Mastitis is one of the most common and costly health issues in dairy herds — but preventing and managing it isn’t about doing just one thing better.
“Effective mastitis management is not just one thing on the dairy,” said Linda Tikofsky, DVM, Boehringer Ingelheim. “It’s everything that impacts the ability of pathogens to enter the teat canal and cause an infection.”
That means looking at the full farm picture: how cows are cared for, how employees are trained and how decisions are made every day. The most successful mastitis management programs share three key traits:
1. Effective employee training
“For those on the front line in the parlor, mastitis prevention can be a fairly monotonous job,” pointed out Quinn Kolar, Ph.D., senior lecturer in animal science at Cornell University. “It’s really hard to get it right every time.”
Consider this: Twenty-five percent of all cows in the United States develop clinical mastitis in a given year.1 For a 1,000-cow dairy, that equates to approximately 250 cases per year. Employees are looking for one clinical quarter out of 4,000 quarters every milking. “It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” noted Dr. Kolar.
Regular training and retraining are critical to boosting employee confidence and reducing mastitis risk. Dr. Kolar recommends weekly team check-ins, and a set training program to help employees understand the how and the why of mastitis management.
“Herd managers doing the best job preventing mastitis spend a little bit of time every single day in the parlor,” added Dr. Tikofsky. “It helps improve communication, and if you’re seeing protocol drift, you can correct it before a mastitis outbreak occurs.”
She also emphasized that mastitis management training doesn’t stop in the parlor. “Follow a day in the life of a cow, and spend time in many different environments on the dairy,” Dr. Tikofsky said. “Any place teat ends are exposed to manure can be a mastitis risk.”
2. Data-driven decisions
Recording and tracking data is a critical piece of reducing mastitis cases long term. “I talk a lot with producers about what measurements we can use to keep an eye on things and identify problem areas,” stated Dr. Kolar.
One of the most informative metrics to track is relapse rates. Relapse rates can show how successful your mastitis treatment program is by identifying the percentage of cows with mastitis that are reinfected in the same quarter after treatment.
“A successful mastitis management program should have no more than 20% relapses,” stressed Dr. Tikofsky. “If relapse rates increase, evaluate treatment procedures and ensure you’re treating cows correctly and hygienically.”
Another key data point is somatic cell count (SCC) before and after the dry period. If SCC decreases, it can indicate your dry-off protocols have worked to remove existing infections and prevent new infections. If SCC increases, look for ways to improve your dry cow treatment and teat sealant protocols.
3. Commitment to culturing
Knowing exactly which pathogen you’re fighting, and whether or not it requires treatment, can make a big impact on the effectiveness of your mastitis management program.
“I’m a big proponent of culturing to help reduce the number of mastitis cases we need to treat because we know not all cases respond to antibiotics,” Dr. Kolar explained.
Mastitis infections can be generally defined through their microbiological group classifications and identified through culturing:
- Gram-positive mastitis cases are often subclinical for days and even weeks before they result in clinical mastitis. Yet, bacteria are present and usually create an SCC elevation. If clinical Gram-positive mastitis is untreated, the signs may resolve temporarily, but most cases will relapse. Antibiotics are necessary for these cases to resolve infection.
- Most Gram-negative mastitis cases will self-cure, and antibiotic treatment will not alter the outcome.2
- No-growth cases mean no bacteria can be cultured on the plate, indicating the cow has cleared the infection on her own. Because there are no bacteria, antibiotic treatment is unnecessary.
“If you’re on-farm culturing, it’s important to be committed to using the results to drive your protocols,” said Dr. Tikofsky. “It can be hard to see a Gram-negative result and not treat that animal, but that’s what you need to do to get a positive ROI.”
When employees are engaged, data is tracked and treatment decisions are informed by culturing, the entire operation benefits. “The dairies doing the best job preventing mastitis are doing a lot of little things right, every single day,” concluded Dr. Kolar. “Consistency is what makes the difference.”
By investing in people, protocols and prevention strategies, dairy farmers can take control of mastitis and protect long-term herd performance. Explore proven solutions to support udder health and protect your herd’s performance with the Mastitis 360º portfolio of products by Boehringer Ingelheim.
References:
1 USDA, National Animal Health and Monitoring System. Dairy 2014: Milk quality, milking procedures and mastitis on U.S. dairies. 2014.
2 Hess JL, Neuder LM, Sears PM. Rethinking clinical mastitis therapy, in Proceedings. 42nd Annu Meet Nat’l Mastitis Council 2003:372–373.
©2025 Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Inc., Duluth, GA. All rights reserved.
US-BOV-0057-2025
