A national programme for mastitis control in Australia: Countdown Downunder

Abstract

In 1998, Countdown Downunder, Australia's national mastitis and cell count control programme, was created. With funding from the country's leading dairy organisation, Dairy Australia, this programme was originally intended to run for three years but is now in its tenth year. As it was the first time Australia had attempted a national approach to mastitis control on the farm, the first three years of the programme were largely concerned with the development of resources to be used by farmers and service providers. The second three years were devoted to training with both groups. Since that time, Countdown Downunder has entered into a second resource development phase. The goal of the programme was to achieve a reduction in the bulk milk somatic cell count from the Australian dairy herd. To achieve this, the programme had to develop resources with clear and consistent messages around mastitis and somatic cell count control on farms. It was determined that progress toward the goals would be made more rapidly if service providers were trained in the use of these resources prior to farmers. This paper reviews the Countdown Downunder programme from 1998 to 2007.

Invited review: Determinants of farmers' adoption of management-based strategies for infectious disease prevention and control

“…Ivemeyer et al, 2015;Roche et al, 2015 • Disseminate sufficient information about the issue, proposed control strategies, and the control program, including expected time and financial commitments, to avoid insecurities and misconceptions that prevent enrollment. Brightling et al, 2009 • Give farmers customized recommendations for on-farm improvements that are feasible and practical for their operation. Ritter et al, 2015;Roche et al, 2015;Toma et al, 2015 • Consider using structured risk assessments and management plans to facilitate discussion about perceived constraints and break the complexities of targeted disease control into parts, which can be managed more easily.…”

“…Wilson et al, 2015;Wolf et al, 2015 • Promote solid, evidence-based management recommendations, taking the most current knowledge into account, and provide information about the effectiveness of various strategies, customized for each farm. Brightling et al, 2009 • If reports are available, inform farmers on the success of implemented management strategies and comparable prevention and control programs. Ritter et al, 2015 • Prepare farmers for the fact that it might take time to observe the positive effects of preventive measures, and set realistic goals for the decrease in disease incidence and prevalence.…”

“…Knowledge. To make effective changes farmers need to have sufficient knowledge about disease and management strategies to reduce transmission (Lam et al, 2007;Brightling et al, 2009;Ellis-Iversen et al, 2010;Racicot et al, 2012b; Table 3). Farmers' knowledge about Johne's disease and its control was positively associated with their attitudes about participating in a voluntary control program (Benjamin et al, 2010;Ritter et al, 2015; Table 2).…”

“…Consider developing a central independent body that works with producer input to devise these messages. Brightling et al, 2009;Wilson et al, 2015;Moore et al, 2008 • Include stakeholders, social scientists, and communication specialists during the development and delivery of a prevention and control program.…”

Associations between immune competence, stress responsiveness, and production in Holstein-Friesian and Holstein-Friesian × Jersey heifers reared in a pasture-based production system in Australia

“…Treatment of clinical cases of mastitis occurred only occasionally in adult cows. Mastitis control in Australian dairy farms is supported by the Countdown Downunder national program for mastitis control (Brightling et al, 2009). In the enrolled farms, other mastitis control strategies included pre-and postmilking teat disinfection, use of dry cow therapy, use of teat sealants in heifers, and regular maintenance of milking equipment.…”