Udder health on dairy farms. 2. Mastitis control programmes

Herd-specific mastitis control programmes are based on the continous monito ring of primary parameters, of which the bulk milk somatic cell count and t he distribution of pathogens responsible for clinical and subclinical masti tis are the most important ones. When a mastitis control programme is start ed, the herd situation should be analysed. Sampling milk from cows with cli nical and subclinical mastitis is essential. During the last 5 years, a num ber of programmes related to udder health and milk quality have been starte d in the Netherlands. These programmes are: 1) 'Chain Quality Milk', 2) a h erd-specific Mastitis Planner, 3) a sampling programme for subclinical and clinical mastitis data. Using these four programmes, farmers, veterinary pr actitioners, and other advisors can design a herd-specific programme to imp rove udder health. Although there have been many studies on mastitis and im portant progress has been made, some important aspects have often not been studied. Suggestions for further research are made.