Chipping away at the tough questions about bedding management and mastitis

Abstract

Over the past several decades, the dairy industry and mastitis researchers have, collectively, made great progress in improving our understanding of the role of bedding selection and management as a determinant of mastitis risk. Increased bedding bacteria counts (BBC) are associated with increased bacteria loads on teat ends and with increased risk for infection caused by environmental mastitis pathogens. Benchmarks for BBC have been established. The use of recycled manure solids is, on average, associated with higher BBC and poorer udder health, compared to inorganic materials or organic non-manure materials. However, BBC and udder health measures are highly variable among herds, regardless of the bedding material used. Several factors have been identified that are related to the processing and management of unused bedding and the management of bedding in stalls, which are associated with reduced BBC. Producers using recycled manure solids or sand bedding should strive to increase bedding dryness, with a view to reducing BBC. However, many questions remain, including the need to better understand the significance of organic matter levels in sand bedding, and to evaluate the impact of various methods of processing recycled manure solids on bedding characteristics, udder health, and economics.