Northern New York Agriculture
Please see this article by Good Fruit Grower Magazine Associate Editor Matt Milkovich who interviewed project leader Michael Basedow about the NNYADP research on the value of apple thinning research and best practices.
For more information and NNYADP apple research project reports, please see the Research: Horticultural and Local Foods Research tab at www.nnyagdev.org.
Canton, New York: December 16, 2020. Research conducted by a team of veterinarians and dairy specialists with Quality Milk Production Services, the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, and Cornell Cooperative Extension evaluated how different teat end treatments impact cow health under winter conditions. Based on their findings, the researchers recommend several best management practices for dairies milking in colder temperatures. A Northern New York Agricultural Development Program grant funded the project.
A six-week mid-winter trial evaluated two types of post-milking teat dips: a powdered chlorhexidine acetate teat treatment and a foaming 1 percent iodine dip. The final dataset totaled 331 cows that were milked three times a day. The cows were housed in freestall barns bedded with sand or sawdust or in a tiestall barn with foam mattresses bedded with sawdust. All cows received pre- and post-milking dip treatments.
Teat skin chapping and thickening of the outer layer of skin on the teat ends can reduce the ability to achieve clean teat ends. This creates the opportunity for increased environmental bacterial pathogen colonization and thus increases the risk of mastitis and higher somatic cell count. The 331 cows in the study were evaluated for clinical mastitis and subclinical mastitis infections, somatic cell count, linear score, teat skin condition, and teat end score.
At the start of the trial, the percentage of udder quarter samples with a negative culture test for the powdered treatment group was 66 and for the iodine dip group, 65. At the end of the trial, the percentage of quarter samples with a negative culture test for the powdered treatment group was 79 and for the iodine dip group, 86.
While there was no difference in clinical mastitis between the two groups, the powdered treatment group showed a greater risk of new subclinical infection (odds ratio of 1.59) and had a greater risk to have a positive culture result for a minor mastitis organism (odds ratio of 1.63) or Staph. aureus infection (odds ratio of 2.32) at the end of the trial.
There was no difference in number or odds ratio for coliform or Streptococcus spp. infections. The researchers found no significant difference between the two study groups as to teat skin condition, teat end scoring, or linear scoring.
To reduce the risk of cold climate-related mastitis infections, Heather Dann, Ph.D., a research scientist with the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, Chazy, N.Y., suggests the following as best management practice for dairies milking in colder temperatures and in situations where cows may be exposed to cold and windchill in the barn or going to and from the milking parlor:
The average temperature of 42 degrees Fahrenheit in the barns during the trial was moderate for a northern New York winter. The researchers emphasize that different results might have been recorded under harsher, more typical winter temperatures.To read the complete Powdered Teat Dip Post-Milking Under Cold Weather in NNY report, see the Research: Dairy Research projects tab at www.nnyagdev.org.
Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.
NNYADP Dairy Calf Diarrhea Pathogens Research Part of Dairy Days Webinar Series; Learn Results on January 15
Canton, N.Y.; December 8, 2020. Which pathogens cause diarrhea in pre-weaned dairy calves and can farms more precisely target treatment to the specific causal agent? And, will precision treatment have a positive impact of their milk production potential?
Participants in a free Dairy Days Calf Management webinar will learn the preliminary results of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded research investigating these questions. The webinar will take place via Zoom on Friday, January 15, 2021, from 12:00 to 2:00 pm.
Cornell Cooperative Extension Regional Dairy Specialists Casey Havekes and Lindsay Ferlito conducted the research in collaboration with Dr. Robert Lynch, a veterinarian with the Cornell PRO-DAIRY Program, and with Sarah Morrison, Ph.D., a research scientist with Miner Institute. Ms. Havekes will present the group’s findings during the January 15th webinar as part of a four-session agenda.
The 2014 National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Calf Health Report identified neonatal diarrhea, or scours, as the leading cause of death in pre-weaned heifers. A 2017 Northern New York Agricultural Development Program project indicated that calves between the ages of eight and 31 days were most commonly treated with antibiotics for diarrhea.
“The project was designed to identify the most prevalent enterpathogens, including bacteria and viruses, that cause diarrhea in pre-weaned heifer calves, with a long-term view toward being able to reduce antibiotic usage when appropriate,” Havekes explains.
Earlier research trials have observed that bacterial causes account for only 30 percent of diarrheic calves, yet the NAHMS report of 2011 indicated that more than 87 percent of diarrheic calves were treated with antibiotics.
“This research collected approximately 100 fecal samples from calves on farms across northern New York. The aim of this research was to establish baseline data for next-step research to validate an on-farm test that would allow farmers to quickly diagnose the cause of scouring in their calves and thus to precisely target treatment to the specific cause,” Havekes notes.
The research also evaluated how access to water and electrolytes was implemented on farms as a recovery tool for diarrheic calves.
The January 15 webinar is the final webinar in four days of dairy industry webinars featuring dairy specialists, veterinarians, and agricultural industry representatives from the U.S. and Canada. The January12-15, 2021 series is free via Zoom. Contact Casey Havekes at 315-955-2059 for details or register online at https://ncrat.cce.cornell.edu/event.php?id=1367.
Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administrated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Learn more at www.nnyagdev.org.
There are important considerations from a milk feeding standpoint for calves on dairy farms in Northern New York’s cold weather climate. A study funded by the NNYADP and conducted by Miner Institute, shows the importance of best calf management practices in the winter season as temperatures decrease, across housing types, and as the requirements of calves increase for proper health and growth. This research evaluated how increasing nutrients supplied impacted or improved the growth and health of dairy calves on regional farms.
For a print copy of this report by mail, leave your name and mailing address in a message to 315-465-7578.
On November 24, 2020, at 7 pm, Northern New York Maple Specialist Adam D. Wild, director of the Uihlein Maple Research Forest at Lake Placid, NY, will be the final presenter in the Fall 2020 Cornell Maple Program Virtual Workshop series. He will include information on the second-year results of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP)-funded research into whether re-tapping maple trees in one sap season can increase single-season syrup production. To register for the six-program Cornell maple virtual series, go to https://cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6MrFc7JTqE2oh1j.
Changing weather patterns are causing maple producers in northern New York to seek information on the best time to tap trees for maximum production value. Research conducted outside of northern New York has indicated that tapping for early sap run and re-tapping later in the maple season could potentially increase syrup production yields by at least 20 percent or $6 per tap profit. The farmer-driven NNYADP- funded trials in 2019-2020 tested that opportunity under northern New York conditions and regionality played a role in the results. Click here to read the report: https://nnyagdev.org/index.php/mapleforest/maple/.