-RELIM Endeavor in Argentina NMC Names 6th Scholar Veterinarians Lead Animal Treatment Protocol Process Research Summary: Cloth Udder Towel Management Remember to Renew Your NMC Membership Iowa State University’s Leo Timms Retires

If you haven’t registered for this year’s National Mastitis Council (NMC) Annual Meeting, do it today! It’s just a few short weeks away – Jan. 28-31, at the DoubleTree at the Entrance to Universal, Orlando, Fla., USA. The pre-registration deadline is Jan. 19. On-site registrations will be accepted in Orlando. Nine of the 18 short courses are full. Register today for the best selection. Short courses are being held on Jan. 28, 29 and 30. Due to limited enrollment, short courses may fill before the pre-registration deadline. Thus, those interested in short courses are encouraged to register soon. The NMC 59th Annual Meeting revolves around the global world of udder health, milk quality, animal welfare and mastitis prevention treatment and control. “This year’s NMC Annual Meeting offers state-of-the-art information on mastitis and milk quality for anyone interested – from scientist to producer,” said Sarne De Vliegher, NMC 1st vice president and program chair, and a professor at Ghent University, Merelbeke, East Flanders, Belgium. The first session will bring a keynote address on innovation in prevention, control and diagnosis of mastitis, followed by a dairy update from around the world. The next session highlights the latest on several important mastitis-causing pathogens. “We are very excited about the Friday

program that features an interactive session on motivational interviewing – showcasing how it can help improve mastitis management on farms, while reducing the need for antimicrobials at the same time,” said De Vliegher. The final session will be very applied, with experienced speakers touching on mastitis control basics. This year’s annual meeting promises to provide practical and deliverable information for milk quality enthusiasts involved in the dairy industry as veterinarians, dairy producers, researchers, extension specialists, industry suppliers, dairy processor field representatives, regulatory officials, teachers and students. NMC Annual Meeting details may be found at: http://meeting.nmconline.org. Click here to register for the meeting. Take a sneak peek at the posters that will be presented during the Technology Transfer Session. Click here to view the titles and authors.

Questions? Feel free to contact Kristy Mach (kristy@nmconline.org) or JoDee Sattler (jdsattler@nmconline.org).

January 2020 Volume 43, No. 1

UDDER TOPICS

2

Once again, National Mastitis Council (NMC) is holding a recep-tion and silent auction on Wednesday evening of the NMC Annual Meeting. The focus is to hold an informal meet and greet and ask for bids on items donated by members. NMC’s silent auction goal is 20 items. With this year’s meeting revolving around a global theme, consider donating an item that repre-sents your homeland. Money raised will be used to enhance professional development efforts. If you don’t have an item to donate, NMC staff suggests a cash donation of $50 or more and an item will be purchased for the auction and put up for bid. Auction item suggestions include techie gadgets, apparel and gift baskets, university baskets of collegiate goodies, “local” items and adult beverages. Homemade items are also a big hit for our members. To donate, contact Kyle Wieskus at kyle@nmconline.org or call 952-758-2146.

A Global Organization for Mastitis Control and Milk Quality

NMC Seeks Silent Auction Items

Premier Sponsor: GEA Farm Technologies

GEA Farm Technologies is a division of the GEA Group, an international technology company that is one of the largest suppliers for the food processing industry around the world. We focus on milking and cooling technology for both robotic and conventional systems, herd management expertise through the latest software developments, udder care and cleaning products to maintain cow and facility hygiene, along with a full range of manure management equipment that can be fully customized for each individual farm. We also provide first-class education and training to our extensive dealership network so they can provide the best in local service and support to dairy farms, from troubleshooting milk quality issues, to streamlining the milking process, to optimizing throughput. Through our ExpertCare® service program, our GEA dealers become certified stewards of our milking philosophy and help to ensure each and every one of our customers reach their efficiency and profitability goals.

GEA has been a proud, long-time, annual sponsor of the National Mastitis Council, because we recognize the importance of good cow milking, cow comfort and cleanliness, and the ultimate in udder care and service, so that producers can harvest the highest quality milk at the most economical operating efficiency. Whether designing new dairy facilities, managing an existing dairy farm, making advancements in automation or seeking ground-breaking technologies to improve herd management, GEA can cover every inch of a dairy with the knowledge and equipment dairy producers need. From the milking center to the manure pit and every connecting aspect in between, GEA knows dairies inside and out. Further information about GEA Farm Technologies and our prod-ucts and services is available at gea.com/dairyfarming.

Items at this year’s NMC Annual Meeting Silent Auction represent dairy

items from around the world.

3

A Global Organization for Mastitis Control and Milk Quality

RELIM V Annual Meeting Features an NMC-RELIM Endeavor in Argentina

The Latin American Mastitis Research Network (RELIM) celebrated its Fifth Annual Meeting in the beautiful city of La Plata, Argentina, this past November. The meeting attracted veterinarians, dairy scientists and milk quality specialists from all of Latin America, United States and Europe. This meeting was the first “official” collaboration between RELIM and National Mastitis Council (NMC).

RELIM comes from its Spanish name “Red Latinoamericana de Investigación en Mastitis.” It is a non-profit professional net-work of milk quality and bovine mastitis control specialists, with an aim to connect experts from all of Latin America.

RELIM was founded in St. Pete Beach, Fla., in January of 2012, to provide an equal-opportunity, open organization for all countries in Latin America. Over the years, RELIM has evolved into an institution that provides a common platform to share and create research in milk quality, udder health and mastitis. The RELIM directory includes active members from Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela and Perú. In addition, membership includes professionals from Mexico, El Salvador, Cuba, Ecuador and Nicaragua. From its foundation, each RELIM Annual Meeting has featured an active exchange in milk quality specialists and research. To date, RELIM, has organized five annual meetings – Colombia (2013), Costa Rica (2014), Chile (2015), Uruguay (2016) and Argentina (2019). In every meeting, new challenges and endeavors were addressed and tackled, to cope with the diverse producing scenarios and realities present in the countries of Latin America.

NMC-RELIM work and involvement

Since the Second RELIM Annual Meeting, RELIM started to provide opportunities of participation for young researchers in milk quality. For all the following meetings, RELIM granted funds for young students and professionals to assist and present in RELIM´s meetings. In this track, one of the most recent initiatives that RELIM has undergone is to team up with NMC in a RELIM-NMC scholarship program. This joint

scholarship grants one selected RELIM grantee the oppor-tunity to attend the NMC Annual Meeting in the United States. The recipient of this 2020 scholarship is Daniel Buldain from the University of La Plata, Argentina. (See related story.) The recipient was selected from four other RELIM scholarship grantees, previously selected to attend RELIM´s Annual Meeting in La Plata. This NMC-RELIM joint scholarship program opens an invaluable avenue of collaboration between NMC and RELIM for the development of qualified milk quality specialists.

From Nov. 25-28, Nora Mestorino directed the RELIM V Annual Meeting. During this meeting, nearly 200 attendees reviewed scientific work, including 41 posters and manuscripts. Rodrigo Pedraza represented the NMC board of directors at the meeting and gave a talk about NMC as a global organization for milk quality, as well as the many

opportunities NMC offers. Furthermore, I discussed the many benefits available through NMC membership and participation.

Any RELIM V conference attendee wanting to join NMC can do so at a greatly reduced price for year one. Contact Kyle Wieskus(kyle@nmconline.org) for more details.

RELIM’s new president

In Argentina, Elena De Torres, from Uruguay, was elected RELIM president. She is the third RELIM president and will

lead the organization during the next few years. De Torres is a leading research specialist in mastitis and milk quality at the University of La Republica in Uruguay and Latin America.

Next destination: Brazil

The 2021 VI RELIM Annual Meeting will be held in Brazil, under the leadership of researcher Marcos Veiga Dos Santos, University of Sao Paulo. The VI RELIM Annual Meeting in Brazil will be a significant challenge to join together an important part of Latin America, considering language barriers and cultural differences.

By Marcos Muñoz, Universidad de Concepción, Chillán, Chile, associate professor and NMC Board Member

Marcos Munoz highlights NMC-RELIM membership benefits to the

audience in La Plata, Argentina.

4

In cooperation with the National Mastitis Council (NMC), the Latin American Mastitis Research Network selected a graduate student – Daniel Cornelio Buldain – as the sixth 2020 NMC Scholar. This network is a non-profit, professional group of milk quality and bovine mastitis control specialists from all Latin American countries.

Buldain earned a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology and molecular biology, and master’s degree in medical plants from the National University of La Plata (UNLP) in La Plata, Argentina. Currently, he is a doctorate student in veterinary sciences at UNLP, with financial assistance from the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research of Argentina. His doctoral research project aims to find phytotherapeutic alternatives to antimicrobials for the treatment of bovine mastitis. Buldain is conducting his research in the Laboratory of Pharmacological and Toxicological Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, UNLP, Argentina. He expects to obtain his doctorate degree this December.

A Global Organization for Mastitis Control and Milk Quality

NMC Names 6th Scholar

Veterinarians Lead Animal Treatment Protocol Process

Whether you’re a dairy practitioner or dairy producer, today’s dairy treatment practices don’t resemble “your father’s Oldsmobile.” At the fall 2019 National Mastitis Council Regional Meeting, held in conjunction with the 2019 American Association of Bovine Practitioners Annual Conference, Donald Niles, a bovine veterinarian and dairy farm owner, shared his journey of working with primarily with “50-cow dairies” where the herd veterinarian gave most antibiotic treatments to today where 1,000-cow dairies are not unusual and dairy farm owners/employees give most antibiotic treatments. Furthermore, in the 1980s, treatment protocols existed mainly in the practitioner’s head and could vary from day to day for several reasons. “Written record systems – when used at all – were often no more sophisticated than an index card stuck in the cow trainer above the patient,” said Niles. As “disruptors” – from increased herd size to antimicrobial regulatory changes to consumers demanding more infor-mation about animal treatment and care, and food impurities

– hit the dairy industry in the 1990s and later, it simply wasn’t practical for a herd veterinarian to give all treatments. Veterinarians, clients work together Let’s fast forward to today. Niles said the “bedrock principle” of designing an animal treatment system for implementation on a large, modern dairy starts with clearly designating the exact individuals who will be implementing any treatments. This includes the dairy operation’s herd veterinarian and veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR). As mandated by the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act (AMDUCA), this is the only person who can design treatment protocols for prescription medications used on the dairy. This includes anyone who might be involved in administering antibiotics, identifying animals to be treated, recording treatments and observing restrictions, such as meat and milk withhold times. All of these individuals need some training. “After identifying those involved in animal treatments, these

Daniel Cornelio Buldain

Continued on page 5

5

A Global Organization for Mastitis Control and Milk Quality

Veterinarians Lead Animal Treatment Protocol Process (cont.)

people must agree on a finite list of diseases and treatments that will be confronted by the treatment team,” said Niles. “The herd veterinarian plays a key role in leading this process.” Niles emphasized that treatments need to be legal, appropriate and within the skill sets of the treatment crews. All approved treatment protocols must follow the label – dose, administration route, treatment duration and withhold times (for milk and meat). Right product for correct cow Given the many moving parts on a dairy, it’s vital to make sure the right cow is treated. The person administering the antimicrobial needs to be 100 percent sure that he/she is using the correct medication, on the correct cow and in the correct quarter(s) (if given intramammary). To gain a better understanding of practical application, Niles described what is done on dairies he owns and manages. “We use a DairyComp 305 treatment list that shows all treat-ments and checks planned for that day in the hospital pen,” he said. “As the technician identifies a cow, the list will immedi-ately tell him what action is necessary.” Additionally, Niles recommended an automated system of physical identification. He continued, “On our parallel parlor, we scan the cows in for treatment as they load into the parlor and immediately re-sort the hospital list to show cows in the order in which they are standing. In the rotary parlor, we put leg bands with a radio-frequency identification tag attached on the back legs of cows entering the hospital. These tags are scanned from behind the cow, so the person giving the

treatment knows what action to take. We find this far safer than a visual identification by a human.” Test for residues Before cows move out of the hospital pen, they must be tested for antibiotic residues. “This is our final protection against releasing a cow that has been accidently treated outside its intended protocol,” said Niles. Regarding meat withhold, Niles noted that a cow’s meat with-

hold date stays on her permanent rec-ord. As they prepare a list of potential slaughter (beef) cows, that list auto-matically includes cows’ meat withhold dates. This gives them one final check, ensuring that no cow goes to slaughter too soon. While the dairy industry has evolved in size, scope, treat-ment procedures and technologies, Niles said we now have a safer and more disciplined animal health treat-ment model – when

training, protocols are procedures are in place – and followed. This provides a serious responsibility for bovine veterinarians and a tremendous opportunity to provide value and leadership to dairy producer clients.

At the NMC Regional Meeting held in St. Louis, Don Niles told attendees that we now

have a safer and more disciplined animal health treatment model - when training,

protocols and procedures are in place - and followed.

Continued from page 4

6

A Global Organization for Mastitis Control and Milk Quality

Research Summary: Cloth Udder Towel Management

By Sam Rowe, University of Minnesota PhD candidate Researchers from the University of Minnesota recently published an article in the Journal of Dairy Science, which reports findings from an observational study of cloth udder towel management and intramammary infection (IMI) in late-lactation cows. The objectives of their study were to: 1) Investigate the relationship between towel bacteria counts

and IMI risk, 2) Establish target levels for bacteria counts in towels and 3) Investigate towel management practices that might impact

bacteria counts. Sixty-seven farms from 10 dairy states were visited once in the winter of 2017-18. Recently laundered (ready-to-use) cloth udder towels were collected from the milking parlor, along with quarter-milk samples (n=4,656) from 1,313 cows approaching dry-off (>180 days pregnant). Towel management and launder-ing practices of each farm were recorded using a questionnaire. Quarter-level IMI status was determined using standard bacteri-ologic methods, recommended by the National Mastitis Council. In addition, colony forming units of all bacteria (total bacteria), Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp. or Strep-like organisms (SSLO), coliforms, non-coliform Gram-negatives and Bacillus spp. were determined for towels (log10 CFU/cm2). Counts of Staphylococcus spp. and SSLO were positively associated with IMI risk

Statistical analysis found that odds of IMI caused by non-aureus Staphylococcus spp. (NAS) increased by 33 percent for every 1 log unit increase in Staphylococcus spp. counts in towels (OR=1.33). Likewise, the odds of SSLO IMI increased by 45 percent for each 1 log unit increase on SSLO counts (OR=1.45). In contrast, total bacteria counts (all bacteria types combined) in towels were not associated with IMI caused by all pathogens (OR=1.06), possibly because the predominant bacteria found in towels was Bacillus spp., which is an uncommon cause of IMI and mastitis. These findings suggest that managing counts of Staphylococcus spp. and SSLO on towels may help prevent new infections caused by those bacteria. However, more research is needed to demonstrate this.

The authors recommended that herds aim to keep Staphylococ-cus spp., SSLO and coliform counts each <32 cfu/cm2 (<5 cfu/in2), which was achieved in 51 percent, 46 percent and 88 percent of herds in the study, respectively. These findings indicate that these targets are likely to be achievable for commercial herds in the United States.

Failure to dry towels associated with high coliform counts

Towel management practices evaluated included washing water temperature, sanitizer use, dryer use, laundering site (on site vs. professional service) and laundering equipment. Of these, fail-ure to dry towels was a clear predictor of coliform counts, with undried towels being eight times more likely to have coliform counts above the target of 32 cfu/cm2. Furthermore, all towels that were laundered by a professional, off-site service had coliform counts below the target level, while 15 percent of towels laundered on site were above the target levels. The authors acknowledge that larger studies are needed to better investigate laun-dering practices, as only 67 herds were enrolled in the current study. A previous study by Fox (1997) found that towel bacteria counts could be minimized by practicing at least one of the following: 1) use sanitizer, 2) use hot-air drier and 3) use hot water during washing. Funding for the study was provided by Zoetis, Parsippany, N.J., USA. Further reading

Fox, L.K. 1997. Recovery of mastitis pathogens from udder cloths following sev-eral laundering methods. Dairy Food Environ. Sanit. 17:14-19. Rowe, S.M., S.M. Godden, E. Royster, J. Timmerman, and M. Boyle. 2019. Cross-sectional study of the relationship between cloth udder towel management, towel bacteria counts, and intramammary infection in late-lactation dairy cows. J. Dairy Sci. 102(12), 11401-11413. Thompson, R.S. 2006. How can we ensure our udder prep cloth towels are truly

clean and sanitized? Progressive Dairyman. Accessed: November 2018. https://

www.progressivedairy.com/topics/barns-equipment/0906-pd-how-can-we-

ensure-our-udder-prep-cloth-towels-are-truly-clean-and-sanitized

Failure to dry towels clearly predicts coliform counts,

with undried towels being eight times more likely to

have coliform counts above the target.

7

A Global Organization for Mastitis Control and Milk Quality

Remember to Renew Your NMC Membership

Have you renewed your National Mastitis Council (NMC) membership for 2020? If you simply forgot to renew your 2020 NMC Membership, that is okay; there is no added cost for late membership renewal. Login to your member account today or call the NMC office to renew your membership. If you are contemplating if you want to continue your NMC membership, we would like to highlight some of the great benefits.

• Access to our Proceedings Library from previous NMC Annual and Regional Meetings, dating back to 1980

• Webinars with industry leaders

• Online resources, such as the Teat Condition Portfolio, Udder Topics newsletter and access to the M2-Mastitis Magazine

• Electronic updates, containing NMC announcements, mastitis and milk quality updates, and industry news

• Collaboration and networking with industry professionals working to improve mastitis and milk quality

Reminder e-mails were sent to the e-mail address we have on file in November and December. If you did not receive these e-mails, we apologize. Please check your e-mail’s spam folder and then assure the e-mail address on file in the NMC Member Center is accurate. If the e-mail address online is accurate and you did not receive these reminder e-mails, please contact the NMC Office at 952-758-2146 and ask for Kyle Wieskus and we can help get this issue sorted out. We value you as an NMC member and hope to see your renewal soon!

Iowa State University’s Leo Timms Retires

Larry Tranel, Iowa State University dairy specialist, wrote this tribute to Leo Timms, professor emeritus of animal science, who recently retired from Iowa State University. Timms served as the 2004 National Mastitis Council president.

Leo, we thank you on behalf of all the people whose lives, farms and industries are better because of the love, care and concern with which you, Dr. Leo Timms, shared with those that you worked with. As colleagues, you made us all better at what we did and you

shared a passion with your work that was very contagious.

In watching you teach – what a love you shared with your students for learning, in search for meaning, for desire in performing to the best of our abilities with a love for dairy farm families and all those you spoke to over the years.

In watching you visit dairy producers on their farms – what a concern you shared for their well-being and their ability to

produce quality milk with added concern for cow well-being. Clean and comfortable was your byline.

In watching you work with research – what a thirst for finding better ways and saving costs, while improving milk and meat quality. Milk quality and reproductive physiology in dairy are better because of your work.

In watching all the honors and awards – what a deserving individual for the many you received, too numerous to name, but the recognition was not your desire. You strive to work hard and simply be your best.

In watching you lead our dairy team – what an inspiration to develop us into the professionals we are with an ability to facilitate our needs and share our program successes, while caring for our family relationship balance.

Above all, Leo, thank you for being you. You will be greatly missed but know you will live in the hearts and minds of all those you’ve touched over the years. God Bless!

Leo Timms