Systematic mastitis prevention programmes combining housing, milking hygiene and dry cow management can dramatically reduce one of the most common causes of dairy cow suffering.
Mastitis prevention is one of the highest-leverage welfare investments available to dairy farmers, combining direct welfare benefit with substantial economic returns. A mastitis case causes acute pain for the affected cow, disrupts her behaviour and can lead to systemic illness, chronic infection and premature culling. Systematic prevention programmes that combine housing hygiene, milking technique, machine maintenance and targeted dry cow therapy can reduce mastitis incidence by 50% or more in high-prevalence herds.