How mastitis prevention through management, housing, and hygiene reduces one of the most common and painful conditions in dairy cows.
Mastitis is the single most significant disease welfare burden in the dairy industry, affecting substantial proportions of dairy cows in every production system globally. The pain of clinical mastitis is severe - inflammation, tissue damage, and systemic illness combine to create significant suffering that must be treated promptly. The prevention of mastitis through excellent milking hygiene, housing cleanliness, and early detection is one of the most valuable welfare investments available to dairy farmers. The alignment between welfare and economics is strong in mastitis prevention - healthy cows produce more milk with lower treatment costs, making welfare investment economically rational. Reducing mastitis incidence is both an ethical obligation and a business imperative.