The link between clean raw milk and product quality
Researchers at Cornell University offer a perspective on producer premium programs. They find that premiums for raw milk quality may deliver financial benefits to dairy processors.
A number of tests have been used traditionally to evaluate the quality of raw milk, including, but not limited to, somatic cell counts (SCC), different types of bacterial counts including the standard plate count (SPC) and tests for the presence of drug residues and added water.
The link between different raw milk quality parameters and the economics of dairy product processing and distribution is often not clear or well documented however, which poses a challenge for the development and implementation of financial incentive systems rewarding production of higher-quality raw milk.