More than 420 milk quality, mastitis and udder health researchers, dairy producers and dairy industry partners attended the National Mastitis Council (NMC) 53rd Annual Meeting held Jan. 26-28, in Fort Worth, Texas. The event upheld its tradition of offering a platform for international discussion and sharing research on milk quality innovation and expertise.

As in the past, the 2014 event continued to hold global appeal. In addition to a large contingency of U.S. representation, approximately 28 percent of the 2014 attendees represented 23 different countries other than the United States.

Discussions at this year’s meeting included analytical approaches to managing mastitis, treatment and non-treatment approaches to control mastitis, and global milk quality updates. The featured symposium focused on technologies for mastitis detection and management with topics on molecular diagnostics, PCR-based tests and automated milk differential cell count. In addition to these sessions, attendees had the opportunity to take 11 different short courses. More than 60 percent of the meeting attendees enrolled in these additional learning opportunities.

Rounding out this year’s agenda was a technology transfer session where researchers shared cutting edge information and solutions for the future of mastitis control. Fifty posters were presented for review and knowledge sharing.

All of the sessions offered attendees an opportunity to network, discuss global milk quality challenges and share valuable experiences with others who are interested in quality milk production. Participants at this year’s meeting also had the opportunity to earn continuing education credits.