Present situation of udder healthness in our countries

Austria

• The diffusion rate of Mastitis in Austria is about 20 %
• The most common way to keep the udder healthy is to use special dip solutions after milking and Vaseline/ petroleum jelly.
• It is not allowed to feed silage when your milk is used for producing Emmental cheese.
• The Austrian farmers don’t have as much problems with udder healthness (mastitis. Udder inflammation, …) like farmers in the Netherlands . Because the common races in Austria are Simmental cattle and Pinzgauer and they have a better immune system than Holstein.
• The most common bacterias are S. Aureus and Streptococies. They are spread by dirty hands and towels, milking machines and also on the towel that should be used for cleaning the udder.
• The genotype of a cow plays also a major role too.

Finland

• 25,5% of Finnish cows has been treated because of mastitis (in 2003)
• Most common bacterias are S. Aureus and Strptococies. Over half of mastitis are caused of those bacterias. E. coli and KNS are also very common.
• Quality of milk in Finland is very high. Past few years over 90% of milk was produched in E-class. In E-class limits are under 250 000 somatic cells/ml and 50 000 bacteria/ml.
• In Finland they can produce as high quality Emmental cheese from silage milk than they produce in Swizerland from hey milk.
• Finland is very famous for health breeding. In udder healthness we are using two different index. For cell acount and udder curing.
• Usually Finnish farmers want to avoid to use antibiotics. First they test the bacteria from milk and then select right kind of antibiotic.
• Dips and sprays are very common way to prevent mastitis. Also way of milking. 

the Netherlands

• Udder problems are one of the biggest problems in the Netherlands!
• In the Netherlands every year 25% of al the dairy cows has been selected. 15% are cows with udder problems. So this is a big part , about 60% of al the selected cows.
• 20% of all cows in the Netherlands have got a visible mastitis
• the total damage is €100 million.
• More than 95% of all the mastitis problems are caused by Streptococcus or Staphylococcus bacteria.
• According to the EC guideline milk that is used for consumption should have less than 400.000 cells/ml. The opinions are very different about how much cells a healthy udder quarter should include. The opinions go from  25.000 cells/ml to  70.000 cells/ml. The descendents of the cells has also to do with the fine system that was introduced in 1971. Farm milk with a cell number from 1.000.000 ore higher got a fine. In 1982 they did make it lower to 750.000 cells/ml. In 1993 again to a maximum of 400.000 cells/ml. On January first 2000 they make it easier again, because they checked at the average amount of cells in your milktank over the last 3 times.
• 56% of the normal milk cattle breeding put all the cows dry, 31% just a few cows and 13% don’t put any animals dry. By biological farms 6% put all the cows dry, 59% just a few and 35% none. Nevertheless there is no different between the mastitis frequents. On both side it’s about 22%.
• Dipping or spraying of the udder before or after milking:
• There are a lot of farmers who don’t dip or spray at all, and a lot of them who dip or spray before or after milking are looking for disinfecting products and all kind of variations between. In 1985 , 23% of the normal cattle breeders dipped or sprayed, in 2001 that was 80%.

Page updated 21.5.2006