[Monitoring of udder health by quarterwise measurement of initial milking samples for electric conductivity--results of serial examinations of individual animals and herds].

More than 400 cows were involved in three experimental series in which quarterwise measurement was applied continuously, even daly in a number of instances, to initial milking samples, with the view to establishing the electric conductivity of the milk. Electric cell count determination, high-speed mastitis tests, clinical examination of udders and secretions, and bacteriological milk tests were complementarily conducted. The major purpose of the effort was to find out whether milk conductivity measurement would be helpful in detecting subclinical mastitis. Conductivity measurement, in addition to being in fair agreement with milk cell count data, proved to be suitable an approach to high-continuity monitoring of udder condition, with no disruption of the production process being required. Specification of limit values and diagnostic value of differences between quarter milking data from one and the same udder were additional subjects of this study.