NMC 49th Annual Meeting Program

Sunday, January 31
7:00 am - 12:00 noon	Board of Directors Meeting
Pre-Conference Symposium: Worldwide Trends Affecting Demand for Milk Globalization continues to impact the dairy industry and the recent economic situation has intensified the impact of external forces on dairy farmers and dairy industry stakeholders. This symposium will present a variety of perspectives about some of the external forces that are impacting demand for milk. A highly respected group of speakers will address cutting edge societal issues that have the potential to impact virtually everyone who works to efficiently produce high quality milk.
1:00 pm	Welcome and Introduction Keith Sterner, Sterner Veterinary Clinic, Ionia, Michigan
1:05 pm	Current Consumer Perceptions of Animal Agriculture Wes Jamison, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida A nationally recognized speaker with expertise in consumer perceptions of animal agriculture, Wes Jamison will present data about consumer concerns of current production practices and review results of consumer surveys of attitudes about food production in the United States.
1:40 pm	Scientific, Educational and Ethical Challenges Facing the Dairy Industry Candace Croney, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Providing humane care for dairy animals is fundamental to sustainability of the dairy industry. Dr. Croney's presentation will discuss various welfare issues facing the dairy industry. She will emphasize why these issues are important to consumers and what the dairy industry will need to do to effectively address these challenges.
2:15 pm	Modern Dairy Production Systems: Integrating Biologic, Economic, Environmental, and Social Issues to Address Consumer Concerns Bill Wavrin, Sunny Dene Ranch LLC, Mabton, Washington Energy, carbon cycles, and welfare issues in the dairy industry are increasingly under the media spotlight. Dr. Wavrin is a partner in a large dairy and has extensively studied the dynamics of how a large dairy operation produces food for a growing human population. His insights into the value of modern dairy production systems for producing and delivering dairy products to consumers will be enlightening.
2:50 pm	Questions and Answers
3:00 pm	Break
3:30 pm	Factors Outside the Dairy Industry that Impact the World Demand for Milk Dennis Avery, The Hudson Institute, Washington DC A popular invited speaker in many forums worldwide, Dennis Avery works at the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based think tank. He will discuss the politics and policies of food production needs that a growing world population will undoubtedly demand.
4:15 pm	Low Input Approaches to Dairy Farming in the US Tessa Marshall, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri Successful dairy farmers produce milk using a variety of management strategies including the use of low cost extensive grazing systems. Several New Zealand dairy farms have recently relocated and replicated the New Zealand production style in the southern US. Dr. Marshall (a New Zealand native) and current faculty member at the University of Missouri will share some of their successes as well as some of their challenges.
4:50 pm	Production and Consumption of Raw Milk Michael Payne, University of California, Davis Davis, California The raw milk movement continues to grow and there is a great deal of controversy in the popular press regarding the sale and consumption of raw milk. Michael Payne has had considerable experience with this issue in California and will share some public health dilemmas that this issue has generated for state regulatory officials.
5:25 pm	Questions and Answers
5:30 pm	Adjourn
Short Courses (limited enrollment; pre-registration required)
6:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Course 1: Monitoring Udder Health Intervention with PCDART Tools
6:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Course 2: Milking System Evaluation - Where Do I Start?
Monday, February 1
Technology Transfer Session (poster presentations) Posters available for viewing from noon on. Authors available from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm and/or 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Committee and Board of Directors Meetings
7:00 am - 8:00 am	Committee Chairs Breakfast Meeting
8:00 am - 8:30 am	Newcomers Coffee - An informal get-together for individuals new to NMC. Learn more about the NMC and how its committees function. (Includes coffee & donuts.)
8:30 am - 10:30 am	International Advisory Committee
8:30 am - 10:30 am	Membership & Marketing Committee
8:30 am - 10:30 am	Teat Health Committee
10:30 am - 12:30 pm	Education Committee
10:30 am - 12:30 pm	Machine Milking Committee
10:30 am - 12:30 pm	Milk Quality Monitoring Committee
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm	Research Committee
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm	Long Range Planning Committee
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm	Residue Avoidance Committee
4:00 pm - 6:30 pm	Board of Directors Meeting
Student "Meet and Greet" Lunch 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Students at the annual meeting are invited to a "meet and greet" lunch. This informal event offers a great opportunity to meet other students as well as some members of the NMC board and committees.
Short Courses (limited enrollment; preregistration required)
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm	Course 3: The New Sciences of Teat Disinfection
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm	Course 4: Methods to Evaluate Individual Farm Mastitis Data to Make Decisions to Optimize Disease Prevention
6:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Course 5: All You Need to Know About Teat Condition
6:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Course 6: 200,000 and Beyond - What Somatic Cells Really Tell
6:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Course 7: Finding the Lost Efficiency in Your Dairy Operation
Tuesday, February 2
Continental Breakfast 7:00 am - 8:00 am
Technology Transfer Session (poster presentations). Posters available for viewing all day. Authors available from 7:30 am - 8:00 am and/or 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Opening Session and Keynote Address
8:15 am	Welcome and Introduction to Program Pamela Ruegg, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
8:20 am	President's Address Norm Schuring, GEA WestfaliaSurge, Naperville, Illinois
General Session I: Motivating Farmers to Produce High Quality Milk Change requires motivation but motivation requires an understanding of both human psychology and interpersonal dynamics. What are the motivating factors that encourage dairy farmers to improve milk quality? How can dairy professionals motivate farmers to change? How can farmers motivate personnel to work like they own the farm? Can you motive employees with just money? These questions and more will be addressed in a session which will merge the latest views from science and practical experience.
8:30 am	Keynote Address: Motivating Farmers: Insights from Social Psychology Chris Garforth, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom Understanding why farmers do what they do - and what they don't do - is a key part of successful technology transfer and policy change. Farmers are affected by a range of motivators and barriers. Social psychology offers research tools and conceptual frameworks that help us explore the interplay of economic, social and attitude factors in farmers' decisions. Understanding these factors can contribute to better strategies to encourage innovation and change at the farm level.
9:30 am	Motivating Isn't Just About the Money Henk Hogeveen, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands Mastitis costs money, but so does mastitis control. Costs and benefits of mastitis and mastitis control will be presented. Farmers do not always behave in a rational manner however, and calculating the costs and benefits is not always sufficient to motivate farmers. Recent data from the Netherlands will be presented.
10:00 am	Break
10:30 am	Making Quality Milk Simple David Sumrall, Dairy Production Systems, High Springs, Florida Producing high quality milk is possible everywhere in the US. However, often times the "myths of impossibility" related to producing high quality milk in certain regions of the country get in the way. Age-old "truisms" that have been used as excuses for decades, will be refuted, and the secrets of producing superior quality milk, no matter where the dairy is located, will be revealed.
11:00 am	Working as a Team to Implement a Milk Quality Program Eduardo Garbarino, Progressive Dairy Health Services, Clovis, New Mexico and Mark Osterkamp Osterkamp Dairy, Muleshoe, Texas Teamwork is essential for implementation of successful farm programs. An effective relationship between the herd veterinarian and producer is key to implementing many management strategies. This tag team presentation will feature the viewpoints of both the herd veterinarian and farm owner and will demonstrate how working together can result in effective implementation of a milk quality program.
11:30 am	Motivating Hispanic Farm Workers Jorge Estrada, Leadership Coaching Intl. Inc., Seattle, Washington Implementing a successful milk quality program often requires cross cultural skills and the ability to successfully motivate the individuals that are milking the cows. In many regions, cows are milked by Hispanic farm workers. Key strategies on how to surmount cultural issues and improve relationships and communication to achieve greater milk quality will be presented.
12:00 pm	Adjourn
Luncheon and Business Meeting; NDQA Award Presentations
12:05 pm - 1:30 pm
General Session II: The Science of Treatment (split session)
Treatment of mastitis is an important part of an overall mastitis control program. While the practical aspects of treatment are well known, the scientific basis of selecting, administering and evaluating treatments is often not well understood. Speakers in this session will review the research that helps us make treatment decisions.
2:00 pm	Pharmacological Aspects of Mastitis Treatment Geoff Smith, North Carolina State University Raleigh, North Carolina This presentation will focus on pharmacologic considerations for treating mastitis. This will include an overview of topics affecting distribution of antibiotics in milk such as effects of protein binding and milk production and differences in milking frequency.
2:45 pm	Efficacy of Alternative Treatments: A Science-Based Approach is Essential John Barlow, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont Alternative mastitis treatments may be described as those other than the conventional antimicrobial based therapies approved by regulatory agencies. Alternative therapies are used by both conventional and organic dairy producers, although there is extensive use of alternative mastitis treatments on organic farms where antimicrobial use is restricted. A summary of prior research that has evaluated alternative mastitis treatments, including a review of the strengths and limitations of selected studies, will be presented.
3:15 pm	Is Mastitis Painful and is Therapy for Pain Beneficial? Ken Leslie, Ontario Veterinary College, Guelph, Ontario, Canada Over numerous decades of intensive research, our understanding of the biological and epidemiological aspects of mastitis in dairy cattle has increased exponentially. Yet, the effects of intramammary infection on cow behavior and well-being remain largely unexplored. This presentation will review knowledge concerning effects of mastitis on cow behavior and welfare. Changes in various indicators of pain will be described and the potential for increasing our knowledge in this area through incorporation of the measures of cow behavior and welfare into plans for mastitis research will be discussed.
3:45 pm	Break
4:15 pm	Practical Methods to Evaluate Treatment Outcomes Martin Green, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, United Kingdom Assessing the outcome of treatments for bovine mastitis, in commercial situations, poses problems for the mastitis consultant. This paper considers possible methods of defining a 'cure' in clinical practice and discusses approaches currently used in the UK for examining cure rates during both dry and lactating periods. The difference between assessment of a cure for an individual cow and the average cure rate for a herd is also discussed.
4:45 pm	The Scientific Basis for Using On-Farm Culture Systems Greg Keefe, Atlantic Veterinary College, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada This presentation will discuss the concept of selective therapy (evidence-based treatment) using on-farm culture systems. The primary emphasis will be on treatment of clinical mastitis but some ongoing research about selective dry cow therapy will be discussed.
5:15 pm	Adjourn
Research and Development Summaries Session (concurrent session) 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm Oral presentation of selected posters from the Technology Transfer Session. This session runs concurrently with the General Session. The format is a 12 minute presentation with a 3 minute question and answer period for each paper.
2:00 pm	Vitamin D Signaling in the Bovine Mammary Gland is Part of the Innate Immune Response to Bacterial Pathogens Corwin Nelson, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
2:15 pm	Cows Genetically More Susceptible to Mastitis Have Altered Neutrophil Migration Patterns Alexandra Elliott, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
2:30 pm	Variation in Daily Shedding Pattern of Staphylococcus aureus in Naturally Occurring Intramammary Infections Jennifer Walker, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
2:45 pm	Evaluation of the Risk of Transmitting Staphylococcus aureus Strains Between Replacement Heifers Through Commingling at a Heifer Rearing Facility Michaela Kristula, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
3:00 pm	Association of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcal species and Milk Somatic Cell Count of Cows from the Canadian National Cohort of Dairy Farms Jeanette Perry, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
3:15 pm	The Impact of Forestripping and Lag-time on Holstein Cows Milked Thrice Daily Rick Watters, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
3:30 pm	Factors Associated with Coliform Count in Raw Bulk Milk Jose Pantoja, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
3:45 pm	Break
4:15 pm	Assessment of Milking Unit Alignment Ana Rodrigues, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
4:30 pm	Utility of Pre-partum Parameters for Predicting Intramammary Infection at Calving in First Calf Heifers on a Grazing Dairy Davin Ringen, University of Missouri, College of Veterinary Medicine, Columbia, Missouri
4:45 pm	The Impact of Administering Antibiotics to Subclinically Infected Quarters on Somatic Cell Counts and Udder Health Diane Tearney, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
5:00 pm	Adjourn
Technology Transfer Session (poster presentations) Posters available for viewing all day. Authors available from 7:30 am - 8:30 am and/or 5:15 pm - 6:15 pm
Reception and NMRF Auction 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm This year's reception will feature a fund-raising auction (both and silent and live auction) to support the National Mastitis Research Foundation. Click on the "auction" link at the top of the page for details and to learn how to donate an item to the auction.
Wednesday, February 3
Continental Breakfast 7:00 am - 8:00 am
General Session III: Reaching the Global Dairy Industry in Developing Countries There are millions of people living in underdeveloped countries that need help developing their dairy industries to provide them with a source of high quality protein. Presenters in this section will describe the current status of the industries in selected underdeveloped countries, how milk is handled and milk quality assessed, and what NMC procedures can be put in place to educate dairy producers on practices to manage mastitis and improve milk quality.
8:30 am	The Emerging Dairy Industry in China Jim Cullor, University of California, Davis, California This presentation will provide information on observations of the China dairy industry and its strengths, weaknesses and projected future directions. There is a great need for introducing NMC principles and philosophies in collaboration with Chinese leadership at all levels.
9:00 am	Improving Milk Quality in Developing Countries with Reference to Asia Gene Monfore ABS Global, Inc. Visalia, California This presentation will discuss many of the items that anyone considering working as an advisor, consultant, or employee in a developing area in a third world country should consider. Specific examples will be discussed.
9:30 am	Dairying and Milk Quality in Latin America Abelardo Martinez, Hoard's Dairyman Mexico, Tlalnepantla, México The production of milk among Latin American countries is quite diverse, ranging from primitive to more modern operations. Several challenges to mastitis control and producing higher quality milk are unique to the region, which will be discussed. However, this region has the potential to improve its productivity and become more self sufficient, and dairy producers and their advisers should focus on the strengths in Latin America to build upon and to help sustain the dairy industry in this part of the world.
10:00 am	Break
General Session IV: Managing the Environment to Reduce Mastitis and Improve Milk Quality This session will offer three perspectives on housing and environmental factors that contribute to milk quality. The session will begin by reviewing the implications of free stall design on animal behavior and emphasize the impacts of cow comfort on udder hygiene and mammary health. In many regions, cows live in open corrals or "dry lots" and the second presentation will focus on management strategies that can be used to ensure quality milk is produced from dry lot dairies. Finally, a look at bulk tank milk quality in California over the past ten years will provide the back drop for a discussion of environmental challenges that many large dairy farms face.
10:30 am	Impact of Freestall Housing on Animal Health and Behavior Marina von Keyserlingk, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada This presentation will provide insight to how knowledge of natural behavior can help provide practical solutions to current problems in housing and management of dairy cows. How does a cow's response to physical structures in her environment impact health and productivity?
11:00 am	Dry Lot Dairy Management Dennis Armstrong, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona Although freestall barns are the housing of choice for almost all new and remodeled dairies, dry lots, or open corrals are still common in the West. This presentation will review dry lot management including corral surface maintenance, shades, bedding, and wash pens for reduced mastitis and improved milk quality.
11:30 am	Milk Quality and Environmental Regulations - Addressing the Challenges Carol Collar, University of California Cooperative Ext., Hanford, California California dairies operate within a complex and burdensome maze of regional, state and federal regulations - does this impact milk quality? Bulk tank milk quality in the major milk producing regions will be presented along with an overview of new and proposed regulations. How are dairy producers adapting to comply? How are we helping them meet the challenge, and what can you learn from our experience?
12:00 pm	Adjourn Meeting