A free monthly report summarising mastitis and somatic cell count patterns prompted changes to dry cow management and milking routine at Westford Park Farm, Chard.

Together, these led to a 40% reduction in mastitis cases.

In 2022, Clive and Angela Mowlem, daughter Jade and son Shaun signed up to receive the Mastitis Pattern Analysis Tool (MPAT), which is available free to milk-recorded herds (see box).

For Jade – who splits her time between the farm and working as a vet for Friars Moor Livestock Health – the tool was a great way to make full use of the data already being collected through monthly milk recording.

“If you know where the problem is coming from, you can have more of a guided approach of where to change,” she explains.

The MPAT identifies whether the predominant infection pattern is from environmental or contagious pathogens, the main risk period (dry period or lactation), and whether infections in heifers are a problem.

Environmental infection would suggest issues with the cleanliness of the environment in which cows are kept, whereas contagious mastitis would highlight issues with cow-to-cow spread at milking.

The report also allows changes in bulk somatic cell count (SCC) and mastitis cases to be tracked.

Jade says the more data that is collected, the more accurate the pattern of infection, which means monthly milk recording and recording of clinical cases of mastitis is advisable.

She also stresses the value of involving the farm vet to advise on what actions are needed once the patterns have been identified.

At Westford Park Farm, dry cow environment was identified as the main risk.

They have also had occasional “mixed environmental” cases, where udder cleanliness has been an issue in both milkers and dry cows.

As a result, the family has adopted the following changes:

Environmental dry period

1. Improved cleanliness in the dry period

Changes include scraping out dry cow passages and cleaning beds at least once a day, and twice a day when numbers are high.

Cows are housed on mattresses topped with sawdust mixed with lime.

Dry cow stocking rates have been reduced as a result of the farm’s gradual move from all-year-round calving to an autumn block, which started three years ago.

This has allowed for a greater focus on cleanliness in the dry period and created more space for dry cows.

2. Changed milking frequency at the end of lactation

The family used to drop to once-daily milking 10 days before drying off, but struggled with mastitis in this period, and animals were calving-in with a high SCC.

“We’ve stopped that as there is proof that this practice increases the risk of early lactation mastitis,” Jade explains.

Now, cows continue to be milked twice daily before being dried off at 49 days before calving.

They are moved onto a lower energy, higher fibre diet in late lactation to reduce yield before drying off.

3. Changed antibiotics use at drying off

Selective dry cow therapy was introduced a few years ago to facilitate responsible antibiotics use, based on individual cow SCC available through milk recording.

In October 2023, when a large proportion of the herd was freshly calved, the MPAT showed bulk SCC had climbed to 375,000 cells/ml.

Infections happening in the first 30 days after calving are likely related to the dry period.

Jade dropped the cut-off for using antibiotics at drying off so cows with an SCC of 150,000 cells/ml or more in the three recordings prior to drying off get antibiotics and teat sealant, down from 200,000 cells/ml.

4. Addressed drying off technique

To minimise the risk of pathogens being introduced to the udder at drying off and to optimise the efficiency of the teat sealant, Jade has reviewed drying off technique. The protocol includes:

• Washing hands and arms
• Preparing one bucket with tubes in, one bucket containing surgical spirit, and one bucket for dirty tubes
• Using clean gloves for each cow
• Using cotton wool and surgical spirit rather than wipes to clean teats (as this is a more effective disinfectant), cleaning teats from front to back, and then infusing antibiotic and/or sealant from back to front
• Applying a barrier dip
• Leaving cows to stand for half an hour in the loafing area.

Mixed environmental

5. Introduced a foaming teat dip

The team used to wash teats with water before attaching units, which meant teats were wet and not disinfected. Now, a foaming lactic acid-based teat dip is used.

Jade says this promotes good teat coverage and rapid disinfection. Teats are then dried with a washable cloth (one for each cow).

6. Improved teat condition

A chlorhexidine dip with good emollient levels has improved teat condition (rough teats are more likely to harbour bacteria, increasing mastitis risk).

The introduction of automatic cup removers has lowered the risk of over-milking, which can cause teat-end damage.

Heifer udder health

7. Considering vaccinating for warts

On occasion, the MPAT has flagged up “fresh calf heifer issues” as being “major”. Although they are at present “moderate”, Jade believes teat warts are a big contributory factor.

As the causal virus lives in the environment, is highly contagious and hard to get rid of, she is considering vaccinating heifers for warts.