Estimation of Correlation Between Somatic Cell Count and Coagulation Score of Bovine Milk

Abstract

This investigation was carried out to determine the relationship between somatic cell count (SCC) and coagulation scores (CgS) in bovine milk samples. Bucket milk samples were collected from three towns of Samsun province, Turkey, in July and October 2011 as two test days. SCC analyses were performed by direct microscopy and CgS values were obtained by alcohol test using coagulation observations. No statistical difference was found among the towns for both parameters. Also, nonsignificant differences was determined for CgS values in the seasonal evaluation, but SCC values belonging to October were higher (P<0.05) than those calculated in July. Estimated low (r=0.208) correlation between assessed markers shows that alcohol test based on subjective coagulation observations should not be used as the single method to determine raw milk quality and mastitis in dairy farms. (C) 2012 Friends Science Publishers