Relationship between somatic cell count and milk performance of Polish Holstein-Friesian cows

Abstract

The average somatic cell count in the milk analysed was 326,000 cells/ml. For the 4 groups of cows distinguished in the study, with daily milk yield of ≤15 kg, 15-25 kg, 25-35 kg and >35 kg, the somatic cell count was 771,000, 393,000, 240,000 and 180,000 cells/ml, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in the somatic cell count in milk from cows with different productivity. A highly significant correlation coefficient was obtained for the daily milk yield of the cows and the somatic cell count in the milk (r=−0.81). The negative coefficient indicates that an increase in the quantity of milk was accompanied by a decrease in the somatic cell count in the milk. The regression equation obtained suggests that in the study population a decline in somatic cell count of 100,000 cells/ml was accompanied by an increase in daily milk yield of 3.8 kg. The analysis showed that there is a negative correlation between SCC and milk yield of cows. An increase in milk yield was found to be accompanied by a decrease in the number of somatic cells in 1 ml of milk, which indicates an improvement in its quality.