Cultivating Knowledge for Milk Quality A brochure about CBMRN research for Canadian veterinarians and Dairy Professionals By Julie Baillargeon, M. Sc., agronomist Transfer manager CBMRN researchers are working passionately to find solutions to mastitis problems. It is important that their work be communicated to the dairy industry, so that the resulting knowledge is integrated into udder health management practices at the farm level. This is why we published Cultivating Knowledge for Milk Quality. In this document, we present a summary of the ongoing and completed research by CBMRN researchers. Each project is briefly described in order to understand its context and objectives, the progress made to date and its future on-farm applications. For completed research, we give an outline of the methods and procedures that were used, a summary of new findings and the key points to remember. The contents of the brochure will be updated yearly. Did you know that more than a quarter of Canadian dairy herds do not undergo the standard mastitis therapy at drying off? Did you know that vaccination against E. coli may soon not require multiple doses? Are you aware of the latest research results regarding the genetic selection of cows based on their level of mastitis resistance? These are some of the subjects that you can find in this new knowledge transfer brochure from the CBMRN. Who is it for? Cultivating Knowledge for Milk Quality is targeted mainly for veterinarians, as well as other professionals working with dairy producers. The brochure is available in both official languages, in either printed or electronic versions. We distributed printed copies to veterinarians, through their provincial associations, and also to various targeted groups. If you are interested in receiving this brochure, please send your request by e- mail to julie.baillargeon@umontreal.ca. www.mastitisnetwork.org Page 1 de 6
It s harvest time! 2008 Annual Scientific Meeting By Anne-Marie Christen, M. Sc. Network Manager This is the theme that so aptly describes the spirit of our up-coming annual scientific meeting, which will be held on November 3 and 4 in Toronto. Our current research program, already well into its third year, is showing some exiting results that we wish to broadcast in all directions! Day 1. Three training workshops will be held for students and researchers in order to bring them up to date on some specific research and on the vast collection of information that is available to them. Coinciding with this, the scientific and transfer committees will take stock of various subjects in preparation for our fourth research season. And to bring the day to a close, what could be better than a banquet to allow participants to fraternize and establish new contacts, as proposed by our guest speaker, Dr. Theo Lam of the Dutch Centre for Udder Health (UCGN). Dr. Lam will definitely keep the attention of the dinner guests with his presentation on his own network and on the distinct possibilities of collaboration between our two organizations. Day 2. The heart of the meeting will undoubtedly be the progress reports on our various research projects. One after the other, our mastitis experts will come forward to fill our collective harvest basket with the fruits of their labour over the past year. Then, to stimulate the troops, Mr. Jacques Surprenant of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) will present the vision of AAFC on the future of research in Canada. Finally, the presentations will end with Julie Baillargeon, our Transfer manager, who will emphasize the importance of transferring knowledge to our users and in particular, the need to combine our respective skills in order to ensure the success of the operation. Following this, make way for the next generation! At 3:00 pm, about twenty students will describe the advancement of their research work with a poster session, culminating with a competition! In parallel, three more workshops will be available, one of which is specifically targeted for our industry partners. Days 3 and 4. This year, in order to encourage exchange and create new ties, the American group Mastitis Research Workers Conference (MRWC) has decided to combine its annual event with ours. The MRWC is an informal exchange forum that brings together research scientists and their students, where research proposals and results are presented and discussed, as well as specific problems concerning mastitis. During these two days, some 70 experts will be challenged to understand and find solutions to problems presented to them and to give their opinions on future research hypotheses. The participants in these meetings are either members of MRWC or NE112, another American group working on mastitis. www.mastitisnetwork.org Page 2 de 6
International directory of bovine mastitis researchers A rapid and user-friendly tool By Hélène Poirier Information officer Mastitis does not recognize any borders and it affects milk production and quality around the world. What efforts are being made in other countries to improve its detection and to control this very complex disease? In order to answer this interesting question, the CBMRN was given a mandate by its partners to draw up a list of the research being done internationally on bovine mastitis. To accomplish this technology watch, the first step was to complete an inventory of the countries and researchers that are most active in this area. For example: The exotic: The future graduate (or one who has already graduated), who is dreaming of doing advanced studies in a far-off foreign country. The organized: The student who wishes to target certain researchers before doing a literature review for a research project, or a seminar on udder health. The explorer: The research scientist already engaged in research on mastitis, who is looking for collaborators and an exchange of knowledge from other countries. Assured results The International directory of bovine mastitis researchers is a rapid and userfriendly tool. With a few clicks, you can select a researcher, either by specialty, by institution, by pathogen or even by key words. Already, researchers in India, France, and Columbia have indicated their interest in being listed in the directory or have offered their assistance to complete it. If CBMRN members have colleagues who they think should be added to the present list of researchers, please do not hesitate to contact us. Looking for new contacts While doing so, why not make this impressive data bank available to everyone, so that they can take full advantage of it and make new contacts? www.mastitisnetwork.org Page 3 de 6
CBMRN NEWS IN BRIEF COMITTEES NEWS Personnel changes Last month, some employees at our administration centre played musical chairs! Our Transfer manager, Julie Baillargeon, returned from her maternity leave on September 2. She happily takes back her former functions, full of energy and new ideas. Eliane Auger, the network manager, left us on September 10 to take on the management of a new network. We would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to her professionalism, devotion, and good humour that she demonstrated throughout the past year. Anne-Marie Christen, who was replacing Julie Baillargeon, now takes over as network manager until the return of Annik L Espérance in mid-november. Congratulations! Last September, Jennifer McCarron, a student at the Atlantic Veterinary College of the University of Prince Edward Island was awarded a scholarship grant from NMC to attend its annual meeting, to be held on January 25-29, 2009 in Charlotte, North Carolina. She will present her research work regarding the reduced use of antibiotics on Canadian farms through the use of rapid tests for the detection of mastitis bacteria at the farm level. Also in September, Simon Dufour was awarded a scholarship from the Université de Montréal s Faculty of Higher Learning and Postdoctoral Studies, so that he may continue his studies from the Masters to the Ph.D. level. Steering Committee The Steering Committee met on September 8 to finalize several files, including the tabling of the Year 1 Report regarding the $400,000 grant received through the NSERC program Strategic Network Enhancement Initiative. After reviewing the projects completed during the first year, the committee approved an extension of this grant over three years instead of the two years initially planned for. Since the Network has not yet reached its full maturity and its initial results are just starting to come in, this extension will allow for the distribution of more concrete results and better collaboration with partners and other external networks. The Network s long-term funding and the preparation of the Annual Scientific Meeting were also discussed. The Steering Committee s next meeting will be held in March 2009. Scientific Committee The Scientific Committee held a virtual meeting on June 12, 2008. The main subjects discussed were the planning of the 2008 Annual Scientific Meeting and the distribution of research budgets to researchers for Year 3. Members also made decisions concerning the up-coming training activities under the NSERC Program Strategic Network Enhancement Initiative. The next committee meeting is planned for November 3, 2008 in Toronto. Transfer Committee The next meeting of the Transfer Committee will be held on November 3, during the Network s annual scientific meeting. www.mastitisnetwork.org Page 4 de 6
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER TRAVEL LOG The Mastitis Column The list of Mastitis Columns published since the last Bulletin: In Le Producteur de lait québécois: Keefe G. et Elmoslemany A., L'Île-du-Prince- Édouard mise sur la qualité. July/August 2008. Barkema H. and Olde Riekerink R., Le moment idéal pour l'échantillonnage. September 2008. In The Milk Producer: Dohoo I., Andersen S., Dufour S. and A.-M. Christen., Seeing is believing. July 2008. CBMRN Clipping Files Incidence de la mammite clinique - Type d'étable et bactéries de la mammite AGRICOM, June 18, 2008, p.17. On-farm Milk Culturing Dairyman's Digest, July 21, 2008, p.21. Incidence de la mammite clinique: Lactation et CCS du lait du réservoir AGRICOM, August 20, 2008, p.13. Le Réseau canadien de recherche sur la mammite bovine Action+, Les Producteurs laitiers du Canada, Rapport d activités, Automne 08, p. 47-48. The Canadian Bovine Mastitis Research Network Action+, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Activity Report, Fall 08, p. 47-48. Dairy Farmers of Canada annual meeting In July, Hélène Poirier and Anne-Marie Christen manned an information booth at the Annual Meeting of Dairy Farmers of Canada, held in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. Daniel Scholl, the Network s scientific director, also presented a paper on the most recent development regarding CBMRN research and preliminary results on two projects: The natural resistance of cows towards mastitis, conducted by Dr. Bonnie Mallard, University of Guelph, and Diagnostic tools at the farm level, conducted by Dr. Greg Keefe, University of P.E.I. Judging from the number of visits to the information booth and their warm welcome, the 200 dairy producers in attendance seemed to appreciate the Network s presence. The Network s 2007-2008 annual report was handed out to each participant, along with a bookmark promoting the Network s website. Colloque internationale francophone de microbiologie animale On September 21 to 24, Saint-Hyacinthe hosted the 4 th Colloque internationale francophone de microbiologie animale. Daniel Scholl and Bich Van Le Thanh made oral presentations, while Marie Rivest and Simon Dufour presented a poster. International Conference on Mastitis Control 2008 From September 30 to October 2, the CBMRN was well represented at the International Conference on Mastitis Control 2008. Heba Atalla, Daniel Scholl and Simon Dufour each made oral presentations on their research, while Kristen Reyher and Kathleen Thompson presented a poster. Bonnie Mallard acted as a member of the scientific program committee and as moderator. www.mastitisnetwork.org Page 5 de 6
For all you globetrotters, here are a few dates to put on your calendar: COMING EVENTS COLLOQUE SUR LA SANTÉ DES TROUPEAUX LAITIERS When: December 9-10, 2008 Where: Best Western Universal Hotel Drummondville, Quebec, Canada Target audience: Dairy producers, veterinarians and other dairy industry professionals Information: www.amvpq.org. Event organized by the AMVPQ Administrative Centre (450) 773-8521 Daniel Scholl, Scientific Director, ext. 18605, daniel.scholl@umontreal.ca Grant Tomita, Scientific Assistant, ext. 18621, grant.tomita@umontreal.ca Anne-Marie Christen, Interim Network Manager, ext. 18619, annemarie.christen@umontreal.ca Julie Baillargeon, Transfer Manager, ext. 18620, julie.baillargeon@umontreal.ca Hélène Poirier, Information officer, ext. 10066, helene.poirier@umontreal.ca Isabelle Jodoin, Secretary, ext. 18618, i.jodoin@umontreal.ca Faculté de médecine vétérinaire Canadian Bovine Mastitis Research Network C.P. 5000, Saint-Hyacinthe (Québec) J2S 7C6 Fax: (450) 778-8179 NMC 48 TH ANNUAL MEETING When: January 25-28, 2009 Where: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA Target audience: Researchers, veterinarians, agronomists, dairy producers, dairy advisors and anyone interested in mastitis control and milk quality Information: www.nmconline.org The CBMRN is supported by: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Alberta Milk Canadian Dairy Network Dairy Farmers of Canada Dairy Farmers of New Brunswick Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia Dairy Farmers of Ontario Dairy Farmers of Prince Edward Island Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Novalait inc. Public Health Agency of Canada Technology PEI Inc. Université de Montréal University of Prince Edward Island Une version française est également disponible. www.mastitisnetwork.org Page 6 de 6