The average cost of a severe case of mastitis is estimated to be around £300 when taking in to account treatments, labour and lost milk. When combined with the costs of subclinical mastitis this can run into thousands of pounds across the herd in medicines, lost yield and SCC penalties.
There are a huge number of factors which can impact on mastitis and it can be tricky to know what to focus on when looking into an issue. The Mastitis Control Plan is a systematic approach to investigating mastitis and explores every aspect of dairy cow husbandry and the milking routine, with the aim of generating key areas to target.
The first step in investigating any issue is an analysis of the data – on farm mastitis case records and milk recording figures are run through a computer programme which will help pinpoint where the majority of infections are originating from. This will guide where the investigation needs to be focused and then where management changes will made. While there may be more than one area flagged up, the three main patterns we see are:
- Dry Period Origin – the dry cow environment
- Lactation Period Origin, Environmental – the milking cow environment
- Lactation Period Origin, Contagious – the milking routine
These patterns may also vary according to the season. The blue line on the graph represents mastitis cases occurring in the first 30 days after calving, the majority of which can be attributed to infections picked up during the dry period.
This data shows the mastitis cases of dry period origin are under control in the summer months but are well above target (orange line) during the winter. This data would direct the mastitis investigation into the winter housing, dry cow environment, drying off techniques and protocols as well as fresh cow management.
Milk sampling and culture of clinical cases and / or high cell count cows also provides useful insight into where the problem may lie. Certain bacteria are known environmental pathogens while others are known to spread cow to cow at milking.
With this information to hand, the next step of the plan will be the vet doing an on-farm visit where detailed observations and measurements are carried out in conjunction with an in[1]depth questionnaire. It is important that we look at every aspect of cow and heifer management and areas you would not necessarily associate directly with udder health. Parlour routine is observed and a dynamic parlour assessment using Vadia recorders is undertaken to assess milk flow and the effects of the parlour equipment on the cows.
The result of the observations and assessments are a bespoke set of realistic, practical recommendations and action points for that farm to reduce mastitis levels. The plan deliverer will then prioritise the actions with the farmer and categorise implementing any changes into ‘must’, ‘should’ and ‘could’ do. There is now very strong evidence from the 1000s of plans undertaken nationwide, that the plan can reliably deliver results if the recommendations are adhered to.
Success Story
One dairy farm milking 180 cows where we undertook a mastitis control plan, dropped mastitis cases from 87 per 100 cows to 6 cases per 100 cows over a two-year period and has now managed to maintain that level by continuing to adhere to the recommendations made in the initial plan.
Sounds good, who do I contact?
At Synergy we have several vets across the regions trained in delivering the Mastitis Control Plan. Please speak to your routine vet in the first instance or give us a call at the practice and we would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
A full plan costs £1440 which can be spread over 12 months (£120/month). Given each case of mastitis costs £300 you would only need to save 5 cases in the first 12 months to see a return on your investment.
There are also various funding streams available to help offset the costs of a mastitis plan such as the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway Reviews and the Farming Resilience fund. Please speak to your vet for more information.
Claire Rudd BVetMed MRCVS East Regional Lead Veterinary Surgeon
