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Milking Hygiene
Towels Single-use Bay West Dari-Towls help control the spread of infectious mastitis in dairy herds. Dari-Towls provide a clean, absorbent prep cloth for each cow, reducing the chance of cross-contamination. Each Dari-Towl features a different level of wet strength and absorbency to meet specific milking prep needs.	30357 #34 Predip; 9x10 inch brown. An economical soft and absorbent towel for drying. Our most popular towel. 2680 count. 30443 #39 Parlor; 9x10 inch embossed white. A strong yet soft towel for multiple use as scrubbing or drying. 2000 count. 30647 #36 Black Label; 9x10 inch brown. Our strongest towel for scrubbing. 2000 count.	30455 #35 Scrub; 9x10 inch brown. A softer towel than #36 Black Label. Can be used for scrubbing and drying. 4020 count. 30649 #25 Dari; 9x10 inch white. A soft yet strong and absorbent towel for scrubbing and drying. Two-ply towel can be separated for single-ply use as pre-dip towel. 2250 count.
TNT Nitrile Milking Gloves Premium disposable 5-mil nitrile glove. 9" inch length beaded cuff teal color. Available lightly powdered inside or powder-free 100 ct.	30292 Small - Powder-free 30293 Medium(-Powder - free) 30294 Large(-Powder - free) 30295 Extra(-Large - Powder - free) 30296 Small(-Powdered) 30297 Medium(-Powdered) 30298 Large(-Powdered) 30299 Extra(-Large - Powered)

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One way of determining the risk your cows have to mastitis from the environment is to use an udder scoring system. Udder condition scoring can be used by managers to quickly determine the overall udder cleanliness in the herd, determine the risk of infection in the herd and to evaluate housing management. One of teh simplest methods is to use a four point scale of cleanliness. Udders can be compared to model animals depicted in photos on a scoring sheet or by a written description of the categories.

Categories are separated into:
1. completely free of or very little dirt,
2. slightly dirty,
3. mostly covered in dirt, or
4. completely covered, caked in dirt.

An easy-to-easy scoring chart to be used for reference can be found at: www.uwex.edu/milkquality or download the Udder Hygiene Scoring Chart Now!

Although most people may assume that a dirtier animal equals more mastitis, many do not know the real impact of poor hygiene on udder health. There is a proven correlation between udder cleanliness and prevalence of contagious mastitis and environmental mastitis when animals are grouped into "clean" (scores of 1 and 2) and "dirty" (scores of 3 and 4) animals. "Dirty" animals are 1.5 times more likely to have a major mastitis than animals that are considered "clean". By routinely scoring cows in the herd, a producer can quickly evaluate milking and housing sanitation to determine if improvement is needed.