Dr. Allan Bringe

The milking lab owes its existence to the perseverance of Dr. Alan Bringe who saw the national and international need for a center of excellence for engineering aspects of machine milking and relentlessly petitioned the UW College of Ag and Life Sciences to develop this area of expertise.  This effort was responsible for the creation of a milking technology extension position in the Department of Agricultural Engineering, which was eventually filled by Doug Reinemann.  These events coincided with the generous support of Bou-Matic, which contributed release time of their new Director of Research Graeme Mein to serve as affiliate faculty of Dairy Science and founding father of the milking lab.

Dr. Allan Bringe began his service to the University of Wisconsin on February 1, 1959 and retired on July 5, 1994. Except for a two-year leave to complete his Ph. D., he served continuously as a member of the Dairy Science faculty. One mark of a career leader is a crescendo of activity and development that grows without abatement. Certainly, this characterizes the career of Allan Bringe. Dr. Bringe made many contributions to the Wisconsin Dairy Industry through the Dairy Science Department, the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and Cooperative Extension at University of Wisconsin-Extension.

After completing his Ph.D. in 1968, Allan worked in the areas of milk quality, mastitis, herd health, and milking management. Under Allan's leadership, Wisconsin became the leader in development of the somatic cell testing program in cooperation with the Wisconsin Dairy Herd Improvement Cooperative. Allan was instrumental in helping Wisconsin Dairies become the first dairy cooperative to base quality premium payments to producers on somatic cell count. In addition, Allan helped Wisconsin Dairies become the first major dairy cooperative to successfully put both quality premiums and protein payments on a differential basis. Not only do the premiums enable the cooperative to buy higher quality milk, but they also obtain milk with higher cheese yield value. Bringe provided the same advice to other cooperatives and virtually all of them developed quality premium programs based on somatic cell count. These premiums rewarded producers for producing high quality milk and they contributed enormously to improving milk quality and cheese yields.

A 1987 survey found that state average somatic cell count was 550,000 cells per mI. By 1992, the state average had dropped to 300,000 and a substantial number of farms had lowered cell count to less than 100,000. This change reflects a considerable reduction in incidence of mastitis in herds throughout the state. Research has shown that this amount of reduction in cell count is associated with a 400 to 500 lb increase in milk yield per cow per year as a result of improved udder health. The total value of the increased production exceeds $50 million each year in Wisconsin dairy herds. Reduced disease incidence, improved cheese yield, and other economic factors perhaps double the value of this change in somatic cell count. This benefit is realized year after year and it continues to grow as producers achieve lower and lower levels of cell count. Although Allan did not accomplish this change single-handedly, it is clear that through his vision, energy, and position as extension dairy specialist, he mobilized the industry to attain this change.

Throughout his career, Allan developed innovative and highly effective educational programs. He conducted milking management seminars from 1975 to 1987 in all the major dairy counties. He held 20 to 25 of these two-day seminars each year with an average attendance of 75. That's a total participation of around 20,000! Participants were primarily producers but also included veterinarians, equipment dealers, and other professionals. These programs reached a high percentage of Wisconsin farms directly or indirectly. In presenting these seminars, Allan always involved a variety of local specialists as co-instructors: veterinarians, milk plant field representatives, milking equipment dealers, cleaning and sanitation specialists, and county agents. By involving. these local specialists as speakers, he made producers aware of local expertise and helped establish important linkages among people in the community.

Another Bringe innovation was the development of milk quality councils. Formation of the Milk Quality Councils began in 1987 to promote and provide education in quality milk production. Councils were organized in 36 counties. Again, Allan placed his emphasis on utilizing local expertise and developing contacts among people at the local level. One or more mastitis control teams were formed within a single- or multi- county area. These teams typically consisted of a veterinarian, milk plant field supervisor, and milking equipment dealer. County agents provided training and materials to the teams, which were then prepared to provide on-farm clinics at the township level. A recent study documented that this approach to education is more effective in changing producers' management practices than more traditional approaches.

During 1991 to 1994, Allan, in cooperation with other extension specialists, developed a new 3-day, in-depth, dairy planning conference. This program was designed for producers that were planning new barns and milking facilities. These programs attracted veterinarians, professional consultants, and equipment dealers, in addition to producers.

Allan's impact extended nationwide and worldwide. He served the National Mastitis Council as President, Vice-President, member of the board of directors, member of several important committees and founding President of the National Mastitis Research Foundation.  He was also a board member of the Production Division of American Dairy Science Association. Allan was quite active at the national level in drug residue avoidance programs. In 1992, he was member of a 6-person team that developed and delivered six 2-day regional training sessions for veterinarians and other professionals throughout the country. He was a member of a working committee of the American Veterinary Medical Association that planned and conducted a national five-day technology transfer session on residue avoidance in 1993. These are only the highlights of his numerous activities in the residue avoidance area. From 1991 to 1993, Dr. Bringe was U. S. Chair of the International Dairy Federation's Group 35: Factors Affecting the Yield of Cheese. In this role, he was member of the planning committee for an international symposium on factors affecting yield of cheese that was held in Ireland in 1993.

The high quality and productivity of Allan's work has been recognized by numerous organizations. In 1984, he received the Distinguished Service Award of the National Mastitis Council. The Wisconsin Association of County Agents presented their Second Mile Award to Allan in 1987.  The American Dairy Science Association presented their DeLaval Award for Excellence in Dairy Extension to Allan in 1988. This is the highest award presented to dairy extension specialists in the US. In 1992, Allan was recognized by University of Wisconsin-Extension with the Career Extension Award.

Allan Bringe has an exemplary record of service as an extension specialist, citizenship to University of Wisconsin, as well as a long list of service to government agencies and industry groups. He is a strong team player and an individual of high integrity, dedication, selflessness, and commitment and his programs had an enormous impact on the dairy industry of Wisconsin.