The Effect of Farm Size on the Differences in Mastitis Prevalence and Its Consequences on Milk Production in Holstein Cows

Abstract

Aiming to determine the prevalence of mastitis and its consequences on milk production, 3,953,637 test-day records of Holstein cows (period 01/2005 to 12/2022) were analyzed. The obtained analyses indicate differences in mastitis prevalence and the consequences on successive milk production depending on herd size. The lowest mastitis prevalence was observed on the largest farms (>500), while the most pronounced recovery potential was observed for farms with 200–500 cows. Higher mastitis prevalence and lower recovery potential observed at smaller farms indicate the necessity of education and knowledge transfer to those farms.

Keywords

• mastitis prevalence
• Holstein breed
• somatic cell count
• daily milk yield