The Transitioning Dairy: Challenges and Opportunities

1
The Transitioning Dairy Challenges and
Opportunities

• Quality Milk Production Services
• Department of Food Science
• Local Organic Producers (NODPA)
• NOFA-NY (Brian Caldwell)
• Cornell Cooperative Extension
• Alltech, Inc.

2

• Project will study five dairy herds as they make
  the transition from conventional management
  systems to organic dairy production
• Amish farm (30 lactating cows)
• New farm (45 lactating cows)
• Established conventional farm (100 cows)
• University herd
• TBD

3
Goal One Describe the impact of transition on
the farm

• Milk Quality (somatic cell counts, bacteria
  counts
• Production and components
• Udder health
• Herd health overall
• Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA)

• Milk selenium levels
• Foodborne pathogens
• Antimicrobial resistance in both mastitis and
  fecal bacteria
• Economic health (Dairy Farm Business Summary

4
Milk Quality Food Safety
Milk Quality Udder Heath
Public Health
Food borne pathogens
AMR
Functional Foods
Mastitis
Bacteria
SCC
Fat/Protein

• Tetracycline
• Penicillin
• macrolide

• Listeria
• E coli
• S.aureus toxins
• Salmonella
• Campylobacter
• Q-fever

• Incidence
• Prevalence
• Clinical/Subclinical

• SPC
• PI
• LPC
• Coliform

• CLA
• Selenium

5
Goal Two Development of an educational system
for future transitioning farms

• Ongoing discussions with participating producers
• Encourage farmer to farmer mentoring
• Disseminate information ultimately multiple
  formats (traditional, pasture walks, producer
  discussion groups, website, written materials

6
Year before animal transition
Organic transition
End of first organic year
Beginning of animal transition

Quarterly herd milk samples
six month period prior to sampling Herd
enrollment
Year One of field study quarterly herd milk
sampling monthly bulk tank (BT) samples
Year Two of field study transition to
certification quarterly herd milk sampling
monthly bulk tank (BT) samples
first year of organic production. Quarterly
herd milk samples, monthly BT samples
final six months. Analysis and dissemination
of results
Each quarter of year one, two, and three
monthly bulk tanks collected for SCC,
Fat/protein, Selenium, CLA, foodborne pathogens,
bacteriology, AMR

7
Projects in Progress

• Longitudinal Comparison of Conjugated Linoleic
  Acid levels, Vitamin A, E in Bulk Milk from Three
  Management Systems (OFRF) (NESARE farmer grant)
• Collaboration QMPS, organic producer, Animal
  Science (Cornell), MSU

• Ten organic
• Five conventional grazing
• Five conventional confinement
• Monthly bulk tanks for a year

8
Future Directions

• Challenges-what strategies can be implemented in
  a timely manner
• Opportunities Herd health, economic viability,
  marketability of value added products
• What ration/management manipulations can increase
  CLA on a year round basis
• If we see a decrease in antimicrobial resistance,
  what is mechanisms are driving this change
• What mentoring/information transfer methods work
  best?
• Foodborne pathogens Does safety of milk change?

9
Additional resources

• Cooperation among institution to use resources,
  most effectively, avoid duplication of efforts
• Increase involvement from the producer
• Consumer awareness health benefits,
  environmental impact
• Fundingcant overlook private funds