Productive and economic daily losses due to mastitis and its control expenditures in dairy farms in Córdoba, Argentina

Abstract

The aim was estimate the daily direct cost and the expenditures due to mastitis control and prevention, evaluating their magnitude and variation among dairy farms. A random sample of dairy farms was the study population. Forty eight farms were visited once. The visit included a clinical mastitis check-up of lactating cows, a visual inspection of milking routine, and the analysis of a questionnaire. Milk composite samples (n = 1955) were randomly collected for somatic cell count (SCC). Productive and economic daily losses were characterised and quantified according to the composite sample SCC and valuing discarded milk as result of the clinical onset. Dairy farm control and prevention expenditures were also determined. The losses for subclinical mastitis showed a median of 2.8 liters/milking cow/day (percentile 25% = 2.0; percentile 75% = 2.9) for all cows studied, that represents US$ 0.99/milking cow/day. Losses due to milk discarded for clinical mastitis, showed a dairy farms median 0.12 liters/milking cow/day (percentile 25% = 0; percentile 75% = 0.31), that represents a cost of US$ 0.04/milking cow/day. The control and prevention expenditures dairy farm median was about US$ 0.06/milking cow/day (percentile 25% = 0.034; percentile 75% = 0.095). The total cost of mastitis, including the loss caused by the disease and the cost of its control and prevention measures were ≥ US$ 1.0/milking cow/day (percentile 25% = 0.8; percentile 75% = 1.2) in at least 50% of the dairy farms. Daily total cost for mastitis represented 16% of the dairy farm daily gross income in at least 50% of the dairies. No difference of cost across distinct farm production strata was found, except by the ratio of total mastitis cost over daily gross income. That ratio was higher among low producing farms. This is the first report about mastitis costs variation among small and medium dairy farms in Argentina.