Mastitis Prevention Research: Teat Sealants & Antibiotics Use During Dry-Off

[Stergios]

Dear dairy farmers,

I hope this message finds you all well and strong!

I am an independent innovation consultant based in Cambridge UK, currently working with a leading veterinary pharmaceutical company. I am conducting research on Udder Health, specifically around Mastitis Prevention during Dry-Off. We are looking for insights to help develop a better product solution. Therefore, your input would be invaluable!

I would need to visit and speak in person with 8 dairy farmers in the UK - ideally I would visit the farm on the day the dry off begins or within a couple of days after. We offer £100 worth of vouchers of your choice as reimbursement for your time.

I will share more information and explain the criteria of selection in more detail over the phone but at this stage please email me if you are willing to help us: [email protected]

I look forward to hearing from you!

Kind regards,
Stergios

www.dandelioninsights.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stergiosb/?originalSubdomain=uk

 

[buffalo_soldier]

How come it's always vouchers? They're just a less useful version of money.

While I'm at it, why is multiple hours of my time, experience, knowledge and insight only valued at £100?
I don't envision a pharmaceutical company or an innovation consultant doing much for that amount.

 

[Cowmansam]

What exactly are you trying to develop drying off is all about the method proper cleaning and not having cows rushing about or in dirty areas I can’t see any need for anything other than ab tube for problem cows and just sealant for everything else never had a case of mastitis in dry cows I’d hazard a guess that anyone who gets infections in the dry period is either doing it wrong letting cows get dirty or using inaccurate selection criteria

 

[vantage]

While I'm at it, why is multiple hours of my time, experience, knowledge and insight only valued at £100?
I don't envision a pharmaceutical company or an innovation consultant doing much for that amount.

’Cause you’re a farmer and do it for love!

 

[Sid]

£100

Put a 0 on the end and come on over.

 

[Stergios]

How come it's always vouchers? They're just a less useful version of money.

While I'm at it, why is multiple hours of my time, experience, knowledge and insight only valued at £100?
I don't envision a pharmaceutical company or an innovation consultant doing much for that amount.

Thank you for your note!

If cash works better, then cash it is! If you agreed to help us, you would be getting £100 for 1 hour of your time - I believe that's way above the country's average hourly rate!

I'm not here to argue and I thank you again for taking the time to respond

Best wishes,
Sterge

 

[Stergios]

What exactly are you trying to develop drying off is all about the method proper cleaning and not having cows rushing about or in dirty areas I can’t see any need for anything other than ab tube for problem cows and just sealant for everything else never had a case of mastitis in dry cows I’d hazard a guess that anyone who gets infections in the dry period is either doing it wrong letting cows get dirty or using inaccurate selection criteria

Thank you so much for your kind reply!

I am wondering whether there are any pain-points during the process you are describing. For example, if we looked specifically into sealants, what could we do to make your life easier during usage? Even around disinfection - what are the areas of improvement? How satisfied are you with current solutions? How can the packaging and the various components (e.g. sealant plungers) be improved to help you further? How can we make the entire process easier for you? This is my type of enquiry. You may argue that there is nothing to be done - you may argue that everything works well as it is. And that would be a perfectly fine response, but it makes a difference if it comes from the farmers' mouths, rather than me guessing or making assumptions.

Let me know if you would be interested in discussing further! It'd be great!

Best wishes,
Sterge

 

[Sid]

Thank you for your note!

If cash works better, then cash it is! If you agreed to help us, you would be getting £100 for 1 hour of your time - I believe that's way above the country's average hourly rate!

I'm not here to argue and I thank you again for taking the time to respond

Best wishes,
Sterge

So when you take you pet to the vet do you tell them they are only worth £20/hr despite the team , equipment and wealth of knowledge behind them?

Ours are way over £100/hr.

You want knowledge not a survey filled in.

Perhaps 5% of any future sales would be fairer?

 

[Sandpit Farm]

The problem is that I think there are many reasons why cows get mastitis that are related to the environment the cows are kept in. That has to be the lowest hanging fruit. Messing about with a new teat sealant because it is the new 'off the shelf' solution is all very well but If you are drying off in a mucky parlour and housing cows on warm dirty bedding, the sealant is the least of your worries.

The thing is, if you get it right (which many farmers do), your clinical mastitis rate can be extremely low. That is with all of the current products - which are fine actually. The issue is always environment and competency.

I think I would recommend you get in touch with someone like Peter Edmonson or Roger Blowey to get their take on it.

Biggest questions would be things like: What do you do if you have a small canal on a heifer for example? What if a cow leaks around the sealant? What if a cow is still over 25litres of milk per day? What if a cow is very low cell count? What type of mastitis do I have? What is the source of my mastitis cases (Dry period, fresh stage, lactation, seasonal, heifer mastitis etc)? Do you milk them first pre dry off? Do you dry off before or after milking? What do you do with cows immediately after dry off? All of these questions are answered in various books and webinars by various vets and even the levy board so it is pretty well understood - I'd wager that the answers to all of these already exist in any group of farmers you got together in a discussion group.

 

[Stergios]

The problem is that I think there are many reasons why cows get mastitis that are related to the environment the cows are kept in. That has to be the lowest hanging fruit. Messing about with a new teat sealant because it is the new 'off the shelf' solution is all very well but If you are drying off in a mucky parlour and housing cows on warm dirty bedding, the sealant is the least of your worries.

The thing is, if you get it right (which many farmers do), your clinical mastitis rate can be extremely low. That is with all of the current products - which are fine actually. The issue is always environment and competency.

I think I would recommend you get in touch with someone like Peter Edmonson or Roger Blowey to get their take on it.

Biggest questions would be things like: What do you do if you have a small canal on a heifer for example? What if a cow leaks around the sealant? What if a cow is still over 25litres of milk per day? What if a cow is very low cell count? What type of mastitis do I have? What is the source of my mastitis cases (Dry period, fresh stage, lactation, seasonal, heifer mastitis etc)? Do you milk them first pre dry off? Do you dry off before or after milking? What do you do with cows immediately after dry off? All of these questions are answered in various books and webinars by various vets and even the levy board so it is pretty well understood - I'd wager that the answers to all of these already exist in any group of farmers you got together in a discussion group.

Thank you so much for sharing your views and insights!

I should definitely get in touch with Peter and Roger - I would still be interested in the farmers' perspective and how to improve their experience of using disinfectants, antibiotics and sealants - from a usability and design point of view. The questions you raised here are very interesting, especially the one around leakage - is this something that you have personally experienced, or maybe heard stories about it? That can be an issue that I would very much be interested in resolving with a next generation sealant for example!

Kind regards,
Stergios

 

[Suckndiesel]

If you could make a teal sealant tube that isn’t half full of air that would be good

 

[Stergios]

If you could make a teal sealant tube that isn’t half full of air that would be good

Thank you for the insight! So making a more compact tube would be a good step forward! So in your opinion, what issue would that solve?

 

[Suckndiesel]

Thank you for the insight! So making a more compact tube would be a good step forward! So in your opinion, what issue would that solve?

Procedure is here that we pinch the top of the teat and put the sealer in to try and keep the sealer in the teat canal but if half the tube is full of air it makes it want to shoot up into the udder when you let go. Have tried noroseal and orbeseal and they are both the same.

 

[Sid]

Procedure is here that we pinch the top of the teat and put the sealer in to try and keep the sealer in the teat canal but if half the tube is full of air it makes it want to shoot up into the udder when you let go. Have tried noroseal and orbeseal and they are both the same.

Perhaps it's there to push the milk out of the teat canal?

 

[Stergios]

Procedure is here that we pinch the top of the teat and put the sealer in to try and keep the sealer in the teat canal but if half the tube is full of air it makes it want to shoot up into the udder when you let go. Have tried noroseal and orbeseal and they are both the same.

Aha, I suspected that might be a problem - cause I guess you don't want the sealant to go deep in the udder, especially if you use antibiotics too! That's a interesting design engineering challenge to solve! I have received packs of Nosoreal, Orbeseal and Cepralock today just to familiarise myself with the ergonomics of it - all three look and behave the same!

 

[Suckndiesel]

Perhaps it's there to push the milk out of the teat canal?

Sometimes 1/2 the sealant comes out first before the air

 

[Beef farmer]

Aha, I suspected that might be a problem - cause I guess you don't want the sealant to go deep in the udder, especially if you use antibiotics too! That's a interesting design engineering challenge to solve! I have received packs of Nosoreal, Orbeseal and Cepralock today just to familiarise myself with the ergonomics of it - all three look and behave the same!

Are all 3 made in the same factory?

 

[Stergios]

Are all 3 made in the same factory?

I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case! I read on the boxes that it's the same distributor!