New iPhone App Can Test Somatic Cell Count

Sep 18, 2012

Dairy Farmers Can Now Test SCC with ‘Milk Guardian’ Kit

In order to ensure milk quality, dairy farmers are always testing their milk. One of the factors when conducting milk quality testing is looking at somatic cell count (SCC). Testing SCC is a process that is conducted in the milk bulk tank on-farm prior to being collected by the milk truck to take to the processing plant. Dairy Quality Inc. a company based out of Queensville, Ontario has created a new device called the “Milk Guardian” that tests SCC in the milk parlor using the Guardian and an iPhone.

How does it work?

First, a milk sample is taken from the cow and put into the Milk Guardian slide chamber where it will mix the sample with a substance to create a chemical reaction that will measure the SCC. Then the imaging technology in the device will scan the milk. An image of the scan will appear on the iPhone camera and will be analysed by the app. Once this happens, the SCC results are displayed on the iPhone within seconds.

The Milk Guardian kit will be debuted at this year’s World Dairy Expo held in Madison, Wisconsin from October 2-6. The price of the kit – the device, app and the slides will be announced at the expo. The President of Dairy Quality, Gary Jonas says that the Milk Guardian device will be significantly less than the current 'semi-portable' devices out on the market.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.