Calculate the cost of mastitis
21 September 2001
Calculate the cost of mastitis
USING a simple cost calculator to work out the true cost of mastitis, which can run into £1000s a year, will help producers and their vets prioritise prevention and treatment strategies.
That is the view of Peter Gripper, who masterminded Intervets Mastitis Cost Calculator and practises from Southill Vet Group, Wincanton, Somerset.
"Mastitis can be a large and complicated problem to solve, which is easy to put off until tomorrow. But seeing how much it costs has encouraged clients to begin tackling it."
The calculator requires data which should be readily available on most farms with reasonable records, says Mr Gripper. Information on cell counts, bactoscan, number of mastitis cases/year, tubes used/cow and recurrence rate is entered in the calculator which can be found at www.farmcost.co.uk.
"This information can be used to calculate mastitis costs which may be a combination of cell count penalties, loss of milk yield and direct costs resulting from treatment or culling."
Average cost for a mastitis case used in the calculator is £90, he adds. "This is an average figure, severe toxic mastitis which requires fluid therapy will cost more and milder cases, less."
Cell count penalties and premiums can be entered in the calculator to suit individual farm circumstances.
Once costs for a particular farm have been established, it is easier to see where investment in controlling the problem should be targeted, says Mr Gripper. "Targets must be realistic and will vary for each farm. Tackling the problem may involve keeping better records, bacteriological screening to identify the cause and other measures."
Further details of areas toconsider when aiming to reduce cases are provided on the web-site.
Organic farms could also benefit from using the calculator, he believes. "Treatment with antibiotics is not a major option, so analysing costs can be important in assessing how much should be invested in equipment and training to address mastitis." *