National study highlights cluster hygiene value

Funded by rural hygiene leaders, BASF Pest Control Solutions, the Sorgene study published at this month’s British Mastitis Conference involved consultant interviews with a sample of 100 dairy farmers across the country.

With herds ranging from less than 60 to more than 960 cows and yields from under 4500 to over 12,000 litres/cow, they were selected to provide a good cross-section of current dairy management practice.

The vast majority milk in herringbone parlours, with 8% having rotaries and 5% the latest automatic milking systems. Within a whisker of the national average at 202,000 cells/ml, SCCs vary from 110,000 to 320,000.