MASTITIS - HOW MUCH IS IT COSTING YOU?
Mastitis has a major influence of the productivity of animals and is a costly problem for the New Zealand dairy industry.
The Dairy InSight study on the costs of mastitis for the 2004/2005 season determined that mastitis cost the then average NZ farmer with 315 cows producing 97,000 kg of milk solids and with an average BMSCCC of 212,000 cells/ml some $11,500 per year.But many costs have changed and this figure is now way outdated:
- Payout of $4.58 (2004/2005) now $7.20 (and hopefully climbing)
- $982 for a replacement versus $2,200 (and climbing!)
- No allowance was made for early drying off of cows to maintain compliance with the penalty BMSCC level of <400,000 cells/ml
The best practices for controlling mastitis under New Zealand conditions are defined in the SAMM Plan (Seasonal Approach to Managing Mastitis) available from your dairy company. This is based on the 5 principles of mastitis control being:
- Teat spraying
- Dry cow therapy
- Treat clinical cases during lactation
- Proper maintenance of the milking machine
- Cull problem cows
- To kill the mastitis bacteria on the teat so that they do not have a chance to enter the teat canal while it is still open after milking, and before it has a chance to close and physically prevent the bacteria from entering
- To assist in maintaining healthy smooth teats free from chaps, cracks or sores
The risk of mastitis increases dramatically if teats are not smooth and healthy.
Areas of damaged skin are good hiding places for bacteria to escape the action of the teat spray.
And sore teats make cows uncomfortable during milking, increasing the likelihood of cup slipping and squawking.
Cup slip allows the mastitis bacteria to be thrown against the teat end under vacuum and has been shown to dramatically increase the risk of infection.
Teat skin may become irritated or cracked in wet, cold, windy conditions. Adding emollient to the teat spray helps to protect them against irritation under adverse conditions.
Teat spraying has been shown in many studies to reduce new mastitis infections, typically by 50-60%. And the evidence from New Zealand studies is just as compelling. A major Dexcel trial in the Waikato during the 2000/2001 dairy season (Woolford et al, in press) involved leaving experimental animals unsprayed within 5 dairy herds. The results demonstrated that spraying teats with sanitiser after milking reduced new intramammary infections with major pathogens from 58-75%.
Conclusion: Teat spraying results in a large decrease in new mastitis infections.
And this study also showed a significant reduction in the Bulk Milk Somatic Cell Count with the sprayed groups showing reductions across the season in the range 33-58%. The average BMSCC for all herds for 4 herd tests was 314,000 cells/ml for the unsprayed cows and 182,000 cells/ml for the sprayed group.
Conclusion: Teat spraying results in large decrease in Bulk Milk Somatic Cell Count.
The essentials of teat spraying are:
- Use an approved teat spray (the label will advise that it has passed Protocol A evaluation)
- Use teat spray after EVERY milking
- Ensure that the whole surface of the teat is sprayed
- Use a teat spray and emollient that suits your conditions and that maintains teats in a healthy and supple condition. Many users report superior teat condition from neutral pH sanitisers such as chlorhexidine
- Increase the levels of emollient over the Spring period in line with the manufacturer's recommendations
