Know your herd's mastitis pattern with the automated MPAT

Knowing the pattern of mastitis on your farm means you can target control measures at where they can be most effective. Find out how to register to use the automated Mastitis Pattern Analysis Tool (MPAT) and how to interpret the data.

Why should mastitis cases be recorded?

You can use clinical mastitis case records and individual cow cell count data from your herd to help make better decisions about mastitis control. Records are often used to:

• Inform decisions about which cows to treat, which to cull, which cows’ milk should be withheld from the bulk tank and which cows to milk last. This reactive use helps us to reduce some of the effects, but it does not help to prevent future cases of mastitis

• Tell you more about mastitis on your farm and help to prevent mastitis and improve milk quality. The resources below will outline the mastitis records you should keep and how you can use them effectively to improve mastitis control

What are the biggest challenges associated with mastitis control?

Most commonly, mastitis infections are picked up from the environment, but they can also be transmitted from one cow to another (contagious mastitis). Infections may be picked up during the dry period or during lactation – and both these patterns may show variation depending on the time of year.

Analysis of clinical mastitis records and individual cow somatic cell counts can reveal which of these infection patterns are most important in a herd at a particular time.

Further information on mastitis patterns can be found in our resources: Control of contagious mastitis, Control of environmental mastitis in lactation and Control of heifer mastitis 

Keeping records

Monitoring all cases of mastitis on your farm is a must, with accurate and consistent record-keeping being needed to successfully improve mastitis control.

Ideally, mild cases of clinical mastitis should be recorded even if they do not need to be treated. Providing this data to your milk recording organisation will help to improve the accuracy of your mastitis pattern analysis reports.

Herd pattern analysis and the MPAT tool

Knowing your farm’s mastitis pattern means you can target control measures at where they can be most effective. Find out how to use the Mastitis Pattern Analysis Tool (MPAT) and how to interpret the data.

QuarterPRO

QuarterPRO is a new initiative that aims to help you achieve continuous improvement in mastitis control and udder health on farm leading to more saleable milk, higher milk quality, improved cow welfare and less antibiotic use.