Dairy Farms Around Bhopal: A Yearly Herd Testing Calendar

A dairy herd faces different risks in summer, in the rains and in winter, so the lab checks that help most change with the season. Udder tests, dung tests, tick fever checks and brucellosis screening each fit a time of year. This is a way of thinking about herd testing with your vet, not a fixed schedule.

Why plan tests by season?

Disease follows the weather. Heat changes how much animals eat and drink, damp ground favours worms and ticks, and cold nights stress calves. A farmer who tests only after an animal falls ill is always one step behind. A few well-timed checks let your vet spot trouble earlier and show whether the herd is improving from one year to the next.

Records matter as much as tests. Note the date, the animal numbers and the result each time, and keep every report together.

Summer: heat and milk quality

In the hot months, animals that are stressed eat less, give less milk and are slower to come into heat. Milk can also spoil faster, so cleanliness at milking matters. This is a good time to ask your vet about:

• the udder check, the Mastitis Test (CMT) & Somatic Cell Count, especially if the milk looks watery or has flakes
• milk quality checks if you sell to a dairy or to households
• a general blood check for animals that are thin or have stopped breeding

The Milk Quality & Adulteration Pack groups several milk checks for farmers, vendors and cooperatives. Results are for your information and do not replace official food-safety testing.

The rains: ticks, worms and infections

The rains bring ticks, flies and wet ground. Tick fever becomes more likely, and so do worm burdens, foot problems and udder infections. Sudden deaths during the rains need a vet at once. Useful checks include:

• the Tick Fever Panel for Cattle & Buffalo (Theileriosis, Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis) for animals with fever, poor appetite, pale gums or falling milk
• the Fecal Worm Egg Count for Cattle & Buffalo on fresh dung, which shows whether worms are present before anyone decides on a treatment
• another udder test if cases of mastitis rise with the damp

After the rains and into winter: breeding and calves

Many farms plan breeding so that calves arrive in cooler months. This is the time to check animals that have not been conceiving, and to screen before animals join the herd. The Brucellosis Test (RBPT / ELISA) is a blood test for brucellosis, which can cause abortion and can pass to people through milk and birth fluids. Wash hands and wear gloves when handling birth material. New animals brought in from elsewhere are often tested before they mix with the herd.

Winter also brings calf problems such as scours and chest infections. Calves need good first milk, and a vet can check whether they took in enough.

What if your farm is far from the city?

Farms in Sehore, Raisen, Vidisha and Rajgarh can send samples by courier, bus parcel or through the local vet, after booking with the lab. Your vet usually draws blood and collects dung and milk correctly. Fresh, clearly labelled samples give the most useful results.

How should you keep it practical?

Choose two or three checks that answer the biggest worries on your farm, test a few typical animals and not every animal, and repeat the same checks the next year so that you can compare. Ask your vet to read each report with you, and write down what was decided. A registered veterinarian reads the results together with the animals' signs, feeding and history, so a number on a report is never the whole story.

Read next

For a broad list of the tests dairy farmers meet, read Lab Tests Every Dairy Farmer Should Know About. To look beyond the blood smear for tick fever, see Tick Fever RT-PCR in Cattle and Buffalo: Beyond the Smear.

Testing in Bhopal

The lab is at C-200, C Sector, Shahpura, Bhopal. Sample collection is free anywhere in Bhopal, and other districts can use courier, bus parcel or their vet. Call or WhatsApp +91 88175 01118; the lab confirms the method, sample needs and reporting time when you book.