The National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) is moving forward with a National Milk Producer Federation proposal to lower somatic cell count limits to 400,000 by January 1, 2014.
NCIMS is meeting in Baltimore this week. The meeting wraps up on Wednesday when the final votes will be taken.
The current SCC limit is 750,000 cells/ml. Under the NMPF proposal, the levels would be stepped down to 600,000 cells/ml by Jan. 1, 2012; 500,000 cells/ml by Jan. 1, 2013 and then to 400,000 by January 1, 2014. If the 400,000 cell/ml standard were in place today, 14% of U.S. dairy herds would not be compliance.
Herds would receive a warning letter if their cell counts exceed the standard two out of the four previous months. Their license to ship Grade A milk would be suspended if the cell counts exceed the standard three out of five months.
NMPF agreed to delete its regulatory discretion clause, which would have allowed states to suspend the 400,000 limit in cases of acts of God, hurricanes and the like. Appendix O of the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance already allows for such discretion in cases of natural disaster.
Over the weekend, the National Mastitis Council (NMC) agreed to withdraw its 400,000 cell proposal and support the NMPF proposal. NMC’s proposal would have based its violative level on a four-month geometric mean above the stand. But some NCIMS delegates objected to using the mean because it is somewhat difficult to calculate. Others, such as the Food and Drug Administration, objected because the geometric mean actually masks very high somatic cell counts.
If NCIMS does not vote to lower the cell count to 400,000, it is likely that either USDA or Congress will do so. Secretary Vilsack supports lowering the limit to 400,000. Lowering the count to 400,000 is required to qualify for export certificates into the European Union.
