The Importance of SCC

14 Mar 2016

The question is, “what exactly can we see in the numbers?” It’s important to keep track of the counts for individual cows and the aggregate SCC from strings or bulk tanks. We know as the SCC increases over 200,000 cells/ml it suggests that there could be a subclinical issue. On the other scale, a very low SCC could indicate the cow is not producing enough white blood cells to provide protection against bacterial infection, therefore it is susceptible to clinical mastitis. But this argument does not always hold true. There is a need to look at the numbers as a management tool.

As you begin to accumulate an SCC history of your herd, you will be able to pay attention to trends which will aid in reacting to treatments:

Factor	Increase / Decrease SCC	Additional Information
Bacteria infection	Increase	Increase depends on severity of infection
Stress	Variable	May increase depending on factor
Lactation	Increase after calving	Will come down after five days if the cow was healthy before
Duration between milking	Variable	May increase with shorter intervals (stress)
Bulk tank SCC	Variable	Will fluctuate more with smaller herds, less with dilution
Sample to sample	Variable	Sampling will fluctuate results
Sample methods	Variable	Bad techniques can alter results

Note: It is important to collect, store, and analyze milk samples in an appropriate manner. Sampling at the very beginning or end will have an increased concentration of cells. It is advised to strip the cow a few times prior to taken a sample if not milking. Samples taken away from the wall and top of the storage container is recommended as proteins and cells tend to aggregate in these areas.

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