Principles Of Mastitis & Milk Quality

This course has been prepared for those who work in the animal care and / or milk production industry and are seeking a basic introduction to Mastitis and Milk Quality to broaden their understanding of these issues.

This course is designed to give participants an introduction to mastitis and identifying the different types and causes of mastitis as well as offering suggestions in resolving mastitis and mastitis prevention. It also covers an introduction to dairy industry milk quality tests such as: bacteria quality, inhibitory substance contamination, thermoduric, coliform bacteria and BMSCC.

Participants will gain a far better understanding of the milking process in regards to how milking machinery actually functions during milking.

Course Overview

Often the milking machinery is unfairly targeted as the primary cause of mastitis and grades when this is not necessarily the case. It is important that dairy professionals can understand the various factors involved in mastitis and milk quality grades; so that the appropriate assistance can be provided to the client.

This course looks at factors beyond the milking machine that may be causing mastitis and grading issues. This includes farmer's cup handling technique, cow flow into and out of the farm dairy, general milking technique and the effect of milk flow on vacuum levels in the milking machine as well as testing and evaluating milking machine function during milking. We also look at identifying basic dairy hygiene, what tests are required, how tests are undertaken, what causes failure of a test, how to troubleshoot and give recommendations.

Course Content

This two-day course is made up of the following components:
  • Mastitis and mastitis management
  • Milking management
  • In-milking testing demonstration
  • Bacterial grading problems – what is the significance of each type
  • Other grading problems – water, inhibitory substances, senses, DDE

This course does not cover areas such as specific antibiotic treatments for animal health.

Note: This is a condensed version of MPTA’s Mastitis and Milk Quality courses which are usually taught over five days. If a fuller understanding is required for a technician or advisory role then it is recommended that the full training courses be completed.

Participants who successfully complete this course will receive a NZMPTA Certificate of Achievement in Principles of Mastitis & Milk Quality.