Mastitis

A good few farmers are reporting higher than normal levels of clinical mastitis and high somatic cell count (SCC). When faced with a problem, the first thing to identify is the type of mastitis – environmental or contagious. A lot of mastitis around this spring can be explained by the fact that most herds have been housed for longer periods than normal and this has increased the risk of environmental mastitis such as Strep uberis. Preventing this type of mastitis is down to hygiene – cleaning and disinfecting cubicle beds and calving pens. When cows go to grass the infection pressure will decrease greatly.

Contagious mastitis is harder to prevent. This is where mastitis-causing bacteria such as Staph aureus live in the udder and spread in the milk. Hygiene at milking time is critical. Staph bacteria are hard to treat. In the US, standard practice is to try to prevent new infections, but to cull infected animals. Where Staph is the problem, farmers should either milk infected cows last and/or dip clusters between rows in a peracetic acid-based solution. Studies have shown there is no real benefit to pre-milking teat spraying/dipping as a means of preventing new infections, but correct post-milking teat spraying/dipping is essential.

All farmers, regardless of their SCC, should book in the first milk recording of the year now, if they haven’t already done so. Alternatively, if you need to identify the infected cows in a hurry, put the time aside and get help in to CMT the whole herd. When using the CMT test, have equal amounts of milk in each paddle cup. You can achieve this by tilting the paddle and letting the excess milk spill out. Pour in the same amount of CMT solution as there is milk in each paddle cup. Swirl the paddle cup for about 10 seconds. Results should be obvious immediately. Any thickening of the milk or gelling is an indicator that the SCC in that quarter is high. The thicker the milk the higher the SCC. There is a scarcity of certain antibiotic milk tubes so talk to your vet about the most suitable tubes to use.

Grazing

There is more rain to come over the weekend, but the long range forecast is looking a lot better. When the opportunity comes, you must be prepared to get cows out. When that opportunity is will vary depending on soil type. Ground will dry fast in the right conditions. Start grazing lower covers and on drier fields. Cut silage out of the diet to make full use of grass and reduce meal levels.

Uncertainty

The outlook for milk price in 2020 was looking positive in January, but uncertain for 2021 with Brexit. Coronavirus has brought forward that uncertainty to 2020. At farm level we should be conservative with spending, both on inputs and capital expenditure. The bad weather has increased costs and will lower milk protein percentages at peak due to the likelihood of lower-quality grass. This will reduce the milk price received.

There’s also the human health implications of coronavirus. Taking precautions and being alert are about the only things we can do at this stage.

Read more

Soggy fields in west Clare

Tackling retained cleanings and displaced abomasum