What is Mastitis?
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Mastitis is the single most pervasive and costly disease faced by dairy producers today. Estimates of the total loss caused by this disease in the United States alone are approximately two billion dollars each year. Mastitis is found on even the most conscientious dairy farms. It costs the dairy farmer money every day in many ways–decreased milk yield, lost premiums, price penalties, increased culling rates, and the cost of medicines for treatment. Detected early, these losses can be substantially reduced. And with the growing pressure to lower bulk tank counts, the need for affordable, convenient, early detection is even more critical. |
Prevalence
- Most mastitis starts in the sub-clinical form.
- If untreated, it is estimated that 40% of these cases will evolve into the more severe but more easily detected clinical mastitis.
- Bulk tank somatic cell counts (BTSCC) can be an excellent indication of the prevalence of sub-clinical mastitis. As a rule of thumb, 10% of a typical herd is infected for every 100,000 cells/mL in the BTSCC.
- The typical herd is reported to have a BTSCC between 300,000 and 400,000, indicating a significant level of disease in US herds.
Milk Quality and Price Premiums/Penalties
- The regulatory limit for Grade A milk is:
- 750,000 cells/mL in the US.
- 400,000 cells/mL in Europe.
- Milk processors offer producers layers of premiums and penalties depending on the bulk tank somatic cell count of the milk.
- A very large recent study by the USDA on DHI herds found that 30.4% of the bulk tanks tested were above 400,000 and 11.2% were above 600,000.
- Aggressively battling mastitis can help producers maximize their profits.
Production Loss
- Sub-clinical mastitis can reduce milk yields so gradually that losses may not be easily noticed.
- One rule of thumb suggests that for every doubling of the BTSCC starting at 100,000 cells/mL you lose 2%–3% of potential production.
- Based on this formula, a dairy with a BTSCC count of 300,000 might be yielding less than 93% of what it could.
Dollar Cost of Mastitis
- It is estimated that the loss in the United States alone is approximately two billion dollars per year. That means that 7%–8% of the value of milk production is lost to this single disease!
- On a per cow basis, that translates to a cost of $100 to $300/cow/year—money that you can put back in your pocket with a more aggressive battle against mastitis.
- Use our mastitis calculator to uncover your hidden profit by tracking SCC count with PortaSCC