Reasons why an Individual Bacteria Count (IBC) might “Spike” for one or more milk shipments.

On the farm

1. Intermittent use of dry and fresh cow buckets and accompanying vacuum hoses that are not clean.
2. Breaking off or exposure of an internal buildup in the milking system during the milking process.
3. Reversal of vacuum and airflow from the unwashed vacuum supply lines and balance tank through the sanitary trap into receiver jar, pipelines and other milk contact surfaces.
4. Power failures that impact cooling or cleaning.
5. Failure to turn on the refrigeration units at the usual times.
6. Use of portable milk meters on DHI test day.
7. Fall-off of the milking units during milking.
8. Sudden episode of severe clinical mastitis.
9. Teat sealant coating milk contact surfaces giving bacteria a place to live.
10. ......

The Bulk Milk Grader

1. Contamination of the sample when it is taken from the farm tank. This possibility is why it is so important to also test the truck compartment sample to see if the milk on the truck has been compromised.
2. Failure to keep truck clean. Alberta Milk monitors the truck sample IBC results and will contact the milk hauling company and/or Regulatory Services if there is a chronic problem.

 

Bulk Milk Grader, Processor

1. Failure to keep the samples cold. CMT monitors the temperature of the samples when they arrive at the lab. Alberta Milk monitors the IBC results for all producers on all loads of milk and if all producers’ samples are high the results will likely be coded with a “D” for discarded and not used on any milk quality programs.

 

Important note: The above list may not be complete. If there are other reasons that you become aware of for a sudden spike in your individual bacteria count, please contact Member Services at Alberta Milk so that we can add other causes to the list for producers to consider if they are dealing with a sudden rise in their own individual bacteria counts.