Owl Farm case study - Mastitis control

This page covers how Owl Farm keeps mastitis rates down in its milking herd, aiming for fewer than 10% of cows affected each year. It explains a spike in cases during the 2020/21 spring linked to teat spray problems, and how the farm responded.

Changes included lowering the somatic cell count threshold for Dry Cow Therapy, culling cows with repeat infections or high cell counts, checking the teat sprayer and milking plant regularly, and replacing rubberware twice a season. The aim is to keep more than 90% of milk supplied under 150,000 somatic cells per millilitre.

^{Photo: “Cattle near Dairyland, South Taranaki” by Prosperosity, licensed for reuse under CC BY-SA 4.0}