IMPACT OF SEASONAL GRAZING ON UDDER HEALTH OF COWS

FRELICH J., SLACHTA M.: Impact of seasonal grazing on udder health of cows. Acta univ. agric. et silvic. Mendel. Brun., 2011, LIX, No. 1, pp. 53–58 The somatic cell count (SCC) in individual cow milk was used as an indicator of the udder health of cows in the mountain area in the Czech Republic. The monthly test-day records on SCC in milk of total 12,788 cows from 26 herds were scrutinized in order to elucidate the impact of the seasonal grazing on occurrence of milk secretion disorders. The interaction between the season (summer: May−October; winter: November−April) and the feeding system (seasonal grazing; permanently-indoor feeding) eff ects was used as a measure of the eff ect of pasture on SCC. The eff ect of season signifi cantly interacted with the eff ect of farm (P 0.05). The Holstein cows had on average higher SCC than the Czech Fleckvieh cows (P 0.05). The results indicated a higher importance of the management and the genetic factors for the occurrence of milk secretion disorders in comparison to the seasonal factors. No negative eff ect of the seasonal grazing on udder health was identifi ed.