DULUTH, Ga. — The economic impact of mastitis on the dairy industry is nearly $2 billion or 11 percent of total U.S. milk production.
Education
Educating dairy employees about this issue is an important part of minimizing loss and reducing the risk of infection.
To support dairies in their efforts to educate employees, Merial created a new web-based audiovisual training module, Mastitis Control, to www.BestInClassDairies.com.
A third module, Dairy as a Profit Center, as well as new educational resources, links to industry news and dairy market statistics are also featured on the new enhanced site — giving dairy operations even more tools to be successful.
“Providing milker training to your employees is an investment, one that can pay long-term dividends in terms of productivity, herd health and profitability,” said Frank Hurtig, DVM, MBA, director of Large Animal Veterinary Services, Merial.
Prevention
Disease prevention often starts with employees, and because they spend the vast majority of their time with the herd, on-the-line workers are a great resource when it comes to spotting illness and health issues.
Details
Each module is available in both English and Spanish. Workers can access the modules at any time, which allows them the opportunity to read and review the information at their own pace.
In addition to the modules, the enhanced website is structured to provide dairy operations with access to more external resources, including a daily dairy report with up-to-date market information for milk, cheese and butter prices and relevant dairy news.
Other training modules, “Environmental Mastitis Prevention” and “Dry Cow Therapy”, will be added in the next few months. Both will be offered in English and Spanish.
Producers can get more information about the Best in Class Dairies program by visiting www.BestInClassDairies.com.
