Week 3- Finally get to milk a cow!

By and far the highlight of my week was not milking just one cow but thirty! At a small farm where they were kind enough to feed us pizza afterwards, I was able to help with a herd test during an afternoon milking and collect samples from each cow. It was great! I was also able to be "in charge" of some farm inspections this week and work through each farm with the MMPA field representative and rank each farm according to how I thought they were doing in maintaining equipment, cow health, and overall cleanliness. Hopefully now when I go to farms as a veterinarian someday I will have a better idea of what I need to look for.

I went one day to Allendale, MI to the Leprino mozzarella cheese processing plant. Even though we weren't able to tour the plant, I now understand the different processes the milk haulers have to undergo during the loading and unloading of milk. I have definitely gained a tremendous amount of respect for the haulers and the responsibilities they have with thousands of pounds of milk at a time. The initial screening lab there also talked about the importance of detecting any milk loads that have antibiotics in them before the milk is pumped from the trunk. That same day we also stopped at a veal farm that was raising around 700 calves. At this farm they receive all the milk from the surrounding areas that can't be sold at the store anymore or served in schools (it's around 3 semi loads a week!). I never knew what to expect at a veal farm but was pleasantly surprised to see the calves with plenty of room and comfort in each of their stalls; all coming up to the front of the stall to see who we were and what we were up to.

The week wrapped up by attending the Agriculture Electrical Council meeting. This was a good opportunity to learn some about stray voltage and the ways it can potentially negatively affect a dairy producer and cows' production.