Individual cow cultures can be used to screen a herd for contagious pathogens, determine causes and treatment strategies for clinical cases and evaluate treatment protocol success or failure.  Individual cultures are most useful if used in combination with AgSource bulk tank cultures.

A variety of individual cow cultures are available to meet the needs of every producer.

Staph Cultures

These cultures only identify the presence of Staph species and Staph aureus.  This test is valuable to screen for cows infected with Staph aureus.

Staph and Strep Cultures

These cultures screen for Staph aureus and Staph species as well as Strep species and Strep agalactiae.  For producers with milk quality problems associated with contagious pathogens, this culture will identify those animals that should be treated, segregated or culled.

Mycoplasma Cultures

These cultures identify cows infected with Mycoplasma species.  Cows positive for Mycoplasma should be culled to prevent additional cows from becoming infected.

Individual Cow Cultures

The most complete culture, this culture screens for all types of mastitis-causing pathogens except Mycoplasma species.  This culture is valuable if a producer is combating a variety of bacteria or determining effective treatment strategies.

Sensitivity Analysis

After mastitis-causing bacteria are isolated, AgSource offers sensitivity tests to determine resistance patterns for eight different antibiotics.  While lab results do not always have the same effectiveness in the cow's udder, if a pathogen is resistant to an antibiotic in the lab, the producer can avoid using this antibiotic, and instead, choose one that is more likely to be successful in treating the infection.

For more information on taking individual cow cultures, culture reports and sensitivity analysis, click here.