Mastitis Costs Dairy Farms Big Money
UK & Global Dairy Farms — Dairy mastitis — the inflammation of a cow’s udder — imposes significant economic losses on dairy operations worldwide, prompting experts to urge producers to calculate true costs on their own farms rather than relying on simple estimates.
According to dairy health specialists, mastitis carries both direct costs (treatment, medicine, labour and milk discarded during withdrawal periods) and indirect costs (reduced milk yield, loss of quality bonuses/penalties on milk price, reproductive setbacks and culling/replacement of animals).
Industry benchmarks from the UK and Europe show that clinical mastitis cases can cost farms €164–€235 per cow per case, and when including subclinical infections (which often go undetected but reduce milk yield), total losses range between €65 and €182 per cow per year depending on herd somatic cell counts.
Economists emphasise that many producers underestimate these losses, since visible treatment costs are only a fraction of the true economic burden. Higher somatic cell counts — a proxy for udder infection – are linked to lower production efficiency and penalties from processors.
Global estimates underscore the scale of the issue: mastitis contributes to billions in annual losses for dairy sectors worldwide, driven chiefly by reduced milk production, quality penalties, and increased culling and replacement rates.
Advice from industry advisors stresses the importance of detailed farm-specific tracking — including clinical case records, quality measurements and financial impacts — to accurately quantify mastitis cost and justify investments in prevention, hygiene and herd health management that can reduce overall economic drag.
Source : Dairynews7x7 Feb 23rd 2026 Read full story here
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