Mastitis Therapy in Organic Dairy Herds

A total of 16 organic dairy farms were surveyed for 12 months and data were collected on prevention and treatment of clinical cases of mastitis. Comparative data from seven matched conventional farms were also collected. Organic regulations prevent organic dairy farmers from using antibiotic dry cow therapy, and milk withdrawal periods after antibiotic therapy during lactation are prolonged under organic regulations. It was assumed that alternative therapies would be more common in the organic herds. The main alternative to antibiotic therapy on the organic farms was homeopathy, which was the treatment of choice for clinical mastitis on 12 out of 16 farms. Homeopathy was used on 52% and topical udder liniments on 7% of clinical mastitis cases treated on organic farms. Treatment frequency of the alternative therapies differed little from that of routine antibiotic use, but the duration of treatment was on average longer when using alternatives to antibiotics. Milk withdrawal periods were on average shorter when using alternative therapies and were usually shorter than the treatment periods. Clinical mastitis incidence on the organic farms was similar to that recorded on conventional farms. Dry period mastitis was responsible for over 15% of all recorded mastitis cases on the organic farms.