M²-magazine

Rekad Publishing and M-team (University of Ghent) announce M²-magazine, a magazine on mastitis and milk quality for the dairy professional.  We have brought together our experience, energy, passion and network to start this international magazine targeted at people involved in milk production as farmers, consultants, veterinarians, ...

M2-magazine is a cooperation between Ghent University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Belgium) and Rekad Publishing (Belgium) and supported by Quality Milk Production Services (Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine, US)

M² Magazine - maart 2013

• Milk quality and mastitis control in hand milking herds in Africa
• SmartSAMM – a fresh approach to extension in New Zealand
• Towards better milk quality

•  Towards better milk quality
•  Milk quality and mastitis control in hand milking herds in Africa

• Milk quality and mastitis control in hand milking herds in Africa

  

  This article discusses mastitis control and quality milk production by smallholders in Zimbabwe and Mozambique as examples of production in developing African countries. Zimbabwe, with a population of 13 million people, has 20,000 dairy cows and there is a well established dairy industry while Mozambique is just introducing dairy farming and there are 3,000 milking cows for a population of 24 million people. In Zimbabwe, smallholders tend to have five or more cows; in Mozambique they can have one or two. The focus of this article is on smallholders who are hand milking and producing milk in areas where there is no electricity
  and often no running water.

• SmartSAMM – a fresh approach to extension in New Zealand

  

  SmartSAMM is the New Zealand dairy industry’s new mastitis extension (advisory) programme, which helps farmers capture the benefits of improved udder health on the farm. SmartSAMM builds on the success of the SAMM Plan (the Seasonal Approach to Managing Mastitis Plan), first released in the early 1990s. The SAMM plan relied on a “one-size-fits-all”, technical approach to mastitis extension. SmartSAMM aims to help farmers develop customised solutions for their herd. The first innovation, “Healthy Udder” was released to farmers in October 2011, followed by the SmartSAMM website in June 2012. Coupled with the launch of proactive management initiatives by Fonterra, the major milk processor, in December 2011, and favourable weather, the average milk SCC for Fonterra dropped by 12%, from 212,000 cells per ml in the 2010/11 season to 187,000 cells per ml for the 2011/12 season.