The effects of implementing management practices on somatic cell count levels in bovine milk

Somatic cell count (SCC) can be used as a proxy for the prevalence of mastitis in a herd, reflecting the hygiene conditions and management practices on dairy farms, and thus an indicator of milk quality. In this study, we investigated how the adoption of management practices in milking systems can contribute to the reduction of SCC levels and improve milk quality. We collected data regarding management practices from 91 dairy farms in three municipalities of southeastern Pará: Parauapebas, Curionópolis, and Eldorado dos Carajás. Fifty milliliters of milk from each farm were collected in bottles containing bronopol, to preserve SCC. An exploratory factorial analysis (EFA) was performed to reduce the number of variables (management techniques) on dairy farms to some latent factors. We then used the selected factors to estimate the bovine mastitis management index to classify farms according to their use of technology and management techniques. Our results showed that most of the farmers (65.9%) used management techniques inefficiently in their systems, resulting in a significant loss of product quality, while only 3.3% had adopted the full set of techniques. The EFA results demonstrated that simple management practices including regular cleaning of the milking lines, a strip cup test, the California mastitis test, and washing teats with water before milking could be adopted to improve milk quality. However, in scenarios where the regulations become more rigorous, most farmers are unable to meet the maximum allowable SCC requirements, necessitating management innovations to reduce SCC. Therefore, the dissemination of knowledge, technical assistance, and access to new technologies is essential for improving management practices, and thus milk quality.