Reducing clinical mastitis cases by tackling overmilking

Removing clusters sooner to reduce overmilking has enabled dairy farmer Aled Williams to reduce clinical mastitis cases by 25% in his herd.

Aled manages 85 Holstein and crossbred cows at Bryngwyn in Llangadog, Carmarthenshire, which is converting from all-year-round calving to an autumn block system.

Bryngwyn is one of 500 farms selected by AHDB to take part in its HerdAdvance project, which aims to help Welsh dairy farmers lift profitability and performance by focusing on improved herd health management and disease control.

The farm saw an increase in clinical mastitis cases and somatic cell count (SCC), and initiated an AHDB Mastitis Control Plan with farm vet, Sotirios Karvountzis.

Dynamic parlour testing and teat end scoring showed that the cows were being overmilked by between 1 and 4 minutes.

Sotirios said: “Applying vacuum to a teat beyond the point the quarter has ceased milking is called overmilking. This can lead to hyperkeratosis of the teat end, which is overproduction of keratin at the teat orifice due to the constant irritation caused by prolonged exposure to a vacuum. This can cause teat end damage and increase the risk of mastitis or high SCC.”

The Mastitis Control Plan identifies the main factors contributing to mastitis on farm by using milk records, clinical records, and a thorough questionnaire covering general management, milking routine, dry period management, and mastitis protocols.

The Bryngwyn plan focused on environmental pathogens during lactation and contagious pathogens from the dry period, and a tailored Action Plan was created for the farm to implement.  

Automatic cluster removers (ACR) are not used on the farm so it was important to find a solution which improved animal health but did not involve major investment to the parlour.

Sotirios discussed options with the team who now remove clusters sooner than before, which has seen a marked drop in overmilking and resultant teat damage. Clinical mastitis cases have reduced by 25% and are continuing to improve. Further reductions in SCC are expected as they complete the plan.

This summer, Aled will analyse the results so far and discuss focus areas going forward with Sotirios and the farm’s AHDB Animal Health Knowledge Exchange Manager, Ceri Davies, during the final vet meeting funded by the HerdAdvance project.

Milking machinery and routines can have a major impact on the spread of mastitis on your farm.

HerdAdvance is part of the five-year Dairy Improvement Programme, which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Union.