Recycled manure solids (RMS) represent a cost-effective, sustainable bedding source. But potentially high pathogen levels, risk of high somatic cell counts (SCC) and environmental mastitis can increase with the use of RMS if not managed properly, which could prevent future adoption of it as a bedding source. Here’s what you need to know about using RMS and what the future holds.

Current methods of controlling environmental mastitis in RMS.

The current methods of controlling pathogens in RMS have significant drawbacks. With composting, the baseline challenge is reduced but outgrowth is not prevented. With hydrated lime, you risk employee health and safety while requiring additional labor. With acid-based products, you get limited protection and risk employee health. Both acid and lime products can also present long-term risks to soil pH.

A better way with Bacillus.

At The ScienceHearted Center in Waukesha, Wis., our team has been characterizing and quantifying mastitis causing organisms in bedding samples from across the United States for the past several years. Understanding what organisms are in bedding and how they function in dairy systems was a crucial starting point for this research.

From there, we turned our attention to evaluating the effect of adding Bacillus to RMS as a form of pathogen management. Bacillus are beneficial, spore-forming bacteria, so they are stable in various environments, and some Bacillus strains have the ability to produce a variety of anti-microbial compounds.

Inhibition activity of our proprietary Bacillus strains, which have been selected for their ability to produce antimicrobial peptides, was evaluated against representative mastitis-causing organisms isolated from bedding samples in our culture collection. Then, the most effective strains at inhibiting pathogen growth were selected for inclusion in bedding applications.

Introducing CERTILLUS Eco Dairy Bedding.

Our target herds for the initial investigation were dairies bedding with ‘green’ RMS. Green meaning the solids coming off the screw press were not subjected to any additional composting or heating steps, and the product was applied at single location after the screw press. These sites were applying new bedding multiple times per week into deep bedded stalls.

Studies were conducted on five commercial dairies, the first four focused on green solids, while the fifth focused on composted RMS. The dairies ranged in size from 250 to 800 cows. Assessing the data from the five dairies the average counts of E. coli, coliforms, Klebsiella and group D streptococci decreased with CERTILLUS™ Eco Dairy Bedding, our newest #ScienceHearted solution.

With the decrease in target pathogen populations, we also observed a decrease in bulk tank SCC with the bedding treatment application on all five demo sites, as well as a decrease in average monthly mastitis events with the bedding treatment application on four of the five trial sites.

CERTILLUS™ Eco Dairy Bedding is now in use on 20 dairies across 6 different U.S. states. The team at ARM & HAMMER™ is currently testing different product formats and application methods as well as generating data in different types of RMS handling systems.

The future of pathogen reduction in RMS.

Thanks to ARM & HAMMER’s Bacillus strains selected to inhibit mastitis-causing organisms, you can safely and effectively control pathogens in RMS with CERTILLUS Eco Dairy Bedding. To learn more about how you can reduce pathogen loads in bedding, reduce bulk tank SCC and ultimately reduce incidences of mastitis with this new #ScienceHearted solution, contact your ARM & HAMMER sales rep or check out my recent episode of Food Chain Chats.