Dr. Humberto Monardes is currently Professor of Animal Breeding and Genetics and Academic Director of the Global Food Security Program in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of McGill University. His research and teaching in dairy cattle genetics and milk quality, as well as his expertise in animal recording has led to his international involvement with farmers associations, governments and universities in Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay). He has directed various institutional cooperation projects and technology transfer projects funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Ministère des Relations Internationales du Québec to provide training and support to Argentinean and Brazilian dairy farmers. Project mandates also included community capacity building and the development of field services, research, teaching and extension capabilities in local universities. Dr. Monardes is currently participating in developmental activities in Guatemala, the Ukraine, China and Paraguay. He is a permanent consultant for the Brazilian Council on Milk Quality and the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, and a member of the Board of Directors of Valacta – the Canadian Centre d’Expertise en Production Laitière. He is a strong advocate of improving smallholder and rational livestock production to enhance food security and environmental sustainability.

Mastitis, the inflammation of the mammary gland, is the most important disease affecting dairy cows. Somatic cells in milk are indicators of mastitis and in large numbers they affect not just cow health but milk quality and shelf life of dairy products. To monitor milk quality and cow health, somatic cells must be routinely counted in cows and bulk tanks. Building large field data banks in developing countries for farm management, assisting on the study of these data banks and performing collaborative research at local universities are essential initiatives to ensure the advance of any milk production system and the supply of the market with high quality products.