CASE STUDY TWO. 
KINNARD FARMS.
Interviews From: Brent Eisenmen, Parlor Manager
By: Angelina Bertino
Date: 8/27/12
BACKGROUND:
In 1946, Mildred and Alvin Kinnard established Kinnard Farms with a herd of just 14 cows. In the late 1960’s, they expanded the herd to 180 cows and maintained that herd size until their son Rod returned to the farm. Then in the mid 1980’s, Rod’s brother Lee joined the operation and they built a free stall barn and milking parlor to accommodate their 220-240 cattle.
Today, Kinnard Farms continues to expand and they have a state-of-the-art facility and are milking 2,200 cows three times a day. In August 2010, they installed The FutureCow Teatscrubber.
BEFORE THE TEATSCRUBBER:
Before the installation of The FutureCow Teatscrubber, the Kinnard’s were milking 1,800 cows and they had 3 people in the pit with one pusher. Their average somatic cell count was 250,000. In the hospital pen they were at 2.5% due to cows treated for mastitis. They had more treated cows and a higher mastitis rate then they do today. In June 2010 prior to installing the FutureCow Teatscrubber, their new cases of mastitis were at an 8% new infection rate.
WITH THE FUTURECOW TEATSCRUBBER:
As of July 2012, Kinnard Farms was milking 2,200 cows with the same 3 people and one pusher in the pit and are currently milking faster than they were with only 1,800 cows. They are using the same double 36 Westfalia Surge parlor they were using before the installation. Today, their average somatic cell count is 175,000 and their average standard plate count is 1. In addition, the average new infection rate was down to 6 % in 2011 from 8% in 2010. Seventy-five percent of those cases are treatable using only supportive therapy with only 25% requiring antibiotics. The hospital pen has been reduced from 2.5% in 2010 to 1% in 2012.
Somatic Cell Count Data
| Date | 6 Month Average |
|---|---|
| Jan. 2010 – June 2010 | 228,000 |
| June 2010 – Dec. 2010 | 218,000 |
| Jan. 2011 – June 2011 | 200,000 |
| July 2011 – Dec. 2011 | 223,000 |
| Jan. 2012 – June 2012 | 199,000 |
Mastitis Cases Based on Yearly Percentage
| Date | Percentage of New Cases |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 8% |
| 2011 | 6% |
| 2012 | 6% |
Kinnard Farm’s Parlor Manager Brent Eisenmen works with the FutureCow Teatscrubber on a daily basis and says that the results from using the teatscrubber speaks for themselves. They were such strong advocates of the FutureCow Teatscrubber that they went against the advice of Andy Johnson, (“The Udder Doctor”), a well-known and respected vet who specializes in udders. The FutureCow Teatscrubber has now made The Udder Doctor a believer of the product as well.
Kinnard Farms is looking to the future and is planning on installing The FutureCow Teatscrubber Prep System on their new double 60 parallel parlor expected to be completed in 2013.