AHI offering free mastitis consultations

The programme is targeted at herds struggling to manage mastitis. There are no eligibility criteria for herdowners that apply

The consult is recommended for farmers seeking to reduce the SCC and improve milk quality, for whom mastitis is costing money, or creating problems for the farmer or the milkers.

The Cell Count Solutions free mastitis consult remains available in 2025.

Piloted in 2022, and available nationally since, these in-lactation consults are funded through the Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health, supported by the Rural Development Programme, and co-ordinated by Animal Health Ireland.

According to Animal Health Ireland, mastitis is a multi-factorial problem and requires a multi-disciplinary approach to solve it. Therefore, a key objective of the consult is to identify all the on-farm service providers — like vets, farm advisors, milk quality advisors, and milking machine technicians — with whom the farmer already has a relationship, and to kick-start a collaborative approach to address mastitis, and to support the farmer along the road of investigating and resolving mastitis issues.

The Cell Count Solutions service is a free consult delivered by a trained veterinary practitioner, chosen by the farmer, and is an opportunity for the farmer to begin the process of mastitis problem-solving. It is also a first step in creating a multi-disciplinary team for the farm.

The consult is recommended for farmers seeking to reduce the SCC and improve milk quality, for whom mastitis is costing money, or creating problems for the farmer or the milkers.

The consult offers a free veterinary visit, and an opportunity to create a herd-specific plan in conjunction with the herd vet.

The consult is vet-led, and looks at all relevant areas, including the cow, the milking routine, the environment, records, etc.

The farmer nominates the people he or she wants to include, such as the milk quality or farm advisor, milking machine technician, etc.

Finola McCoy, CellCheck programme manager with Animal Health Ireland, recommends signing up for the free consult as the first step to getting mastitis and SCC levels under control.

There is no quick fix for mastitis, Ms McCoy says, but the consult can set up the framework for ongoing multi-disciplinary engagement.

It is targeted at herds struggling to manage mastitis, and there are no eligibility criteria for herdowners that apply.

Farmers sign up through the AHI website (animalhealthireland.ie), or through their milk quality advisor or vet, who will be familiar with the consult. They can select their preferred veterinary practitioner, provided the practitioner has completed the relevant consult training.

The herdowner’s trained milk-quality advisor is also identified, and the farmer has the option to choose the additional service providers (farm advisor, milking machine technician, etc.) to join the team. All team members will be supplied with the action plan agreed by the vet and farmer to continue support for the farmer.