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This article was published in 1942
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INSTITUTE OF INSPECTORS OF STOCK OF N.S.W. YEAR BOOK.
SOME ASPECTS OF ASSISTING INCREASE OF FOOD PRODUCTION
By D. F. STEWART. B.V.Sc., Dip.Bact., Senior Pastures Protection Board's Research Officer, Glenfield, N.S.W.
The problem of maintaining and, where possible, increasing, the food production of this country should be exercising the minds of all associated with the livestock industries. Unless the people with specialised knowledge and training can materially assist with this vital matter, their reservation from the fighting services is not justified. Furthermore, the problem is one which demands immediate solution. There is not so much purpose at the moment in initiating long-range plans as in finding ways and means whereby preventable loss of animal production can be checked immediately by the services available.
Other papers in this issue deal with various aspects of the problem in the beef, dairy and pig industries, and it is intended to draw attention only to several points where immediate help can be given in preventing loss in the dairy industry.
It must be emphasised that it is impossible to get the best from a dairy herd unless breeding and production records are kept. The policy of allowing the bull to run with the herd can never yield the best possible results. Cows which are sterile should be culled immediately they do not respond to simple treatment.
The methods recommended for the countrol of Contagious Bovine Mastitis have been stated several times in recent years, but will bear repetition. First amongst these is to cull as soon as practicable any badly affected cows which act as reservoir of infection and are not economical units of the herd. It is essential to maintain a high degree of hygiene in the dairy and any cow giving abnormal milk should be milked last.
Care should be taken to disinfect cows' teats, both before and after milking, and the milkers' hands should be carefully disinfected between milking each cow. It has been found that the most efficient disinfectants for this purpose are those of the chlorine type of which “Chlorize" is a well-known member. Flies have recently been suspected of transmitting the disease and while it is difficult to control the fly population on a dairy farm, a high standard of sanitation should be practised. One of the main causes of excessive fly population in dairies is the proximity of piggeries and the two should be kept as far apart as possible.
Overcrowding cows into the holding yards increases the chances of contact and also the risk of injury. Prevent udder injuries by careful milking at regular intervals and by running milking machines at as low a pressure as possible. Dehorning is of great benefit in the prevention of injuries to the udder.
Cows suffering from the disease can be treated with a substance known as "Entozon." Made up in a solution of 1/1250 this material is infused at body temperature into the udders of infected cows in milk, either by gravity or by means of a hand pump. Clean rain water is quite suitable for making the solution, but care must be exercised to ensure sterility of the teat siphon and simple aseptic precautions must be employed. The teat siphon should be boiled for at least ten minutes prior to use and then not allowed to contact any contaminating material before being inserted into the teat. The tip of the teat must be cleaned and then wiped with a disinfectant or methylated spirits before insertion of the siphon. Milking cows are first stripped out and then the teat sinus flushed out by infusing a small amount of the solution which is immediately milked out. Then the siphon is re-inserted and the quarter filled to a tensity approximating that which exists just prior to milking.
The "entozon" is allowed to remain in the udder for seven minutes, but any longer period is liable to send the cow dry. The udder is then thoroughly stripped out and the stripping should be repeated at frequent intervals for a period of 24 hours. This form of treatment, repeated three times at intervals of one week, gives success in about 70 per cent. of slight and moderate cases. Where the case is advanced and little milk available from the quarter, the "entozon" should be used in a strength of 1/500 and allowed to remain in the udder 24 hours before being stripped out. This procedure will dry the quarter off completely and will eradicate the casual organism from the quarter. Thus the potential danger of a badly infected quarter to the remainder of the herd is removed and many of such quarters will return to normal at the next lactation period. These methods are being employed and more widely in the more progressive dairying districts of this State.
Mortality among calves is another source of frequent and heavy loss. It has been held for many years that diarrhoea with pneumonia in calves was usually due to an infection with Bact. coli. However, recent work shows that some, at least of these mortalities are due to members of the Salmonella group of organisms, and in cases where mortality occurs, in spite of good conditions of management, coccidial infections have been found. Again, a recent investigation in the U.S.A. has shown that diarrhoea in calves can be produced by a deficiency in vitamin A. This is a very interesting finding and worth bearing in mind where similar symptoms are encountered in calves fed mainly on skim milk, an occurrence which is seen all too frequently. Still more recent work claims that some outbreaks of pneumonia and enteritis in calves are due to a virus infection, but these results are yet to be confirmed. Therefore, it is necessary to realise the need of accurate diagnosis and to do all in one's power to keep the young stock of this country alive.
No claim is made that the losses discussed here are the only one's occurring in the dairying industry but they are selected as instances where immediate assistance can be given. The gravity of the present position is a challenge to all who are charged with safeguarding the livestock industries and the manner in which the challenge is met must go a long way in determining the future of the country itself and the status of the men who do the job.