Vet World Vol.13 November-2020 Article-19
Research Article
Veterinary World, 13(11): 2429-2435
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2020.2429-2435
Application of statistical process control for monitoring bulk tank milk somatic cell count of smallholder dairy farms
2. Veterinary Public Health Centre for Asia Pacific, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50100, Thailand.
3. Akkhraratchakumari Veterinary College, Walailak University, Nakorn Si Thammarat 80161, Thailand.
Background and Aim: Consistency in producing raw milk with less variation in bulk tank milk somatic cell count (BMSCC) is important for dairy farmers as their profit is highly affected by it in the long run. Statistical process control (SPC) is widely used for monitoring and detecting variations in an industrial process. Published reports on the application of the SPC method to smallholder farm data are very limited. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess the capability of the SPC method for monitoring the variation of BMSCC levels in milk samples collected from smallholder dairy farms.
Materials and Methods: Bulk tank milk samples (n=1302) from 31 farms were collected 3 times/month for 14 consecutive months. The samples were analyzed to determine the BMSCC levels. The SPC charts, including the individual chart (I-chart) and the moving range chart (MR-chart), were created to determine the BMSCC variations, out of control points, and process signals for each farm every month. The interpretation of the SPC charts was reported to dairy cooperative authorities and veterinarians.
Results: Based on a set of BMSCC values as well as their variance from SPC charts, a series of BMSCC data could be classified into different scenarios, including farms with high BMSCC values but with low variations or farms with low BMSCC values and variations. Out of control points and signals or alarms corresponding to the SPC rules, such as trend and shift signals, were observed in some of the selected farms. The information from SPC charts was used by authorities and veterinarians to communicate with dairy farmers to monitor and control BMSCC for each farm.
Conclusion: This study showed that the SPC method can be used to monitor the variation of BMSCC in milk sampled from smallholder farms. Moreover, information obtained from the SPC charts can serve as a guideline for dairy farmers, dairy cooperative boards, and veterinarians to manage somatic cell counts in bulk tanks from smallholder dairy farms. Keywords: bulk milk somatic cell count, control chart, dairy farm, smallholder, statistical process control.
Keywords: bulk milk somatic cell count, control chart, dairy farm, smallholder, statistical process control.
How to cite this article: Punyapornwithaya V, Sansamur C, Singhla T, Vinitchaikul P (2020) Application of statistical process control for monitoring bulk tank milk somatic cell count of smallholder dairy farms, Veterinary World, 13(11): 2429-2435.
Received: 25-06-2020 Accepted: 09-10-2020 Published online: 13-11-2020
Corresponding author: Veerasak Punyapornwithaya E-mail: veerasak.p@cmu.ac.th
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2020.2429-2435
Copyright: Punyapornwithaya, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.