a mastitis screening test useful for determining the somatic cell content in milk.

the average number of days between the latest two calving dates for individual cows or a herd.

that milk placed in 10-gallon cans on the farm for cooling and transportation to a dairy product manufacturing plant.

the study of goat keeping.

the number of animals that a pasture can properly carry with feed for a certain period of time.

The main protein constituent of milk. Casein is obtained from skimmed milk by precipitation (curdling) with acids or rennet. (FAOSTAT)

 the removal of male reproductive organs (testicles) to reduce sexual activity and increase fattening of meat animals.

the principal carbohydrate constituent of plant cell membranes.  It is made available to ruminants through the action of cellulolytic bacteria in the rumen.

removal of one substance from another mechanically by centrifugal force, as with cream which is less dense than skim milk.

milk produced and distributed under conditions which conform with high standards for cleanliness and quality.

see crude fiber.

the practice of deducting a portion of the payment to a farmer for his or her produce.

ripened or unripened soft, semi-hard, hard, or extra-hard product, which may be coated, and in which the whey protein/casein ratio does not exceed that of milk, obtained by:

(a) coagulating wholly or partly the protein of milk, skimmed milk, partly skimmed milk, cream, whey cream or buttermilk, or any combination of these materials, through the action of rennet or other suitable coagulating agents, and by partially draining the whey resulting from the coagulation, while respecting the principle that cheese-making results in a concentration of milk protein (in particular, the casein portion), and that consequently, the protein content of the cheese will be distinctly higher than the protein level of the blend of the above milk materials from which the cheese was made; and/or

(b) processing techniques involving coagulation of the protein of milk and/or products obtained from milk which give an end-product with similar physical, chemical and organoleptic characteristics as the product defined under (a). (Codex Alimentarius)

natural ventilation process by which warm air rises and escapes a building through an open ridge on the roof (see also wind effect).

a white, fat-soluble substance found in animal fats and oils, in bile, blood, brain tissue, nervous tissue, the liver, kidneys, and adrenal glands.  It is important in metabolism and is a precursor of certain hormones.

said of a disease (or phase of a disease) that is prolonged, mild and characterized by the absence any severity (opposite of acute).

agitation of whole milk or cream to make butter.

see rennin.

most milk-handling equipment are cleaned by circulating washing solutions through them without disassembly.

the process of removing suspended material; in milk processing, clarification is achieved by centrifugal treatment which removes sediment (extraneous matter) and somatic cells.

a pricing plan by which handlers are charged for market milk according to the products in which it is used, hence the term use classification.   

a lay term commonly used by cattle breeders to mean that a cow has shed her afterbirth.  Also refers to the natural, wholesome flavour of dairy products.

a form of inbreeding, such as mating brothers to sisters, sire to daughter, and son to dam.

time after birth (usually expressed in hours) at which absorption of antibodies through the intestinal wall stops.

milk quality test through heating.

change from liquid milk to (semi-) solid.

a parasitic protozoan that causes coccidiosis, an invasion of the intestine leading to diarrhoea in cattle and other animals.

an indirect measure of the biochemical load exerted on the oxygen of a body of water when organic wastes are introduced into the water.  If wastes are readily biodegradable, COD and BOD are nearly the same.

bacteria from the intestinal tract of warm-blooded animals.  Presence is considered indicative of faecal contamination.

a place to collect milk in bulk.

the first milk secreted at the time of giving birth. Higher in total solids than normal milk and rich in antibodies.

closely packed feed in the stomach and intestines of an animal causing constipation and/or digestive disturbances.

a blend of all feedstuffs (forages and grains) in one feed.  A complete ration fits well into mechanized feeding and the use of computers to formulate least-cost rations.  Sometimes called Total Mixed Ration or TMR.

the nutritional solids in milk other than water, like fat, protein, lactose, and minerals.

in large herds, or herds with multiple units of cows, composite herd averages are calculated for the total (or composite) of the individual units.

product of which the milk, milk products or milk constituents are an essential part in terms of quantity in the final product, as consumed provided that the constituents not derived from milk are not intended to take the place in part or in whole of any milk constituent. (Codex Alimentarius)

a feed high in Nitrogen-Free-Extract (NFE) and Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) and low in crude fibre (less than 18 percent).  Included are cereal grains, soybean oil meal, cottonseed meal, and by-products of the milling industry such as corn gluten and wheat bran. A concentrate may be low or rich in protein.

fermented milk the protein of which has been increased prior to or after fermentation to minimum 5.6 %. Concentrated fermented milks includes traditional products such as Stragisto (strained yoghurt), Labneh, Ymer and Ylette. (Codex Alimentarius)

milk, skim milk, and components of these that have been concentrated by removing varying amounts of water under carefully controlled conditions of heat and/or vacuum. Concentrated milks may be reconstituted by adding appropriate quantities of water.

fertilization or penetration of the ovum by a sperm cell.

total number of conceptions obtained divided by total number of services.

refers to the amount of flesh (body weight), quality of hair coat, and general health of animals.  Also called body condition.

a measure of the ability of a material to conduct or transmit.

indicates the accuracy in the estimation of a sire's genetic merit in a sire proof by giving a probable range for future summaries.

livestock kept in corrals or housing for maximum year-round production.  Facilities may be partial or complete, usually with a solid floor and enclosed, or covered.

the body form or physical traits of an animal; its shape and arrangement of parts.

the tissue covering the anterior portion of an eyeball.

readily transmitted from one individual to another, with reference to an organism that causes a disease.

cows of the same breed that were born and raised, and initiated their lactations during similar periods.  Usually separated into two lactation groups for comparison--first lactation and all other lactations.

method for estimating the transmitting ability of bulls and cows using information on contemporaries.

a form of business owned and controlled by the people who use its services, such as a milk marketing or processing cooperative.

the state, university and county educational outreach service of each state land-grant institution.  This service extends the research results and educational programs of land-grant institutions to all the people in the state.

soft, surface ripened, primarily mould ripened cheese (...) which has a shape of a flat cylinder or sectors thereof. The body has a near white through to light yellow colour and a soft-textured (when pressed by thumb), but not crumbly texture, ripened from the surface to the center of the cheese. Gas holes are generally absent, but few openings and splits are acceptable. A rind is to be developed that is soft and entirely covered with white mould but may have red, brownish or orange coloured spots. Whole cheese may be cut or formed into sectors prior to or after the mould development.

For Coulommiers ready for consumption, the ripening procedure to develop flavour and body characteristics is normally from 10 days at 10–16 °C depending on the extent of maturity required. Alternative ripening conditions (including the addition of ripening enhancing enzymes) may be used, provided the cheese exhibits similar physical, biochemical and sensory properties as those achieved by the previously stated ripening procedure. Coulommiers intended for further processing need not exhibit the same extent of ripening when justified through technical and/or trade needs. (Codex Alimentarius)

a mature female bovine.

a measure of a cow's genetic merit for a given trait by estimating her transmitting ability.

a condition of a cow in which the hocks are close together and the fetlocks (located just above the hoof) wide apart.

see crude protein and intake protein.

a condition among cattle, especially bulls in confinement, in which involuntary contractions of muscles of the hind legs result in pain and discomfort.  Affected animals shift from foot to foot.

fluid milk product comparatively rich in fat, in the form of an emulsion of fat-in-skimmed milk, obtained by physical separation from milk. (Codex Alimentarius)

milk product which can be obtained by the partial removal of water from cream. The fat and/or protein content of the cream may have been adjusted (...) by the addition and/or withdrawal of milk constituents in such a way as not to alter the whey protein to casein ratio of the milk being adjusted. (Codex Alimentarius)

a butter factory or, more commonly, a milk processing plant.

rolled with corrugated rollers. The grain to which this term refers may be tempered or conditioned before crimping, and may be cooled afterward.

environmental temperature below which a calf has to expand energy to maintain its body temperature. It is calculated as the environmental temperature at which heat loss from the calf due to maintenance and utilization of feed is equal to the heat needed to maintain constant body temperature.

environmental temperature at which animal performance decreases because natural mechanisms that act to help the animal lose heat are insufficient to dissipate heat gain.

offspring of parents of different breeds.

that portion of feedstuffs composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and other polysaccharides which serve as structural and protective parts of plants (high in forages and low in grains). Not soluble in acid or alkali detergents.

total protein in a feed. To calculate the protein percentage, a feed is first chemically analyzed for nitrogen content. Since proteins average about 16 percent nitrogen, the percentage of nitrogen in the analysis is multiplied by 6.25 to give the CP percentage.

parasitic protozoan that infests the intestine and causes diarrhoea in young calves.

a bolus of regurgitated food (common to ruminants). See rumination.

the process of eliminating non-productive or undesirable animals.  

in microbiology, a population of micro organisms in a growth medium or the act of growing bacteria in media for identification.  A pure culture contains only organisms that initially arose from a single cell.  Cultures are used in manufacturing cultured dairy products and most cheeses.

the coagulated or thickened part of milk. Curd from whole milk consists of casein, fat, and whey, whereas curd from skim milk contains casein and whey but only traces of fat.

after coagulation the milk is separated into whey and cheese curd.

hundredweight or 100 pounds of milk