Mastitis and lameness management in the Bega Valley
Property Owner: Ancret Shipton (Farm Manager - Lisa Coman)
Location: Candelo, Far South Coast, NSW
Property size: 390 ha
Enterprise: dairy cattle
Challenges faced after flooding
Like many dairies on the south coast, the severe floods, storm events and prolonged wet season of 2022 posed many challenges for the Shipton’s 390-hectare dairy farm.
Wet weather events and subsequent muddy conditions often increase the risk of mastitis and lameness in dairy cattle with subsequent loss of production, increased treatment costs and forced culling. Dairy farmers also need to abide by withholding periods after antibiotic treatments and avoid high bulk milk cell counts (BMCC), leading to lost revenue from unsaleable milk.
A significant impact for the Shipton’s was widespread digital dermatitis, or hairy foot wart which infected nearly two thirds of their herd. This painful condition led to widespread lameness, increased antibiotic use and cost, and subsequent higher rates of mastitis in their herd due to the need to keep more cattle in a nearby hospital paddock.
One-on-one support provides solutions
Through funding from the Early Needs Recovery Program, the Shipton’s were able to access a one-on-one consultancy service provided by industry expert, Dr Mark Humphris from The Milk Road. Working with Dr Humphris, the Shipton’s implemented a thorough and regular testing regime to identify specific cows with high BMCCs to determine the cause and plan the next steps.
The increased testing helped identify cows that had highly contagious mastitis and cull these cows immediately. For other cows, regular testing was continued to determine if the high BMCC was due to inflammation or ongoing mastitis infections and tailor the treatment accordingly.
Following the visits, Dr Humphris identified other cost-effective areas for improvement to help reduce the prevalence and ongoing risk of mastitis. This included:
- changing liners on milking cups more frequently (less than 120 days) to support good teat health and better hygiene
- supplementing the herd’s diet with Zinc to help with hoof health and integrity
- using a copper sulphate footbath during and following rain events only – using the treatment as needed means the copper sulphate is more effective and saves money, compared to year-round use.
Shipton’s see improvements in herd health
Through the support from Dr Humphris and the Shipton’s willingness to implement practice changes, they have seen a significant reduction in clinical cases of mastitis and their BMCC has remained very low.
Through tailored, one-on-one support, the Shipton’s confidence in managing their herd’s health has grown. Effectively controlling mastitis in their herd and implementing timely treatment has led to improvements in milk production, reduced stress and improved cow welfare.
Ancret Shipton, said she has been “very happy that the changes that have improved resilience and general herd health on farm.”
Property Owner: Paul Russell and family
Location: Buckajo, Far South Coast, NSW
Property size: 170 ha + 60 ha at another location
Enterprise: dairy cattle
Challenges with mastitis in dairy herd
On-farm support identifies issues and solutions
Throughout 2023 the Russell family opted to receive consulting services from industry expert Dr Mark Humphris from The Milk Road, funded through the Early Needs Recovery Program. Dr Humphris conducted a series of site visits and testing and provided follow up reports to support the Russell's.
From the visits, Dr Humphris worked with the Russell's to identify a problematic area at the exit and post-milking area of the dairy. Poor drainage made this a boggy, unhygienic area the cows had to walk through. This worsened due to prolonged wet weather. The cows were often seen flicking up mud and slurry on their legs and udders, leading to increased udder and teat infections.
To address the poor drainage and muddy conditions, the footbath at the exit of the dairy required extensive earthworks and maintenance. Infrastructure improvements to the concrete footbath on the exit of the dairy have improved drainage so the area no longer collects water. It is also regularly cleaned and is now more resilient to prolonged wet weather conditions.
Through a series of observations, Dr Humphris also worked with the Russell’s to identify teat health issues in the herd, increasing their risk of mastitis infections. Dr Humphris identified that the settings on the Automatic Cup Removers were leading to overmilking causing dry and damaged teat ends. In addition, treatment of clinical cases of mastitis could be improved through better hygiene practices.
Following the consultations some of the recommendations for the Russell's included:
- adding glycerine to the teat dip, initially at medicinal levels under Dr Humphris’ instruction and now at maintenance levels, resulting in significantly improved teat health
- changing the inflation rubbers quarterly, further enhancing teat health
- plans to modify the Automatic Cup Removers to reduce the incidence of over-milking
- changing the staff roster and role of the farm manager allowing them to conduct more regular milking checks and provide feedback
- increasing the frequency of herd testing to identify chronic, sub-clinical cows for priority culling.
Reducing BMCCs and building resilience to future events
The one-on-one consultancy provided the Russell’s with a fresh set of eyes to look over their farm and identify opportunities for improvement.
Paul Russell said seeking the support of Dr Humphris and the Early Needs Recovery Program was “the best thing I’ve ever taken on and I’ve been dairying for 52 years. It was a real eye opener and I really learnt a lot.”
After implementing the recommended infrastructure and practice changes, Paul has reduced the herd’s BMCC to an average of 90,000 to 120,000 for the past 12months. This followed years of having BMCCs above 200,000.
With the lower average BMCCs the farm is now more resilient to future weather events which lead to increased BMCCs.
“It has certainly made our operation more resilient in the face of weather events and the like which will lead to inevitable BMCC increases. Thanks to the wiggle room available with a lower average BMCC we are better able to act when that happens.” Paul Russell
Footbath with substantial risk of direct contamination or indirect (via cow fetlocks) after milking.