Total cost of bovine mastitis and economic impact of improvement of udder health plans in commercial dairy herds in Uruguay

Mastitis severely affects dairy farmers’ profitability. Total cost (Tc) of mastitis is the sum of failure costs (Fc) and preventive costs (Pc), but there is a substitutive relationship between these components. The objective was to estimate the Tc of mastitis in Uruguayan dairy herds and to evaluate the economic benefit of improving their udder health plans. A survey and a financial model were developed to estimate the total cost of mastitis. They were applied in a convenience sample from a previous cohort study of 12 dairy farms in southern Uruguay. The survey collected general data from the farm, mastitis records, milking routine, and mastitis management. For each herd, Fc, Pc, and Tc were determined using farm data collected from the survey, the previous study, and market information. A stochastic Monte Carlo simulation using @Risk (Lumivero) was carried out for each farm to evaluate the economic benefit of implementing a complete udder health plan, according to dairy research standards. The new Fc, Pc, and Tc were estimated, and each farm’s marginal substitution rate (MRS) was calculated. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to test the assumptions. The mean of Fc was 294 US$/cow/year, mainly due to subclinical mastitis yield losses. Pc was 47 US$/cow/year, and Tc was 341 US$/cow/ year. All cost components showed a significant variability between farms, suggesting the potential room for improving udder health. The simulation model showed that improving the udder health plans in most farms was cost-effective. The MRS was high in most farms, indicating that the improvement was convenient. Taking this into account and the fact that Fc is much greater than Pc, advice with a preventive approach could be economically efficient for Uruguayan herds. However, the measure to be adopted must consider the herd, farm, and economic specificities.