Minnesota Producers Lowering Somatic Cell Counts

ST. PAUL - Feb 3/04 - SNS -- The Minnesota Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA) says the state's dairy producers are making good progress in lowering herd somatic cell counts, which rank among the highest of the nation's top 10 dairy states.

Somatic cells occur naturally and are routinely monitored. Farmers monitor somatic cell counts because it takes more milk with higher counts to get the correct amount of protein to make cheese. High somatic cell counts may also indicate that the cow's system is fighting off an infection, which could affect the cow's ability to produce milk. Somatic cell counts are not a food safety concern.

According to University of Minnesota dairy scientists, Minnesota's higher-than-average somatic cell counts rob farmers of more than $53 million in potential income every year. With processors paying higher premiums for milk from herds with lower somatic cell counts, a farmer with a low count (300,000 or lower) can receive up to $2 more per hundredweight (100 pounds or cwt) compared to a farmer whose herd average is near the 750,000 level.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) recently joined forces with the University of Minnesota and a number of producer groups and processors to help dairy farmers reduce their herd somatic cell counts. During the summer of 2003, the organizations rolled out the "Quality Count$" informational campaign designed to help Minnesota dairy farmers reduce the state's average somatic cell count to less than 300,000 by June 2005.

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