North Yorkshire: Reducing clinical mastitis - lessons from Willow Tree Farm

What if reducing mastitis is about giving cows more space not more treatments?

Mastitis infections affect all dairy herds across the country - on average, there are 26 clinical mastitis cases per 100 cows per year equivalent, accounting for around 8% of cows exiting the dairy system (Kingshay’s 2024 Dairy Costings Focus Report).

Over the past three years, the Pattison family at Willow Tree Farm have been working to reduce clinical mastitis levels in their 300‑cow herd by focusing on cow space and improvements to the housed environment.

We will explore how these changes were implemented in practice, alongside insights from James Breen, using Willow Tree Farm as a real‑world case study.

This session will concentrate on reducing the rate of new clinical mastitis cases, drawing on real farm data, Nottingham University research on cow space and practical observations from the unit.

Using examples from Willow Tree Farm, the meeting will help attendees to:

• Understand the predominant infection patterns likely to be driving mastitis in their herd
• Identify the key environmental changes that can reduce mastitis risk
• Analyse key performance metrics to assess mastitis control
• Recognise important housing observations and measurements, including ventilation, bedding management and cow space

Speaker profile

James Breen qualified as a veterinary surgeon from the University of Bristol in 1998 and, after working in mixed practice, returned in 2001 to undertake a residency in Farm Animal Medicine. He later collaborated with Prof Andrew Bradley and Prof Martin Green on a national dairy cow mastitis research project, contributing to the development of the AHDB Mastitis Control Plan.

James went on to complete a three‑year RCVS Trust residency in Production Animal Medicine, balancing dairy practice in Glastonbury with teaching, research, and laboratory consultancy for QMMS Ltd in Somerset.

James now splits his time between teaching at the University of Nottingham and providing veterinary consultancy for Map of Ag, with particular expertise in mastitis control, herd health, and preventive medicine.