Relationship Between Facility Type and Bulk Tank Milk Bacteriology, Udder Health, Udder Hygiene, and Milk Production on Vermont Organic Dairy Farms

Abstract

The primary objective of this cross-sectional observational study was to determine whether bulk tank milk quality, udder health, udder hygiene and milk production outcomes were associated with facility type on organic dairies. A secondary objective was to identify other management-related risk factors associated with bulk tank milk quality, udder health, udder hygiene, and milk production on organic dairy herds in Vermont. We aimed to enroll 40 farms, to compare herds using the 2 most common systems (freestalls, tiestalls) for housing organic dairy cattle in the state with those using a bedded pack during the non-grazing season (typically November-May). Two general styles of bedded packs were observed: cultivated bedded packs and untilled deep bedded packs. Due to the limited number of herds using bedded packs to house lactating dairy cattle in Vermont, we combined untilled and cultivated bedded packs to describe udder hygiene, milk quality, and udder health on these loose-housing systems deeply-bedded with organic material. The study was completed on 21 farms (5 bedded packs, 6 freestalls, 10 tiestalls) before interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data captured from Dairy Herd Improvement Association records from the test closest to the date of the farm visit included average somatic cell score (SCS), standardized 150-d milk (pounds), % cows with current high SCS (SCS ≥ 4.0), % cows with newly elevated SCS (previous SCS < 4.0 to current ≥ 4.0), and % cows with chronically elevated SCS (SCS ≥ 4.0 last 2 tests). Multivariable linear regression models were used to describe outcomes by facility type, but suffered from limited statistical power due to small group sample sizes. Unconditional comparisons failed to find statistically significant differences between farms grouped by facility type in metrics captured from Dairy Herd Improvement Association test data, bulk tank milk somatic cell count (BTSCC) and aerobic culture data, or udder hygiene scores. A secondary analysis was conducted using univariate linear regression to identify associations between herd management factors and outcomes for all 21 farms combined. Although not all differences found were statistically significant in this secondary analysis combining all farms, numeric differences that may be biologically important are reported showing farms with deeper bedding had a lower BTSCC, lower newly elevated SCS, lower chronically elevated SCS, lower elevated current SCS, lower average SCS, and better udder hygiene metrics. Farms with lower mean udder hygiene scores had numerically lower chronically elevated SCS, lower elevated current SCS, and lower average SCS. We could not reject the null hypothesis that milk quality and udder health outcomes did not differ by facility type, and this does not preclude the existence of biological differences in these outcomes between facility types. The current study provides insight on factors affecting bulk tank milk quality, udder health and hygiene measures on organic dairy farms in Vermont. Bedded packs may be a viable option for confinement housing during the winter non-grazing season for pasture-based herds interested in a loose-housing system in the Northeastern US, but more research such as longitudinal studies with a larger sample size is needed to test this hypothesis.