The recent heavy rainfall has forced some farmers to house cows, at least on a part-time basis, which means mastitis prevention is now vital.
Controlling mastitis when cows are still in milk and housed can be difficult – but it is achievable.
There are a number of key areas that dairy farmers should be focussed on to achieve this.
Mastitis prevention
It is important that high hygiene standards during the milking routine are maintained, meaning clusters should be attached to clean and dry teats.
Excess dirt or water should be removed before clusters are attached to cows.
But is also important that the areas around the milking parlour are kept clean. Cleaning should take place between the rows.
It is also important that the collection yard and exit areas are kept clean. Although they cannot be cleaned during milking, they should be cleaned after each milking is completed.
The sphincter muscle is open for about 30 minutes post-milking, so teat spraying is vital in preventing infections from being picked up.
But if the exit area, roadways or cubicle sheds the cows are returning to are excessively dirty, then the teat spray can only do so much.
Cubicle shed
A cubicle shed has the potential to harbour much more bacteria compared to a paddock.
It is important that the number of potential bacteria a cow is exposed to when in a cubicle shed is low.
Cubicles should be limed daily and excess dirt should be removed. Scrapers should also be running regularly to ensure that dung does not build up in the shed.
Just like the milking routine, hygiene standards within cubicle sheds need to be at a high level to prevent infections from being picked up.
If mastitis cases do occur, samples should be taken and then options to control the bacteria causing these cases should be looked at with a milk quality advisor and/or vet.