Herd management practices associated with bulk tank somatic cell count on dairy farms in Western Türkiye

The objective of this study was to determine the associations between bulk tank somatic cell count (BTSCC) and herd management practices on dairy farms in Western Trkiye. The material of the study consisted of 81 registered dairy farms. The farms were visited at approximately one-month intervals. Somatic cell count was determined electronically in the milk samples. According to the average BTSCC values of the farms, two different BTSCC categories were created (low: ≤400 103 cells/ml with 40 farms and high: >400 103 cells/ml with 41 farms). A questionnaire form was created to determine the herd management practices. The association between herd management practices and BTSCC categories was evaluated using the logistic regression analysis. According to the multivariate analysis, the probability for a farm to belong to the low BTSCC category increased when maintaining the clean resting surface for cows, having a calving pen, applying pre-milking teat disinfection, and shutting off the vacuum to the claw before removing the milking cluster. In addition, the probability for a farm to belong to the low BTSCC tended to be high when not preferring a non-stanchion barn with a hard floor (concrete etc.) as resting surface in milking cow housing. According to the univariate analysis, the probability for a farm to belong to the low BTSCC category was increased significantly when maintaining the cleaner exercise area, cooling the cows, keeping records about udder health, ensuring that the teats are dry while attaching the milking cluster, applying post-milking teat disinfection, and having an automatic cluster remover. Consequently, if improvements are made in these management practices, the incidence of udder health problems and consequently BTSCC will decrease.