Financial and economic analyses of the impact of cattle mastitis on the profitability of Egyptian dairy farms

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate and quantify the different factors affecting the costs of mastitis in cattle, to quantify the annual and monthly financial losses attributed to mastitis, and to estimate production losses using average linear scores found on The Dairy Herd Improvement Association somatic cell count (SCC) sheets and bulk tank SCC per lactation number.

Materials and methods: All data (bovine mastitis-associated costs and expenditures in Egyptian dairy herds) were analyzed using SPSS/PCT, 2001. A partial budget technique using spreadsheet software and the general linear model procedure was used to analyze the productive and financial measures.

Results: Mastitis was present in 57.1% of cows (240/420), while clinical mastitis (CM) was present in 19% of them (80/420). The geometric mean of SCC/ml in bulk tank milk samples of 150 cattle dairy farms was 556.3×10³. The annual subclinical mastitis (SCM)-related economic loss was 21,933,258.6 LE, and the two most important cost components were the subsequent decrease in milk production and quality premium losses (93% and 7% of SCM costs, respectively). The quality premium loss was 1,369,602.1 LE. On the other hand, the annual economic loss due to decreased milk production as a result of SCM was 20,563,656.5 LE. The total cost of 80 CM cases, including the failure and preventive costs, was 1,196,871.4 LE, including 1,169,150.4 LE failure costs (106,336.0 LE in direct costs and 1,062,814.4 LE in indirect costs) and 27,721.0 LE preventive costs. The average cost per CM case was 28,760.9 LE, including veterinary time and consultation fees of 250.0 LE (1%), labor 562.5 LE (2%), premature culling 736,000.0 LE (77%), decreased milk production 4085.18 LE (13.7%), discarded milk 185.3 LE (1%), and drugs and treatments 328.9 LE (1%). The total costs of CM (expenditures) extra control and preventive measures, including the diagnosis of CM for 80 cows annually in 20 Egyptian dairy farms were 27,721.0 LE, representing 346.5 LE or 1% of the total cost of CM cases. The cost of monitoring and diagnostic measures was 8635.2 LE, representing 107.9 LE or 1% of the total cost of a case of CM.

Conclusion: The method used for cost estimation, in this study, is highly adaptable to individual cattle farms and had a major role in assessing specific control and management measures. The concepts described in this paper help to improve our understanding of the full economic impact of clinical and subclinical mastitis in cattle in Egypt. Assessing the economic losses from mastitis to determine the economic costs and losses occurring in Egyptian dairy farms is critical for encouraging farmers to acknowledge the scale of the problem and implement effective management practices aimed at improving mastitis control and reducing the associated costs.

Keywords: clinical mastitis; economic impact; financial losses; subclinical mastitis.