Hygienic quality of cow bulk tank milk depending on the method of udder preparation for milking (short communication)

Abstract. The investigations were carried out in the year 2001 on 167 Black-and-White cattle farms of Wielkopolska region (West Poland). On the farms included in the study a survey on performing the premilking procedures was conducted and the results were collected concerning analyses of bulk tank milk samples for the somatic cell count (SCC) and total microorganism count (TMC). Herds, in which udders and teats were cleaned with a towel soaked with a disinfectant or washed with water containing a disinfectant, were characterized by lowest log_eSCC (12.36 and 12.41, respectively). They were followed by herds in which wiping with a dry towel (12.48) and washing with clean water (12.58) were practiced. The lowest log_eTMC was observed in the herds in which udders and teats were cleaned with a dry towel (10.66). This characteristic was similar in the herds where washing with clean water or wiping with a towel soaked with a disinfectant were practiced (10.89 and 11.00, respectively). The highest value of log_eTMC was in the herds in which washing with water containing a disinfectant was practiced (11.28). For SCC, a significant interaction was found between both pre-milking procedures. In the case of wiping with either a dry or wet towel, significantly lower values of log_eSCC were observed in the herds in which forestripping was performed prior to cleaning. However, in the herds in which udders and teats were washed with water, a better option was to perform forestripping after udder and teat cleaning.