REVIEW: How well have United States dairy producers adopted mastitis-control technologies for reducing herd somatic cell counts improving milk quality?

ABSTRACT Mastitis continues to be a major livestock disease affecting the dairy industry. In the United States, this disease results in economic losses approaching $2 billion annually due to reduced milk production, milk discard, veterinary services, antibiotic use, increased labor, and reduced cow sale value. As the industry strives to improve milk quality to meet consumer as well as exportation demands, the legal limit for bulk-tank SCC will likely be reduced from 750,000/mL to 400,000/mL in the near future. It is estimated that between 10 and 20% of United States dairy farms, mostly located in the Southeast, are currently at or above the 400,000/mL SCC limit and will have to adopt stricter methods for controlling mastitis in their milking herds, dry cows, and heifers. The 5-point plan of mastitis control has provided the basics of managing this disease for more than 4 decades and includes 1) teat disinfection, 2) dry-cow therapy, 3) use of functionally adequate milking machines, 4) therapy of clinical infections, and 5) culling of chronically infected cows. However, additional measures of control will have to be implemented to reduce mastitis prevalence and the associated elevation in SCC. Such management practices include maintenance of a clean and dry environment, vaccination, dietary supplementation, and mastitis control in heifers. The adoption of both the proven traditional methods and the more novel technological approaches toward mastitis management by dairy producers will have to be implemented by those with herd bulk-tank SCC exceeding 400,000/mL. In addition, extension and outreach personnel associated with agricultural universities should play a major role in disseminating mastitis-management programs to assist dairy producers in attaining maximum production of the highest-quality product.