In this article the use of somatic cell counts for monitoring udder health and milk quality is discussed. Somatic cell count dynamics at quarter, cow, herd and population level are discussed and illustrated with examples. Quarter and cow somatic cell counts directly represent the inflammatory status of the mammary gland. Herd and population somatic cell count are related to the inflammatory pro...

The detection and mapping of genetic markers linked to quantitative trait loci (QTL) can be utilized to enhance genetic improvement of livestock populations. With the completion of the bovine genome sequence assembly, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) assays spanning the whole bovine genome and research work on large scale identification, validation and analysis of genotypic variation in ca...

the final goal of all dairy cow raising systems in the world is to use the available capacities and the cooperation of other sectors in order to solve the problems and issues, such as the limitations in time, man power and financial resources, for providing a complete answer. therefore, the need for optimization of cow raising systems by prioritization of measures and plans is the most obvious ...

ABSTRACT This study aimed to determine the impact of different post-partum disorders on milk yield and composition. One hundred fifteen Holstein cows from a commercial dairy farm located in state Rio Grande do Sul southern Brazil were monitored up 62 days post-partum. During this period, body condition score evaluation animal clinical examination conducted. Percentages fat, protein, lactose, as...

Mastitis is characterized by physical, chemical and bacteriological changes in the milk and pathological changes in the glandular tissue of the udder and affects the quality and quantity of milk. The bacterial contamination of milk from the affected cows render it unfit for human consumption and provides a mechanism of spread of diseases like tuberculosis, sore-throat, Q-fever, brucellosis, lep...

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is a zinc-dependent enzyme, and plays a crucial role in extracellular matrix degeneration, inflammation and tissue remodeling. However, the relationship between MMP-9 and somatic cell count (SCC) in goat milk and the role of MMP-9 in the regulation of mastitis are still unknown. In this study, we found MMP-9 was predominantly expressed in the spleen, intestine...

Milk production under grazing conditions is carried out in the intertropical region of hot climates due to its low cost. The Tropical Milking criollo breed (LT) characterized by hardiness this region, and high milk quality cheese yield. Grazing supplementation can increase production; however, it also change chemical composition. effect with commercial feed LT cows was evaluated concerning quan...

The objective of the present study was to estimate genetic trends for lactation milk yield, persistency of milk yield, somatic cell count and interval between first and second calving in Holstein dairy cows of Iran. The dataset consisted of 210,625 test day and 25,883 first parity cows with milk yield recorded from July 2002 to September 2007 comprising 97 herds in Iran. Breeding values of anim...

Genetic and non-genetic correlations of the average somatic cell score (SCS) at different stages oflactation (100, 150, 200, 305 and 365 days in milk) with lactation performance were estimated based on thefirst lactation records of Iranian Holstein calving during 2000 to 2009. (Co) variance components wereestimated using derivative-free REML based on multiple traits animal models. The estimated...

In the past decade, a global demand for products from organic agriculture has increased rapidly. Milk quality is of major interest to all parties. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare cow performance and product quality on conventional and organic diets. 72 Holstein dairy cows were allotted to one of four diets: a conventional diet (CON40), an organic diet with a low amount of ...