DFO steps up milk sampling

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by SUSAN MANN

Once a new lab services agreement is in place later this year dairy farmers will get information from their milk samples more often, says a spokesman for Dairy Farmers of Ontario.

The organization is working with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs as well as the Ontario Dairy Council, which represents processors, to develop the new agreement. It’s slated to be in place by Nov. 1.

George MacNaughton, DFO production division director, says changes in production and processing management is what’s motivating the new agreement. The ministry installed the current testing system with input from the provincial dairy and processor organizations. The new agreement gives the DFO and ODC control over composition, somatic cell count and freezing point estimation services.

They’re “looking at testing all available samples and providing the information to producers on a more timely basis,” says MacNaughton.

The University of Guelph’s laboratory services division will provide quality testing. The university and CanWest DHI are bidding to offer the somatic cell count, freezing point and composition testing services.

Currently, samples from farms and loads delivered to processors are picked up six times a month but only some are used and are tested for bacteria, inhibitors and milk composition.

The new agreement calls for these samples to be picked up 11 times a month. Samples would be tested for composition – butterfat, protein, lactose and other solids in the milk - and for bacteria as well as inhibitors and other substances, such as chlorine, that inhibit bacterial growth.

“The more frequently you pick up, the more frequently you test and the more frequently you report,” MacNaughton says, pointing out more frequent reporting helps farmers manage their herds better.

The lab service is now being paid from DFO’s administrative budget and that will continue once the new agreement comes in. MacNaughton says they expect “to improve services for similar costs.” Currently, the annual total cost for lab testing, shared between the dairy and processing organizations as well as the ministry, is about $2 million. BF