Representativeness of different factors affecting the economic impact of mastitis in dairy herds
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17523/bia.v74n2p135Keywords:
dairy farming, somatic cell count, economy, production scale, productivity.Abstract
he objective of this study was to identify and quantify the most representative factor affecting the economic impact of mastitis in dairy cattle herds in order to establish those that should receive greater attention from farmers and technicians to reduce the economic impact of this important disease. A simulation study was conducted with the CU$TO MASTITE program, considering 324 different herds and using combinations of the following factors: somatic cell count (250,000; 500,000; 750,000 and 1,000,000 somatic cells/mL milk); production scale (50; 100 and 150 lactating cows); productivity per animal (10; 20 and 30 L/cow/day); average annual incidence of clinical mastitis (1%; 7% and 15%), and involuntary culling rate due to mastitis (2%; 4% and 6%). Preventive measures included expenses with monitoring [culture and antibiogram, bulk tank somatic cell count (BTSCC), and individual somatic cell counts], pre- and post-dipping, vaccination, treatment of dry cows, and maintenance of the milking machine. Only treatments of clinical cases were considered as curative measures. The impact of mastitis was estimated as total losses plus expenses with prevention and treatment of clinical cases. The mean incidence of clinical mastitis (MIM) and BTSCC were significant (P<0.05) in five of the seven models analyzed [economic impact per lactating cow (ILC), economic impact per liter of milk (ILM), economic impact of curative treatment per liter of milk (CTM), economic impact of milk disposal/liter of sold milk (IMD), and economic impact of reduction in production per liter of milk (IRM)]. However, the standardized coefficient for MIM was higher in three indicators (ILC, IMD and CTM), a fact rendering this factor more representative when compared to BTSCC, which also had five significant indicators. Comparison of the medians of curative treatments and preventive measures per lactating cow revealed an excellent cost/benefit ratio. These findings demonstrate that both technicians and farmers should concentrate management and technological efforts on correcting possible failures that exist in the milk production system in order to reduce the economic impact of mastitis.
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