Milking machine and udder health management factors associated with bulk milk somatic cell count in Uruguayan herds

This paper describes the findings of static milking machine tests and milking observations on Uruguayan dairy farms. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between both milking machine performance and udder health management factors and bulk milk somatic cell count (BMSCC) in Uruguayan dairy herds. Data from 907 visits were used for the analysis. The farm visits were made between April 2006 and November 2015 and farms were located in 17 of the 19 departments of Uruguay. Each visit involved a short static machine test and observation of the milking process; the use of blanket dry cow therapy was also recorded. The BMSCC was the variable of interest. Univariable analysis was applied to explore the best set of predictors to be included in the multivariable model. A multivariable linear regression model was fitted. The median BMSCC over the years was 376 thousand cells/mL (interquartile range = 280,000–500,000 cells/mL). The final model showed a lower BMSCC for herds that used post-milking teat disinfection, applied the teat cups to dry teats and maintained the pulsation system in good working order. There was no significant association between BMSCC and blanket dry cow therapy in the final model. The association of these milking machine and udder health management factors with the BMSCC under Uruguayan conditions is relevant information for a dairy industry that needs low BMSCCs to compete on the world market.Fil: Vissio, Claudina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Bouman, Mette. Lactodiagnóstico Sur; UruguayFil: Larriestra, Alejandro Jose. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria. Departamento de Patología Animal; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Villa María; Argentin

Simple Policies for Capacitated Resupply Problems

We consider the Capacitated Resupply Problem in which locations with a given demand rate should be resupplied by vehicles such that they do not run out of stock and the number of vehicles is minimised. Compared to related problems, we consider the scenario where the payload of the vehicles may not suffice to bring the stock level back to full capacity. We focus on the Homogeneous Capacitated Resupply Problem and present both simple policies that provide 2-Approximations and an optimal greedy policy that runs in pseudo-polynomial time.</p

Simple Policies for Capacitated Resupply Problems

We consider the Capacitated Resupply Problem in which locations with a given demand rate should be resupplied by vehicles such that they do not run out of stock and the number of vehicles is minimised. Compared to related problems, we consider the scenario where the payload of the vehicles may not suffice to bring the stock level back to full capacity. We focus on the Homogeneous Capacitated Resupply Problem and present both simple policies that provide 2-Approximations and an optimal greedy policy that runs in pseudo-polynomial time.</p

Simple Policies for Capacitated Resupply Problems (Short Paper)

We consider the Capacitated Resupply Problem in which locations with a given demand rate should be resupplied by vehicles such that they do not run out of stock and the number of vehicles is minimised. Compared to related problems, we consider the scenario where the payload of the vehicles may not suffice to bring the stock level back to full capacity. We focus on the Homogeneous Capacitated Resupply Problem and present both simple policies that provide 2-approximations and an optimal greedy policy that runs in pseudo-polynomial time

Effect of pegbovigrastim on clinical mastitis and uterine disease during a full lactation in grazing dairy cows.

In this randomized controlled trial on four commercial grazing dairy farms, we investigated whether pegbovigrastim (PEG) treatment affects clinical mastitis (CM) and uterine disease (i.e. retained placenta (RP), metritis and endometritis) occurrence during a full lactation. The association of prepartum body condition score and prepartum non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentration with disease occurrence was also evaluated. Holstein cows were randomly assigned to one of two treatments: first PEG dose approximately 7 d before the expected calving date and a second dose within 24 h after calving (PEG) compared to untreated controls (Control). In total, 2,153 animals were included in the study: 733 primiparous cows (Control = 391, PEG = 342) and 1420 multiparous cows (Control = 723, PEG = 697). Treatment effects were evaluated with generalized linear mixed models and Cox's proportional hazard models. Treatment with PEG reduced the occurrence of a first case of CM during the first 30 days in milk (DIM) by 24.6% and reduced the hazard of a first case and the rate of total cases of CM during the full lactation. All PEG treatment effects were independent of parity. Prepartum body condition score interacted with PEG treatment: in over-conditioned cows, PEG reduced the occurrence of a first case of CM during the first 30 DIM by 49.5%. The hazard analysis of a first case of CM during the full lactation suggested that the preventive effect of PEG disappeared with increasing DIM. Treatment with PEG did not affect the occurrence of RP or metritis. Pegbovigrastim treated cows with metritis subsequently showed a reduced occurrence of endometritis compared to control cows with metritis. Pegbovigrastim reduces the occurrence of CM particularly in cows at risk of elevated lipid mobilization, and PEG ameliorates the uterine healing process in cows that experienced metritis

Pegbovigrastim treatment resulted in an economic benefit in a large randomized clinical trial in grazing dairy cows

ABSTRACT: This randomized controlled trial on 4 commercial grazing dairy farms investigated whether pegbovigrastim (PEG) treatment affected partial net return as calculated from milk revenues and costs for feed, medical treatments [clinical mastitis, uterine disease, and other diseases (i.e., any medical treatment that was not intended for clinical mastitis or uterine disease)], inseminations, and culling during a full lactation in grazing dairy cows. We also explored the effect of potential interactions of PEG treatment with parity, prepartum body condition score, and prepartum nonesterified fatty acids concentration on partial net return, milk revenues, and the costs mentioned above. Holstein cows were randomly assigned to 1 of the 2 following trial arms: a first PEG dose 9.4 ± 0.3 (mean ± standard error) days before the calving date and a second dose within 24 hours after calving (PEG: primiparous = 342; multiparous = 697) compared with untreated controls (control: primiparous = 391; multiparous = 723). The effect of PEG treatment on the outcomes of interest expressed per year was tested using general linear mixed models. Results are presented as least squares means ± standard error. Overall, PEG treatment increased the partial net return, resulting in an economic benefit per cow per year of $210 ± 100. The cost of treatment of clinical mastitis was lower for PEG treated cows compared with control cows ($9 ± 3). The largest nonsignificant difference was seen for the cost of culling; additionally, PEG treatment numerically reduced the cost of culling by $145 ± 77