In conversation with Professor Simon Dufour, Université de Montréal, Canada

Mastitis risk in dairy cows and heifers is multifactorial and changes with time and interaction with causal factors. This complexity can make it hard to troubleshoot and help farms maintain a low level of mastitis. As a consultant it is difficult to be aware of daily changes and duration of those changes occurring on client dairies. Changes to nutrition is only one of many factors that may affect risk of mastitis in animals on individual dairy farms. Risk factors for mastitis in lactating, dry cow, and heifers are likely the same. However, because dairy heifers are often managed differently for the growing period, level of mastitis risk and time of exposure to that risk may be different than that of mature cows on the same farm. This paper explores opportunities for lowering risk of mastitis in heifers and as it relates to nutrition and feeding programs.

When a herd has a problem with clinical mastitis it is very helpful to have accurate mastitis records and bacteriology results to establish the cause of the infection. Computerised records that allow easy mastitis analysis are invaluable. In most developed dairy countries farmers are required to keep accurate mastitis records, however, in other dairy areas records might be missing or inaccurate. Some farmers carry out regular bacteriology sampling from clinical cases while others might have none. An accurate diagnosis of the bacteria causing mastitis allows targeted steps to resolve the problem. It is helpful to be able to breakdown mastitis infections into contagious and/or environmental, lactation and/or dry period infections and the specific bacteria causing mastitis.

Research and innovations accumulated over decades have advanced the dairy industry with better quality milk and a generally satisfactory sanitary situation as results. However, the treatment of intramammary infections has stayed in the background, with the traditional option of undiscriminating treatment. Recently, the European 2019/6 regulation on pharmaceutical products, particularly antibiotics, has thrown a severe challenge in the face of veterinarians and dairy producers.