Work with your vet to create an Animal Wellbeing Plan. The mastitis section of your plan should also include a treatment plan, and set out preventative actions around hygiene, teat care and milking machine functionality.
TAKING ACTION
What you can do
Create an Animal Wellbeing Plan
Set targets
Set targets with your farm’s vet based on an acceptable number of mastitis cases for your farm – and actions to take if that number is exceeded.
Have a treatment plan
Treat infected cows early. Separate them from the rest of the herd until they recover. Include pain relief in your treatment plan. Animals that are treated with pain relief recover faster and have better reproductive performance.
Take a preventative approach
Use gloves and effectively apply teat spray to cows’ udders after milking. Avoid using high-pressure hoses near just-milked cows to prevent bacteria-laden droplets reaching from their udders. Ensure milking machines are functioning correctly and are serviced annually. Replace liners after 2500 milkings. Each milking, check vacuum, airholes, cluster alignment and rubberware.
Brief your team
Ensure your farm team knows the importance of early diagnosis and are aware of how to carry out good hygiene practices on-farm. Animals that are identified and effectively treated earlier recover faster.
Keep good records
Know your true number of mastitis cases by keeping accurate records. Record key dates for actions into your Animal Wellbeing Plan. Keep track of and monitor cases of mastitis in your herd.
What you can do
Give your team a copy each of your Animal Wellbeing Plan and highlight elements of the plan regularly at team meetings, focusing on mastitis levels and actions as part of this approach. Use your team office whiteboard to list mastitis-specific information and actions and update these regularly.
Find your focus
Ask your vet for information in the first instance. You can also use your Farm Insights Report to look at mastitis rates to see how your farm compares to others in your area or region.
Know what to look for
Train your team on how to spot clinical mastitis early. Common indicators include swollen quarter and quarter not milking out properly, bulk milk somatic cell count spikes, and clots on filter socks. Stripping cows by hand onto a dark surface is also a good way the check for clinical signs of mastitis.
Check cows regularly
Monitor cows’ teat ends. If they appear rough or damaged, it could be the result of over-milking, poor machine function or inadequate teat spraying practices. Regularly test milk samples to identify pathogens. Check the effectiveness of the antibiotics being used on-farm.
What you can do
Talk to your vet about managing any health issues. Use your team office whiteboard to list mastitis-specific information and actions and update these regularly. You can also visit DairyNZ’s website to find out how to keep accurate health records, identify sick cows, and manage their treatment.
Get support
Speak with your vet during your animal wellbeing consult about how you and your team can improve health outcomes for your animals. You can access specialised milk quality support, which is available for Co-op farmers.
What you can do
Booking a visit with a Milk Quality Manager , they will meet you on-farm to provide advice on opportunities to reduce bulk somatic cell count or save time in the milking shed.
TOOLS AND INFORMATION
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BENEFITS
What's the opportunity for your farm?
Productivity
Animals that are sick need to use their energy to heal, which affects their production. A healthier herd can produce at their full potential – leading to less lost milking days, or loss of milk that’s unfit to be collected. Research shows that there’s a 2.1% loss in milk production for every doubling of somatic cell count (SCCs) over 100,000 cells/ml. If most farmers could achieve under 100,000 cells/ml, this would have a positive impact on per cow production.
Profitability
Fewer animal treatments needed means less time and money wasted. Reducing the number of clinical cases can lead to cost savings, as less restricted veterinary medicines are required. You’ll also avoid losing revenue lost during milk withholding periods.
Sustainability
More milk is produced relative to inputs, which can help lower emissions intensity. If farmers could increase their per cow production by 7.5% by 2030, by actions such as maintaining better cow health, (without raising inputs), this will help us to meet those targets.
Get in touch
Have a question? We’re here to help
Talk with your vet or about managing milk quality and mastitis on your farm.
Or call our Farmer Support Team on 0800 65 65 68 for more options.