Targeting antibiotic reduction is one of the main pillars of many sustainability programs of milk processors and retailers, but aside from the use of selective dry cow therapy, how can this actually be achieved?
In 2021, Kingshay reported that a case of mastitis costs approximately £200 when milk price is 25ppl and £400 when milk price is 50ppl. Now, with milk prices looking to average around 40ppl for the winter ahead we can put this cost at around £320 per case and with mastitis cases stubbornly sticking at around 30 cases per 100 cows (three studies from 2021 as reported at the British Mastitis Conference, 2023) then costs remain high at around £9,600 per 100 cows this coming winter and with the need to reduce cases and cut antibiotic use still a challenge.
The UK has already reduced antibiotic use markedly – overall in farmed animals it reduced by 59% between 2014 and 2022, and specifically in the period 2019-2021 sales of antibiotic intramammary tubes for lactating cows decreased by 15%, and sales for dry cows decreased by 8% showing continuing progress.
Maintaining a healthy herd with a fully functioning immune system, even during periods of stress, will certainly help support a reduction in clinical mastitis cases, and support quicker recovery from any clinical case on farm.
Heat stress, group changes, drying-off, calving and feed changes are just some of the common, unavoidable stresses on farm, and in all cases will increase the risk of immune suppression and increase susceptibility to disease.
OmniGen AF is a unique, patented feedstuff proven to support the cows’ immune system, and especially during periods of stress. Fed daily to all cows in the herd, from dry cows through the entire lactation, a European study of 244 herds containing 40,333 cows in the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, France and Italy demonstrated that over a five month period feeding OmniGen AF, herds saw a reduction in mastitis cases by an average of 28%. A further evaluation of 8,980 cows on 48 Dutch farms showed an impressive 29% reduction in antibiotic use in lactating cows after six months of OmniGen AF feeding.
A natural, unique and patented product with commercial and scientific proof of application in supporting the cows’ immune system to help support her through disease challenges such as mastitis, OmniGen AF could offer farmers a proven way to address challenges around continued reduction in antibiotic use on farms.
Contact our Key Account Manager, Mark Scott (mark.scott@pahc.com), for more information.
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