Mastitis control can be quite a complex issue because there are many different factors involved that affect the risk of infection in the cows.  For effective mastitis control, all of the different treatment and prevention activities on any particular farm have to complement each other and work together.

I like to think of this as being like a brick wall with each component of mastitis control being a “brick” in the wall – teat spraying is one brick, dry cow therapy is another brick, and so on. It is the people working on the farm who are the mortar that holds everything together.

Together the bricks and mortar all make up each farm’s “brick wall” defense against mastitis.  The strength of the wall depends on the strength of the bricks, and the strength of the mortar holding them together.

Each farm has its own “brick wall” against mastitis. The challenge for farmers is how to build a strong wall for their farm, so Countdown has a role to help farmers get all the factors involving the cows, the dairy, the environment and the people on the farm all lined up and working together as a strong brick wall.

The Countdown Farmer Short Course was designed to enable farmers to build their own brick wall by helping them to –

·          Know what the “bricks” are on their farm

·          Understand why each “brick” is important

·          Know how to assess each “brick” on their own farm

·          Decide exactly what needed to be done, by whom, and by when to get each “brick” to line up.

·          Develop the capacity to work with both the other people involved on the farm and also the farm’s advisers to strengthen any particular “brick” in the wall.

Countdown also recognised that dairy farmers already know a lot about their own farm - they are clever and resourceful in actually making things work, and they also like to see and hear how other farmers make things happen.

So the Countdown Farmer Short Course was designed to give the technical background to each “brick”, but then to allow farmers to use their own knowledge, and the practical experiences of other farmers in the group, to develop a working plan for that “brick” on their particular farm.

Now, after nearly 1700 farmers have attended the 81 courses held around Australia, we know that this has worked.

A recent survey of farmers who attended these courses has shown the success of the course and the mastitis plans developed by those farmers. Of the farmers surveyed, 97% either fully or partially achieved the goals of their mastitis action plan, and 62% lowered their cell count by one or more categories.

There has recently been considerable interest from farmers wanting to attend a course and with FarmBi$ funding now starting to become available again in a number of States, Countdown Farmer Short Courses are being scheduled around the country.

If you haven’t been able to attend a Countdown Farmer Short Course yet, this could be the opportunity for you to build your “brick wall” against mastitis, or strengthen what you already have!

Click here to find out about the Countdown Farmer Short Course

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