It’s time to start thinking about booking your milk quality consult (MQC) with your vet.
You’ll soon receive your MQC form to complete; it’s important to complete it comprehensively and before your appointment to maximise the benefits of the consult.
Why book an MQC?
Your MQC is an ideal opportunity to sit down one-on-one with your vet and (among other things) discuss how milk quality has been this season. It will also consider any clinical mastitis cases, somatic cell count (SCC) fluctuations, herd test results, and treatment efficacy. All this info is used to plan strategies to employ for the coming season.
In the case of mastitis – prevention is always better than the cure. So, your vet will be able to advise you on how to reduce mastitis incidence, and either maintain low bulk cell count levels or reduce levels in your herd during the coming season. Your vet will also be able to advise you on the best treatment regime for clinical mastitis cases that occur in your herd too.
The key reasons an MQC with your vet can help set you up for a great 2025 / 2026 season:
Your MQC will take care of prescribing all drugs, including mastitis antibiotics and teat sealants you’re likely to need over the season. Your vet also has all the up-to-date information related to industry targets and antibiotic use guidelines.
Investment in dry cow therapy is significant and your MQC will help to make the best decisions around your dry cow approach. Remember: our team of experienced and efficient technicians is ready to help with your dry off and a range of other services that can be tailored to your needs during the consult.
It helps you to understand on a deeper level – what mastitis risk factors are present in your herd, how they impact your milk quality, and what practical steps you can take to minimise overall risk.
You’ll get a better understanding of your herd’s mastitis measurement trigger points, and what you can do to manage your herd’s bulk tank somatic cell count (BTSCC), clinical and sub-clinical mastitis, and mastitis culling rates.
We can build a plan to utilise our extensive lab testing services, including our antibiogram service to maximise the benefit of your MQC and aim to improve milk quality for your herd next season.
How can you get the most out of your MQC?
Booking your MQC early – don’t wait until just before you dry off the herd! If we do your MQC in February, we can help you to make better decisions around your herds’ milk quality plan in the coming season. Also, remember that dry off time is the busiest time of year for our technicians, so the more time to dry down the herd and schedule drying off, the better!
Bring as much data as possible to the consult, including your completed MQC forms, clinical case data, herd testing data, and BTSCC graphs, etc. Because if we’re entering and looking for data during the consult, it’ll take valuable time away from your one-on-one consult.
Within our team of over 50 Vets, we have access to a wide range of skills, experiences, and knowledge, plus access to the latest research through our Cognosco research team. We’re here to help you get the best out of each season with forward planning and support.
We look forward to seeing you at your MQC and to partnering with you in the coming seasons.
