What’s your farm’s mastitis score?
Take this interactive quiz to learn where you need to focus your mastitis control efforts.
Zero in on SCC
Check out this archived Webinar that focuses on the science and control of somatic cell counts.
Fresh cow mastitis cases can have lasting impacts
A cow’s mastitis status on day three after calving can affect milk production later in lactation.
Get the basics on which organisms cause mastitis, where they lurk and how to best control them.
Help milkers monitor parlor performance
Use these tools to help parlor personnel better manage milk quality.
Tools for a faster mastitis diagnosis on the horizon
Research shows that PCR tests hold promise as a tool to complement traditional methods of mastitis diagnostics.
Energy balance of cows and mastitis: Potential linkages
Try these suggestions to reduce excessive body condition loss in early lactation and thereby reduce mastitis.
Celebrate 50 years with NMC
The National Mastitis Council marks a half-century of leadership in mastitis control and milk quality improvement at its annual meeting in January.
More on mammary immunity
Dairy cows undergo several physiological changes during the onset of lactation that can impact the magnitude and duration of mammary gland inflammatory responses.
Report shows snapshot of 2009 bulk tank somatic cell count data
USDA monitors milk quality in the U.S. using bulk tank milk somatic cell count data provided by four of the nation’s 10 Federal Milk Marketing Orders, which account for nearly half of the nation’s milk supply.
Improved mastitis management calls for adaptive plans
Cows and cases need to be treated on an individual basis.
Three reasons for on-farm milk culturing
Make better mastitis treatment decisions by implementing an on-farm milk culturing system. Here are three reasons you should consider this option.
Get a handle on heifer mastitis
Although it would be great if all first lactation heifers entered the milking string infection free, it cannot be assumed that this will ever be the case.
Mastitis affects more than milk quality
In addition to the economic loss from discarded milk, antibiotic treatment, decreased production and time spent managing treatment, mastitis also takes a toll on reproductive success.
Mitigating mastitis pain
Researchers are looking at measurable changes in cattle behavior to indicate pain associated with mastitis.
The immune system and mastitis
Poor cow health and high somatic cell counts often go hand-in-hand. The result is often mastitis, which is most likely related to stress on the immune system.
The pressure’s on to reduce the SCC limit
Access to export markets is leading the charge to change milk quality standards.
NMC regional meeting slated
Check out what’s on tap for the meeting Sept. 8-9 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Iron could lower somatic cell count
Study shows that SCC was reduced when cows were fed supplemental iron.
A vaccine for Strep. uberis gets closer
Researchers have discovered the components of the bovine mastitis-causing bacterium, Streptococcus uberis that play a key role in the disease.
Mastitis protection from the inside out
Here’s what researchers are looking into to boost your cow’s immunity to fight off mastitis, especially during the dry period.
Milk quality counts
You can’t afford not to invest time and effort into achieving a low bulk tank SCC.
DHI herds continue to improve somatic cell counts
Somatic cell count in Dairy Herd Improvement herds enrolled in SCC testing averaged 233,000 in 2009, which was considerably less than the 2008 average of 262,000.
Impact of mastitis and body condition score on dairy reproduction
Reproduction is affected by physiological, pathological and management factors.
Clinical mastitis treatment decision help
Use these hints to help improve your milk quality management.
Make milk quality simple
Follow these five basic concepts to improve milk quality on your dairy.
Prevent and control heifer mastitis
Most mastitis control programs focus on mature cows. But don’t forget about your heifers.
Timing and type of mastitis have an impact on conception
Clinical mastitis cases negatively affect conception if they occur within 14 days before to 35 days after insemination.
Mycoplasma can survive in recycled sand
Research published in the January Journal of Dairy Science indicates that this pathogen can lurk in recycled sand bedding.
Mastitis and reproduction correlation quantified
New research shows that mastitis lengthens days to first service, increases services per conception and infected cows take longer to conceive.
Milking maching maintenance must-do's
Use these recommendations to make sure your milking equipment is in tip-top shape.
Avoid milk and meat residues
USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) now publishes a list of all farms that have residue violations for meat, poultry and egg products.
A simple blood test may one day help determine if a cow is at risk for developing mastitis.
Why you need to provide a clean environment for cows
Everyone on the dairy plays a role in preventing mastitis — it’s not just the milkers’ job.
Why you need to know about somatic cell counts
When you get sick, your body fights the infection by producing immune cells.
Follow milking procedures
Sometimes it can be tempting to move cows through the parlor faster and skip a procedure. But you should never do that. The procedures are there for a reason.
An interview with Staph. aureus
“Hi, my name is staphylococcus aureus..."
On-farm culturing: Is it a good idea?
On-farm culturing offers many benefits. For instance, it can help you zero in on mastitis organisms, providing you with better treatment strategies and lowering your somatic cell count. But you have to do it right to get the benefit.
Should you treat clinical mastitis?
Over the past years, there has been a trend toward not treating clinical mastitis cases in some herds. In some instances, this philosophy has evolved from a fear of contaminating a tank of milk with antibiotics.
Don’t let subclinical mastitis steal your profits
Employees at Lundgren Dairy farms in Prairie Du Sac, Wis., thought it was impossible to achieve the milk-quality bonus offered at the dairy.
Choose the right mastitis tube
Commercial mastitis tubes were first introduced in the 1960s. Since then, the number of FDA-licensed products has greatly increased — and so too has the number of misconceptions surrounding them.
Assess your dairy’s risk for environmental mastitis
Each year, mastitis robs the dairy industry of about $2 billion. And one of the greatest thieves is environmental mastitis.
Mastitis resistance in the genes
How much milk did you discard today due to mastitis? if you’re like most producers, it was too much, even if only one cow on your dairy was afflicted. Unfortunately, that is seldom the case.
Do your heifers have mastitis?
If you find yourself treating first-lactation animals for clinical mastitis shortly after calving, you can pretty well assume they were infected weeks or even months prior to freshening.
Treating heifer mastitis pays
Heifer mastitis silently steals profits on many dairy farms.
Environmental mastitis takes center stage
The good news: the dreaded scourge of Staph. aureus mastitis, and its annoying contagious counterpart, Strep. ag., are on a measurable decline.
9 keys to preventing environmental mastitis
If you have manure, water and soil on your dairy, then you have environmental mastitis pathogens, too.
Do-it-yourself mastitis detection
Jeremy Heim likes having mastitis information at his fingertips. Heim has been culturing suspected quarters for mastitis pathogens for about two years. And he’s doing it right on the dairy.
6 signs of an environmental mastitis problem
All too often, the first thought after finding a cow with mastitis is “What should I treat her with?” But, if you use antibiotics to treat your way out of environmental mastitis problem, you will soon find it’s a losing proposition.
New tools improve mastitis prevention in dry period
My excitement about new tools for mastitis prevention during the dry period has not diminished. In fact, with the results we’re seeing, it continues to grow.
Don’t let subclinical mastitis zap reproductive efficiency
If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times. Mastitis is an insidious profit-robber that steals milk production, increases reproductive problems and challenges the overall productivity of your cows. However, new research shows it’s worse than you thought, especially when it comes to reproduction.
It’s time to rethink how you treat clinical mastitis
When you’re sick, your doctor usually runs a test or two to determine which bug is making you ill. From these results, he plans an appropriate treatment strategy that may or may not include antibiotics, depending on the source of the ailment.
Plug the hole in your mastitis prevention program
Even the best-managed herds have trouble keeping new mastitis infections low among fresh cows. And, despite one’s best efforts, that seems to be the one hole in mastitis prevention — reducing the level of new infection during the dry period.