Testdays

Check the Overview tab for a quick look at your herd's performance on testday. You can easily identify whether there are differences between your animals' performance this year and last year or differences between lactation groups.

• Performance Comparison: Use this table to view information about your herd's milking behavior. The table displays high-level information about your herd from the current day, data from a month ago, and data from a year ago.
• By Lactation Group: Use this graph to view your current herd's milk production data categorized by lactation group. Hover over the different colored sections of the bar to view information about each lactation group, such as the milking animal count, total milk production, average milk production per animal, and the number of animals that have a high SCC.

Check the Milk tab to view milk production in actual pounds (lbs) and standardization tools, such as Energy Corrected Milk (ECM) and Fat Corrected Milk (FCM Current fat corrected milk). You can view the data by lactation group in the Herd Milk Distribution graph or by pen in the Milk by Pen graph:

• Herd Milk Distribution: Use this graph to view how much milk was produced by lactation group. Hover over each different colored section of any bar to view how much milk each lactation group contributed to the milk total. You can also hover over any point on the Average Milk line to view the average amount of milk produced on the testday.
• Milk by Pen: Use this table to view the milking data by pen. You'll see straightforward information like the total amount of milk produced by the pen, as well as calculations like FCM and ECM. PULSE calculates these values based on industry standard formulas that utilize percent fat and protein along with milk weight.

Check the Components tab to track the composition of your herd's milk from a single testday and determine if adjustments to your animals' feed are needed.

• Herd Components Distribution: Hover over the different colored bars to view how much fat and protein each lactation group produced. You can also hover over any point on the Avg % Fat line or Avg % Protein line to view the average amount of fat and protein produced by all the lactation groups.
• Components by Pen: The table displays components (fat and protein) by pen. You can view the average percentage of milkfat and protein produced by each animal in the pen, as well as the total amount of fat and protein produced by each pen.

Check the SCC tab to track the somatic cell count in your herd's milk from a single testday. SCC is an indicator of milk quality, as most somatic cells found in milk are white blood cells, which are produced as an immune response to an infection. Generally, lower SCC values point to better animal health and milk quality.

• Herd Somatic Cell Count Distribution: Use this bar graph to view the SCC in your herd's milk. Hover over the different colors of each bar to view the amount of animals that have the corresponding SCC. You can also hover over any point on the % of Herd line to view the percentage of animals in the herd that produce milk with a high SCC.
  NOTE: An SCC value over 200,000 is considered high. This value is shown by the system as "200" because it's divided by 1000 to make it easier to manage.
• Estimated SCC% Contribution by Pen: The table displays SCC information for the entire herd by pen. On this table, you can view the average SCC on a per-animal basis, the percent of the pen with a SCC>200, and the actual number of animals that have a high SCC in the pen. Additionally, you can see the exact percentage that each pen contributes to the herd's total SCC to quickly determine whether a single pen is responsible for an elevated SCC. You can also see the linear score for the pen. (The linear score is a log of somatic cell count that increases the accuracy of calculations containing somatic cell count).
• Estimated SCC% Contribution by Animal: The table displays SCC data for each animal in the herd. On this table, you can view straightforward information like the animal's current SCC and the number of tests where the animal had a high SCC (more than 200,000 somatic cells/mL milk). Additionally, you can see how the animal compares to the rest of the herd by viewing its relative value and linear score. You can also see the exact percentage that each animal contributes to the herd's total SCC to quickly determine the individual animal’s impact on the overall milk quality.

Check the Infections tab to learn more about the infected animals in your herd on a single testday.

• Herd Infections Distribution: Use this bar graph to view the percentage of infected animals in your herd based on the animals' days in milk or the animals' lactation group. Hover over each colored bar to view the percentage of infected animals in each lactation group.
• Fresh Cow Infections and Milking Cow Infections: The Fresh Cow Infections table displays all fresh animals that currently have infections and whose DIM Days in milk is 40 days or less, and the Milking Cow Infections table displays all milking animals that currently have infections and whose DIM is 41 days or more. You can quickly view an animal's current and previous SCC test results, as well as the animal's number of high SCC test results and low SCC test results. Additionally, you can view the milk mature equivalent amount, calculated by external testers. You can filter the list to display animals by their infection status, defined below:
  • New: Animal previously had a normal SCC, but the animal now has a high SCC.
  • Degrading: Animal previously had a high SCC and the animal now has an even higher SCC.
  • Improving: Animal previously had a high SCC and the animal now has a lower SCC, but it's still higher than normal.
  • Recovering: Animal previously had a high SCC and the animal now has a normal SCC.

Check the MUN Milk Urea Nitrogen tab to monitor the urea nitrogen level in your herd's milk on a single testday. Milk urea nitrogen values are used to monitor the way an animal utilizes nutrients from the diet. Urea is produced in the liver from ammonia derived from the breakdown of protein in the rumen and from normal daily metabolism. If bacteria in the rumen cannot capture the ammonia and convert it to protein, the excess ammonia is absorbed and converted to urea to prevent toxicity. This urea is excreted in urine, manure, and milk, and can be quantified in the testday milk samples.

• Herd Milk Urea Nitrogen Distribution: Use this bar graph to view the distribution of MUN values on a herd-level basis. Hover over the colored bars to see the number of animals in each lactation group that produced the corresponding MUN value.
• Average MUN by Pen: The table displays the average MUN value on a pen basis, along with corresponding DIM and milk production data.
• Average Days in Milk by MUN: The table displays the corresponding average DIM for the range of MUN values, categorized by lactation group. The MUN value is listed at the top of the table and the lactation groups are listed on the left side of the table. The corresponding average DIM is listed in the table.

Check the Mature Equivalent tab to view your herd's Mature Equivalent data. The Mature Equivalent is a standardization tool that projects fat, protein, and milk production values when the lactation record is adjusted for age at freshening, frequency of milking, and stage of lactation. This allows for comparisons between lactation groups and helps project the future direction of the herd’s performance.

• Herd Mature Equivalent Milk Trends: The line graph displays the calculated mature equivalent values by lactation group over time. Each line represents a different lactation group. Hover over the points of the line to view the calculated Mature Equivalent value by the corresponding lactation group during each month.
• Mature Equivalent Rank Distribution: Use this graph to identify how many animals fall in each ranking category (A, B, C and D) for milk, fat, and protein. Hover over the different colored horizontal bars to view the exact number of animals for each rank:
  • Rank A: Ranks at least 10% above the average herdmates.
  • Rank B: Ranks between 1 to 10% above the average herdmates.
  • Rank C: Ranks between 0 to -9% below the average herdmates.
  • Rank D: Ranks at least -10% below the average herdmates.
• Mature Equivalent Rankings: Use this table to view an animal's Mature Equivalent values including milk, fat, and protein, as well as her mature equivalent ranking against her herdmates.

The Results tab shows the full list of all records for each individual animal on a single testday. The following information is listed for each animal:

• Cow Number: Animal's ID Identifier number. Click the animal ID to view the animal's CowCard.
• Pen: Animal's pen number. Click the pen number to view more pen details.
• Lactation: Animal's current lactation number.
• DIM: Animal's days in milk.
• Milk: Amount of milk produced by the animal.
• Avg % Fat: Average percentage of milkfat produced by the animal.
• Avg % Protein: Average protein percentage produced by the animal.
• 305ME 305 day mature herd equivalent Milk: 305 day mature herd equivalent milk production.
• Relative Value: A percentage of the animal's 305ME Milk value normalized to the Herd Average 305ME Milk for that testday. If the animal's 305ME Milk is exactly the herd average for 305ME milk, the relative value is 100%. If the animal is above average, the relative value is over 100%. If the animal is below average, the relative value is less than 100%.
• SCC: Animal's somatic cell count.