Bacterial counts in bulk milk ‐ an update

Abstract

THE use of differential culture methods to investigate the possible causes of high total bacterial count (TBC) or Bactoscan values, high somatic cell counts or a high mastitis incidence was described in an earlier article (In Practice, March 1997, pp 122-127). This has proved to be an extremely useful and popular method of investigation and represents a good opportunity for practitioners to become involved in mastitis control advisory work. The aim of this article is to provide a brief update on changes in target values and to discuss some additional parameters measured.