Time for a Look 'Down-Under'?

If you think this article is going to be a travel brochure on Australia, I'm sorry to disappoint you. This article is in reference to the most important spot on your dairy a cow's teats. In the last few months I have taken the opportunity on several dairies I have visited to check the teats of cows that have just finished milking. I have been very surprised at the poor condition of the teats. Therefore, I thought it would be useful to convey to you a procedure that has been suggested at the National Mastitis Council Meetings on evaluating teat condition. This is important because poor teat condition can slow down milk-out time and, most importantly, lead to mastitis problems. The following material comes from a condensation of the two published reports (1,2) listed at the end of this article. All observations should be made within 1 minute after removal of the teat cups, and you need to evaluate at least 80 cows or 20% of the herd, whichever is larger. The evaluation is broken down into short, medium and long-term changes in teat conditions.