The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has recognized 136 dairy farms across the state for producing high quality milk.

The annual list is a compilation of the top dairy herds with somatic cell counts under 100,000 cells/ml. Somatic cell count is an indicator of milk quality. Low SCC milk helps provide longer shelf life for bottled milk and it influences the ripening and quality of cheese.

SCCs are not a food safety concern, yet dairy farmers monitor them because they can be used as a measure of the health of their cows. Milk samples taken from bulk tanks are tested for SCCs and other quality indicators, as well as for drug residues.

Minnesota dairy farms recognized for highest quality milk

Milk processors also pay a premium for milk with low counts. A farmer whose herd has a very low count can receive a higher price per hundredweight compared to a farmer whose SCC herd average is high.

According to the National Dairy Herd Improvement Association data, the average SCC was Minnesota 245,000 cells/ml in 2015 among herds enrolled in its testing program. Nationally, the average SCC for last year was 200,000 cells/ml, which is way below the national maximum level of 750,000 cells/ml per farm.

For more than a decade, MDA and University of Minnesota Extension dairy educators have worked with dairy farmers to lower SCCs. When the initiative began in 2003, the 100 herds honored that year included those with SCC averages as high as 144,000, compared to the current goal of obtaining a SCC under 100,000.

The top 25 Minnesota dairy herds that were recognized by MDA with the lowest somatic cell counts are:

Jeff & Wendy Middendorf, Stearns County; Dan & Jolene Schlangen, Stearns County; Minnesota Zoo, Dakota County; Roger, Laura & Joshua Primus, Todd County; Randy & Kathy Bauer, Rice County; Jeff Blenker, Stearns County; Suzanne Jacobs, Otter Tail County; Soo Line Dairy, Inc., Stearns County; Jon & Wendy Meyer, Wabasha County; Marshall & Melanie Korn, Kandiyohi County; James R Hesse, Carver County; Dennis & Wayne Wolters, Morrison County; Gregory Dairy LLC, Stearns County; Dean & Elizabeth Johnson, Cottonwood County; Keith Middendorf, Todd County; Rueben & Janice Stommes, Stearns County; Hieserich Farm, Stearns County; Joe & Kim Engelmeyer, Stearns County; Mark & Barbara Massman, Todd County; Ryan Knisley, Kandiyohi  County; Anthony & Matt Berktold, Wabasha County; Mark Klehr, Scott County; Colleen Hauser, Brown County; Shir-Man Holsteins II, Fillmore County; Schmitt Dairy, Inc., Benton County.

The complete list of Minnesota dairy farms is online at www.mda.state.mn.us/lowscc.