Key Messages

• Mastitis is important to consider when selecting cows to cull.
• Although Dry Cow Treatment cures up to 80% of mastitis infections, some cows do not cure.
• Cows that have subclinical mastitis in 2 consecutive lactations (despite intervening Dry Cow Treatment) are persistently infected.
• Persistently infected cows are a source of infection for other cows.
• Culling cows with persistent infections helps protect the young, healthy cows which are the future of the herd
• Cows that have been treated for three or more clinical episodes in one lactation should be culled.
• Stock treatment records of clinical mastitis cases and individual cow cell counts are needed to select the appropriate cows to cull.
• All cull cows must be residue-free when they are sold for slaughter.

Contents

1. Culling decisions are easier if you know which bugs are active in your herd
   
2. The right cull choices - cows with persistent infections
   
3. Culling on cell count pattern
   
4. Culling cows - remember withholding periods for meat!
   
5. Buyer Beware
   
6. Culling tips
   
7. All the grabs in MS Word format