Advanced Animal Diagnostics (AAD) updated its flagship QScout® Farm Lab with a time-saving autoloader feature that allows dairy employees to run up to 20 individual tests for diagnostic analysis without supervision.

An on-farm, portable diagnostic analyzer, QScout Farm Lab is designed to read a suite of animal health tests and provide producers with results in minutes. For example, the QScout MLD (milk leukocyte differential) test accurately detects subclinical mastitis in individual quarters long before symptoms occur by analyzing ratios of white blood cell types that fight infection. Additional livestock diagnostic tests are in development.

“The autoloader feature frees up labor while the QScout Farm Lab does the analysis and reporting for you, providing employees with accurate data and more time to act on the information,” says AAD Vice President of Marketing Allen Moczygemba. “With reliable results available so quickly, producers can make informed treatment and management decisions within minutes.”

To perform the QScout MLD, an easy-to-collect milk sample is transferred to an MLD test. Up to 20 individual tests can be placed into the QScout Farm Lab autoloader and left unattended during the diagnostic analysis. For each quarter, the screen displays a positive or negative diagnosis for subclinical mastitis in a few minutes per cow. Full data results are downloadable from the unit or online. The original, single-load model – QScout Farm Lab SL – also is available.

“Regardless of which model is right for your business, QScout Farm Lab puts employees in control of animal health and productivity, providing quick, quantitative, quality test results that remove the guesswork from scouting for hidden infections,” says Moczygemba.

In the field, QScout MLD is being used to accurately diagnose subclinical mastitis during early lactation and guide selective dry cow therapy by quarter.