Premilking udder hygiene.

Incidence of intramammary infection is highly correlated to the number of mastitis pathogens on the teat end at milking. The objective of premilking teat sanitation is to reduce the microbial population in order to minimize the probability of mastitis. Milking time hygiene is extremely important due to the potential interaction between milking machine functions and microflora of teat skin. Current recommended procedures for premilking udder preparation range from water hose wash, manual drying, wet paper towel wash plus paper towel dry, to predipping alone plus paper towel dry. Regardless of udder cleaning procedure, manual drying of teats is a significant factor in reduction of total bacteria counts. Predipping with iodine-based sanitizers, .1 to .25% iodine concentration, reduced intramammary infection with environmental pathogens 51% compared with good udder preparation in a field trial on four commercial dairy farms. Infections by coagulase-negative staphylococci were not reduced by predipping. Effective premilking udder hygiene is essential for the production of high quality milk. Bacteria, preincubation and pasteurized milk counts are reduced. Sediment is minimized. Incidence of mastitis is reduced. Proper udder hygiene procedures should be practiced at every milking.