Achieving high quality milk in the vat in early lactation is a management challenge. There are 3 threats to milk quality in a fresh herd – colostrum, high cell counts, and the risk of antibiotic residue.

Colostrum

Colostrum is thick, yellow and sticky. It contains very high levels of proteins that help protect newborn calves against disease and it may also have a lot of cells. Colostrum is produced in the udder prior to calving and is present, alone or mixed with milk, for some days after calving.

Milk from cows in this colostrum phase must be kept out of the vat. The proteins and cells carried over from colostrum adversely affect milk processing. This can cause butter, cheese and processed milk products to be downgraded due to changes in colour, flavour and texture.

It is not possible to assess the end of the colostrum phase reliably by checking the colour of milk - white-coloured milk may still contain unacceptably high levels of colostrum.

Provided the udder is completely milked out at each milking, you can avoid problems with colostrum and high cell count milk by identifying freshly-calved cows and diverting their milk from the vat for the first 8 milkings (or 10 milkings for induced cows).

Antibiotic residue  

Although milk containing colostrum or having a high cell count is penalised because of poor processing traits, the penalties for antibiotic residues are much more severe. Detection of antibiotic residues in milk may damage Australia’s international and domestic markets as well as having public health implications.

For this reason, cows that have received antibiotic, including cows that received Dry Cow Treatment at drying-off, must be carefully managed.

For effective residue management, regular and relief milking staff must be able to recognise treated cows easily and know the Withholding Period for any products used. Again, the recommendations assume that udders are completely milked out for the duration of the Withholding Period.

It is also essential to check that cows given Dry Cow Treatment calve AFTER the Minimum Dry Period specified on the label. If this is not the case, you will need to be withhold milk from the vat for an extended period. Ask your veterinarian for more information.

Achieving premium milk in early lactation is financially rewarding though challenging. It  relies on diligent staff, good animal identification and attention to detail!

Image and caption
Cows given antibiotic require diligent management to maintain milk quality

Countdown Downunder Farm Guideline or Technote
Farm Guideline 3.1, 3.2, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, 17.9

Keywords
freshly calved cows, milk quality, colostrum, antibiotic residue, foremilk stripping

Word length
383