What’s Happening #07 – Refractometers

The photo in today’s episode of What’s Happening was taken last year at a dairy farm outside of Hohhot, which is the capital of Inner Mongolia in China. We’re looking at – of course –a BRIX refractometer.  The device was at the maternity area and intended to estimate colostrum IgG concentration.

So, what’s happening? You can see the refractometer looks brand new.  In fact, it had been on the farm for a couple of months… in a drawer.  The managers read about the value of testing colostrum and thought this would be a great idea to monitor colostrum BRIX and improve the newborn calf program.  They particularly wanted to find poor quality samples and use them for second and third feedings. 

Unfortunately, the workers weren’t adequately trained on how to use the refractometer, or what to do with the information.  So, into the drawer it went.  It’s a bit like other devices that go unused…                          

In any event, the refractometer was used for a few days, then the workers who were testing the colostrum didn’t see any difference in the values, so they quit testing.  So, what’s really happening?

Here’s another example of exactly the same situation, but this time on a dairy farm in New York State in the United States.  Again, the workers tested colostrum, but didn’t understand what they were collecting or why or what the numbers meant.  So, after a while, they quit.  There are a couple of issues going on at both operations.  The first is the breakdown in communication between workers and managers.  A protocol such as measuring colostrum shouldn’t be abandoned because the workers don’t see any value in the data.  A conversation should have occurred between the calf manager and the farm manager.

How are BRIX values typically used?  Generally, not that well.  In the case of a farm in Indiana in the U.S., the birth record for each calf includes the sex of the calf, was it  a twin, and whether born alive, and times and dates of birth and each colostrum feeding, but no information about the quality of the colostrum fed.

This farm writes the date of colostrum collection and BRIX number on the bag and, theoretically, workers can select the highest BRIX bags for first feeding.  However, there’s no consistent method for recording the data and evaluating whether colostrum quality was satisfactory.

Here are a few resources if you’d like to take a “deeper dive” into the methods to monitor colostrum quality.  

The first, from Penn State Extension, reviews various colostrum management tools. Next, a nice article from Michigan State that reviews the use of the refractometer,  and finally, a more comprehensive review from Cornell. Of course, there are some great Calf Notes on the subject, too — #39, 183, and 236.  I think you’ll enjoy each of them.

Remember, calves crave good colostrum!

There is an old saying that you manage what you measure.  However, you also need to use what you measure and make decisions with the data.  Just measuring BRIX isn’t enough.  Collect the data and monitor changes in BRIX due to season, age of cows, and the workers collecting colostrum.  That’s it for today. Thanks for watching and see you next time!

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