Technipharm has been leading mastitis detection technology since its introduction in 1998.

The company started with a single test single readout unit which took a while to get off the ground, but once it did many farmers obtained a unit to help get their SCC down.

At the time there was a big focus by Fonterra and DEXEL to get SCC down and many farmers needed all the help they could get.

With continued R and D and technology improving Technipharm launched a new unit on the market in 2010 which had the ability to show all four readings on the screen simultaneously which was a great help in determining the quarter infected quickly. A few years later added a back-lit screen was added, this allowed fast readings to be obtained under any milking shed conditions.

The new Milkchecker Tracker™ shows all four readings of the quarters obtained in absolute format and in differential format. To establish if a quarter is infected it is required to establish the differential between quarters in order to know if there is an infection or not.

Milk as we know contains milksolids, each quarter produces its own “formula” and not all quarters are the same. Significant differences are present when there is an infection, quantities of sodium chloride is expelled from the milk glands, alarming the defence systems of the cow to “act” to release white blood cells.

These salt levels we can measure and set off against each quarter which gives us an accurate measure of the infection being present and its severity. Readings are instant and displayed on screen. These conductivity readings are showing up well before we see inflated SCC levels so with Milkchecker Tracker™ you are ahead of the infection.

After treatment the Tracker can help establishing if the readings have come down and if the milk is ready for the vat again, continued inflated readings means something more sinister is going on upon which we recommend get veterinarian assistance.

The Milkchecker Tracker™ also can “log” readings via BlueTooth on an app for historical comparisons on a per cow basis. This could be a helpful feature for problematic cows with a history of infections.

Milkchecker Tracker™ is available from TechniPharm in limited numbers.

More? Visit www.technipharm.co.nz