Short communication: Bulk milk somatic cell penalties in herds enrolled in Dairy Herd Improvement programs

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of somatic cell count (SCC) monitoring at the cow level through Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) programs on the risk of bulk tank SCC (BTSCC) penalties. For the year 2009, BTSCC for all producers in Ontario were examined, for a total of 2,898 DHI herds, 1,186 non-DHI herds, and 48,250 BTSCC records. Two penalty levels were examined, where BTSCC exceeded 499,000 (P500) and 399,000 (P400) cells/mL. Data were modeled first to determine the odds of a BTSCC exceeding a set penalty threshold and second to determine the odds of incurring a penalty under the Ontario Milk Act. All data were modeled as a generalized mixed model with a binary link function. Random effects included herd, fixed effects included season of BTSCC (summer, May to September, and winter, October to April), total milk shipped per month (L), fat paid per month (kg), protein paid per month (kg), and participation or not in the DHI program. The likelihood of a BTSCC exceeding a penalty threshold in a non-DHI herd compared with a DHI herd was significantly greater than 1 at both penalty levels, where the odds ratios were estimated to be 1.42 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.19 to 1.69] and 1.38 (95% CI: 1.25 to 1.54) for P500 and P400, respectively. The likelihood of incurring a BTSCC penalty (where 3 out of 4 consecutive BTSCC exceeded penalty thresholds) was not significantly different at P500; however, it was significantly different for P400, where the odds ratio was estimated to be 1.42 (95% CI: 1.12 to 1.81).