Paratuberculosis (PTBC) is a chronic disease caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), which is common in dairy herds worldwide, although the scale of its impact on herd productivity is unclear. The aim of our study was to determine the differences between MAP ELISA positive vs. negative cows in terms of milk production and quality, reproductive parameters, and culling. The data of five large dairy herds that participated in the voluntary PTBC testing program in Hungary were analyzed. Cows were tested by ELISA (IDEXX Paratuberculosis Screening Ab Test, IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., Westbrook, ME, USA) using milk samples collected during official performance testing. The outcome of the initial screening test involving all milking cows in the herds was used for the classification of the cows. The 305-day milk production, reproduction and culling data of 4,341 dairy cows, and their monthly performance testing results (n = 87,818) were analyzed. Multivariate linear and logistic models, and right censored tobit model were used for the statistical analysis. Test-day and 305-day milk production of ELISA positive cows decreased by 4.6 kg [95% CI: 3.5-5.6 kg, P < 0.0001 (−13.2%)] and 1,030 kg [95% CI: 708-1,352 kg, P < 0.0001 (−9.4%)], compared to their ELISA negative herdmates, respectively. Milk ELISA positive cows had 35.8% higher [95% CI: 17.9-56.4%, P < 0.0001] somatic cell count, on average. Test positive cows conceived 23.2 days later [95% CI: 9.2-37.3 days, P = 0.0012 (+16.5%)] and their calving interval was 33.8 days longer [95% CI: 13.2-54.4 days, P = 0.0013, (+9.7%)], compared to the negative cows, on average. Milk ELISA positive cows were less likely to conceive to first insemination (odds ratio: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.31-0.75, P = 0.0013), and required 0.42 more inseminations to conceive [95% CI: 0.07-0.77, P = 0.0192 (+13.7%)], on average. Milk ELISA positive cows were culled 160.5 days earlier after testing compared to their ELISA negative herdmates (95% CI: 117.5-203.5 days, P < 0.0001). Our results suggest that MAP ELISA positive cows experience decreased milk production, milk quality, fertility, and longevity, which supports the need to control the prevalence of PTBC in dairy herds.

The aim of the study was to survey the milking technology and to analyse the associations between milking parlour type, herd size, and milk production parameters on dairy cattle farms. The milking technology was surveyed by using a questionnaire in 417 Hungarian dairy herds with 177,514 cows in 2017, and it was compared with their official farm milk production data. The surveyed farms were categorized according to their size (1-50, 51-300, 301-600, and &gt;600 cows) and to their milking parlour types (herringbone, parallel, carousel, and others). The relationships were analysed by multivariate linear models, one-way ANOVA, and Fisher’s exact test. Pairwise comparisons were performed by Tukey’s post hoc tests. The prevailing type of milking parlour was herringbone (71.0 %), but on larger farms the occurrence of parallel and carousel parlours increased (p&lt;0.001). The number of milking stalls per farm increased with herd size (p&lt;0.001). Farms with herringbone parlour had significantly smaller number of milking stalls than that of parallel (p=0.022) and carousel (p&lt;0.001) parlours, and the cows were mostly milked two times, while in carousel milking parlours mostly three times a day. As the herd size increased, so did daily milk yield (p&lt;0.001) and daily milk production per cow (p&lt;0.001). Herd size was associated with somatic cell count (p&lt;0.001). The type of milking parlour showed significant association with daily milk yield (p=0.039) and dairy units with herringbone milking system had the lowest milk quality. Our findings show that herd size has greater impact on milk production parameters than milking technologies.

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The aim of this study was to survey the milk yield, milk quality and milking technology on Hungarian large-scale (>50 cows) dairy farms and to evaluate the possible impact of milking parlour type on milk production and quality (somatic cell count). The survey was performed by using a questionnaire on 377 Hungarian dairy farms in 2017. Farms were categorized according to their milking parlour types (herringbone, parallel, carousel and others). The average SCC on the Hungarian dairy farms was high (405,199 SCC/ml). Farms using herringbone milking system had the lowest milk quality (429.240 SCC/ml) and milk yield (27.01 kg/day). The type of milking parlour had an impact on milk quality (p=0.05) and milk yield (p=0.03).

The aim of the research was to evaluate the milk quality in the automatic milking system (milking robot) and milking parlor. The somatic cell count is the indicator of inflammation in the udder. If milk ejection is inhibiting, inflammation develops in the udder. Stress is one of the reasons to inhibit milk ejection. As a result the somatic cell count increases but the milk yield decreases. The stress level is higher for primiparous compared with multiparous. The milk yield was significantly greater in the milking robot milked cow milk (28.5±0.60 kg). The somatic cell count was significantly greater in the parlor milked cow milk in the 1 st (319.0±90.69 thousand per ml) and 2 nd (119.0±26.46 thousand per ml, p < 0.05) recordings. The milk yield was not significantly different in the multiparous group. The milk fat and protein contents were greater in the parlor group. The somatic cell count of the multiparous group was significantly greater in the 3 rd recording (146.0±43.92 thousand per ml, p < 0.05). Linear type traits of udder were not different-neither primiparous nor multiparous. Milk ejection was not affected by the linear type of the udder. The stress factor which is responsible for elevated somatic cell count could be the environment factor.