2 Minute Check

The “2 minute check rule” is a quick check of the screens which are ‘live’ and updated continuously after every milking.

Checking these screens three times per day will significantly improve your knowledge of every cow in the herd. By recognizing a consistency and trend in the presented data it becomes easy to find, within 2 minutes, cows that require additional attention and/or need treating. The screens used for the 2 minute check are the status board and cow monitoring. While doing the 2 minute check, ALSO clean the camera of the robotic arm.

1. Status Board

It is all about relating what you see into the physiology of the cow. When checking this status screen at least three times per day, changes in performance at herd and cow level will be noticed very quickly. Please conduct three times per day as part of the 2 minute check and ask yourself:

• Which of the cows is too late (based at lactation stage and production)?
• Which cow is under performing (Drop in production? Days in milk? Why?)?
• Which AND how many incomplete cows are there?

2. Cow Monitor

Cow monitor is the most important tool, giving us the opportunity to track cows which are currently facing or undergoing a mastitis threat. The important udder health parameters are: conductivity, blood level, somatic cell count (if applicable) and the Mastitis Detection Index (MDi). The MDi is a combination of conductivity, milking interval and blood values.

The index is calculated on udder-level, not per quarter. The MDi is an aid for farmers to point out potential health problems in the herd.

How the counters work and what they mean

Counter Udder Level = affected by MDi and if applicable somatic cell count (OCC)

Counters Teat Level (settable) = the conductivity and blood levels affect the counters per quarter.

 Red = something is wrong in the previous milking, this is a ‘bad’ milking (related to udder health)  Yellow  = previously something went wrong, however the last milking was improved  Green = all good

As with the status board, the more frequently you check the cow monitor screen, the faster you can visually check and/ or treat any cows with abnormalities. By knowing each cow, differences in their value are noted quickly, accurately, and in an efficient manner. Include the cow monitor in the 2 minute check and ask yourself:

• Which cow is on top of the udder counter list (based at MDi and OCC), but more important who is NEW to this selection?
• Which cow is on top of the quarter based counter list, but also more important who is NEW?
• How high is the conductivity value of the attention cows, and is there a change to an even higher value?