In spite of considerable improvements in milk quality, mastitis continues to be the most frequent and costly disease of dairy cows. The use of on farm culturing to direct treatment of clinical mastitis gives farmers the opportunity to make better treatment decisions and reduce costs associated with milk discard and treatment of microbiologically negative cases.
UW-Extension Milk Quality Veterinarian Pam Ruegg has developed a new video series to guide individuals Using On Farm Culturing to Improve Mastitis Treatment. In the fourth episode of the video series, Mastitis Severity Scoring, Dr. Ruegg discusses identifying cows that are eligible for selective mastitis therapies through a mastitis severity scoring program.
Mastitis Severity Scoring is one video of many in a new video series Using On Farm Culturing to Improve Mastitis Treatment. Other episodes also include:
- Episode 1:Treatment Decisions for Clinical Mastitis
- Part 1:Will Antibiotics Help the Cow?
- Part 2:Using Culture to Make Selective Treatment Decisions
- Episode 2: How to Set Up Your On Farm Laboratory
- Episode 3: Selecting Culture Media
- Episode 4: Mastitis Severity Scoring
UW-Milk Quality promotes an integrated, team-based approach to best manage udder health and milk quality. Producing high quality milk is not a one-person job. It takes farmers and their local dairy advisors to be able to evaluate, manage and improve milk quality. At UW-Milk Quality, we develop tools and resources to help dairy producers meet their milk quality goals and increase farm profitability.
For more information regarding milk quality, please visit UW-Milk Quality or contact UW-Extension Milk Quality Specialist Pam Ruegg. Additional videos regarding milk quality can be found at the UW Milk Quality Channel on YouTube. For more information regarding milking systems, please visit UW Milking Research and Instruction Laboratory or contact UW-Extension Milking Systems Specialist Doug Reinemann.