Mastitis in Dairies

 Mastitis is the single most costly dairy disease - with the overall cost of clinical mastitis estimated at roughly 100-dollars per case. That’s caused by lost milk production, discarded milk and the costs of treatment and extra labor.

 With that in mind - Pfizer Animal Health Quality Milk Manager Kevin Zieser says it might be time for dairy producers to re-evaluate their mastitis protocol: “Producers need to make sure that they’re getting the maximum production out of their cows and the best way to do that is to keep them healthy. Dairy wellness is key. In tough economic time, if producers cut back on treatment and get more mastitis incidents, that’s a double edged sword. Often a simple evaluation of milking procedures can lead to an additional $50-$300 additional income per cow.”

  He suggests thinking about mastitis losses like a furnace in the home. If an evaluation shows heat loss - there is the potential for savings - and the homeowner would be motivated to get that fixed. So it is - Zieser says - with mastitis: “Pocessors like high quality milk and this leads to better taste, freshness to the consumer and they’re will ing to pay for it. In my daily activities, I see anywhere from 5 – 30 cents per hundred for high quality milk. If we don’t cure these cows we have to cull them.”