Costs of Mastitis and Milk Quality Management Practices Perceived by Dairy Producers in the Southeastern United States

摘要

Mastitis is the costliest disease to the dairy industry worldwide. Producers take many different steps to manage milk quality on their farms. Pre and post-milking teat disinfection, coliform mastitis vaccinations, and antibiotic treatment have all proved beneficial practices to control milk quality. The three of objectives of this study were (1) to detennine how much southeastern U.S. dairy producers spend on milk quality control practices, (2) to determine if the herd bulk tank somatic cell score (SCS) had an effect on mastitis management costs and (3) to quantify producer perceptions of mastitis costs.