Mastitis focus for next strategic dairy farm meeting

The event, hosted by strategic dairy farmer William Baillie, will be held at Hillhead of Covington Farm in Lanarkshire.

Senior Knowledge Exchange Manager Karen Lowe explains: “Healthy cattle are at the heart of profitable dairy farming. However, the challenge to prevent clinical mastitis and maintain low cell counts is relentless for all dairy farmers.

“At the meeting we’ll be looking at making informed choices to improve mastitis control in the herd.”

On the day William will share his approach to preventing mastitis in his herd along with lessons he has learned along the way and what his next steps will be.

He’ll be joined by Dr James Breen, a recognised cattle health and production specialist with expertise in mastitis control, to provide an overview of the AHDB Dairy Mastitis Control Plan.

They’ll highlight examples of farm risk assessment as well as a systematic analysis of the cell count, clinical mastitis data and other farm records to identify key priorities and help other farmers make better informed decisions about mastitis management in their herds.

Strategic dairy farms help farmers learn from each other through regular on-farm meetings, where key performance data and what the top performing farmers are doing is shared.

They form part of the Optimal Dairy Systems programme, which aims to help dairy farmers lower costs and increase efficiency by focusing on either a block or all year round calving system.

Farmers interested in attending the event should book their place by contacting the AHDB KE Events Hub on 01904 771216 or at ke.events@ahdb.org.uk. For more information contact Karen Lowe on 07759 586 321.

Dairy Pro Points are available for attending this event.