Number of mastitis cases decreased due to lime litter

Wiljan Meilink from Hof ​​Scholten-Meilink runs a dairy farm with his family in the German province of Bentheim, close to the Dutch border. Meilink is a farmer who puts the welfare of his cows high on his agenda. And not without results: "Since we switched to lime litter from Berg Fourage, our cell count has dropped and mastitis rarely occurs anymore," says Meilink. Statistically speaking, he manages to remain far below the national average.

In 2020 we started using flax-lime as bedding. We recently switched to flax alternative lime, mainly because it was more readily available. I am very satisfied with both," says Meilink. The flax alternative-lime 1:2 litter is a lot lighter than flax-lime 1:5. The application of both is comparable. "We litter the boxes once every seven to ten days, depending on how busy the farm is. In the meantime, the stock of litter is left outside on our property. Even though it sometimes gets wet due to rain, it remains good."

Less mastitis means job satisfaction
Since the transition to milking robots and flax alternative lime, the cell count has dropped to 150. "Although there are some cows with a higher cell count, they still contribute to milk production. Without these cows, I average a cell count of 100 to 120." ", says Meilink. "We have far fewer cows with mastitis. I can count on one hand the number of mastitis cases in the last year. That gives a lot more job satisfaction. Our production is now 40 liters of milk per cow per day, with 4,15% fat and 3,40% protein."

Only a handful of mastitis cases
With its 220 cows in milk, Meilink manages to stay far below the average number of mastitis cases. Recent research shows that the clinical mastitis incidence per 100 cows is on average more than 31 cases [1], while Meilink with 220 dairy cows only counted a handful. He also scores considerably better in terms of cell count. The national average is 209, where Meilink dropped to 150.

The statistics from Hof ​​Scholten-Meilink confirm the bacteria-inhibiting capacity of the lime litter. In almost all cases we see a decrease in cell count with less pressure from environmental bacteria in the cubicles.

Want to know more?
Want to know more about how stable litter can help improve the udder health of your herd? Berg Fourage's representatives will be happy to advise you. Call 0341-768222 or email sales@bergfourage.nl.

_{[1] Bisschop, 2023a, Average clinical mastitis incidence per 100 cows per year (2017-2022)}