Practical Strategies for Treating

Introduction Mastitis is the most frequent and costly disease of dairy cattle. Losses due to mastitis occur for both subclinical and clinical disease. Losses caused by clinical mastitis are often apparent and consist of discarded milk, transient reductions in milk yield and premature culling (Fetrow, 2000). Perceived financial losses for clinical mastitis vary widely. In 2002-2003, farmers participating in milk quality programs in Wisconsin (n = 117) estimated that each clinical case of mastitis cost approximately $97.00 USD, but estimates ranged from zero to $260 per case. Discarded milk accounted for more than half of the cost ($54.00 USD).