Mastitis reduces milk yield and leads to poor quality milk. Together, these factors erode the milk income received by farmers and processors.
The financial benefits of a lower somatic cell count (SCC) should not be underestimated. For example, if a 100-cow herd was to reduce its SCC from 250,000 cells/mL to 150,000 cells/mL, the farm would generate more than €8,500 extra profit, even with a milk price of 32c/L.
When calculating the true cost of mastitis, it is easy to quantify the obvious costs but the hidden ones have to be considered too.
Dairy farmers can see how much more profit they could earn with a lower herd SCC, by using the CostCheck interactive calculator. The objective of CostCheck is to estimate the potential gains in profit from reducing the incidence of mastitis (both clinical cases and cows with high SCC) on his/her dairy farm, using their own data.
This tool was developed by Teagasc Moorepark in consultation with the CellCheck Technical Working Group. The CostCheck calculator can be downloaded from the Animal Health Ireland website (www.animalhealthireland.ie) or the Teagasc website (www.teagasc.ie)
