Evaluation of Cow Milk Electrical Conductivity Measurements

Abstract

The efficiency of subclinical mastitis diagnosis using an electrical conductivity (EC) meter was evaluated in the dairy farm of Agricultural Research and Development Station (ARDS) Simnic Craiova. The results were compared with those obtained by using the California Mastitis Test (CMT) and the Somatic Cell Count (SCC).The milk quarter samples (1176) from Holstein Friesian cows were analysed between September and December 2015. The EC evaluation with the EC meter, showed a high proportion of results differing from SCC and CMT results. The CMT still shows to be the most accessible and efficient test in comparison to the EC meter tested.

Keywords

• california mastitis test
• electrical conductivity
• somatic cell count