Florida dairymen deserve a lot of respect. Aug 97 Sep 97 Oct 97 Location Class I Premium Class I Premium Class I Premium Atlanta 14.87 1.05 14.99 1.05 16.35 1.20 Up. Many locations have been very dry. According to legend, this should mean less mastitis and lower somatic cell counts. The legend didn't seem to hold during the past summer.
Reality seems to have been different.
Cell counts were higher, not lower, even though it was dry. I guess those stupid cows have not been reading my extension handouts. We normally think that summer rains cause mud which leads to more mastitis and higher cell counts. But we are guessing that the usual afternoon rains and resulting mud also cools the cows for awhile, temporarily reducing heat stress. Because it was dry, the cows were not able to get any relief.