A 550-cow dairy farm experienced a Salmonella outbreak in early May 2024.
Over the course of the outbreak, they had five cows die and 12 cows abort. They treated 20 cows with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory pain relief. During this period in late lactation, they also noted a 20% drop in milk in the vat.
A rough estimation of how much this cost the farmer is outlined in the table below:
Based on these calculations, the overall cost of the outbreak could have paid for 37 years’ worth of vaccination. This outbreak is similar to many we saw on our farms across Southland and South Otago last spring.
Given the increase of Salmonella outbreaks occurring over the past seven years, and the huge surge of cases in 2024, farms need to start vaccinating against Salmonella.
It should be noted that there are risk factors that make a farm more susceptible to Salmonella and these should also be considered when working to prevent outbreaks. They include:
Mimising sudden changes in diet – concentrate feeds, in-shed feeding and high input farming systems in particular.
Limiting feeding magnesium oxide in the shed (pelletised/granulated/flake forms).
Increasing the biosecurity of your farm – with a main focus of lessening animal movements between different farms.
Reducing stressful events for cows.
To discuss Salmonella impacts further, or if you haven’t yet organised your herd’s vaccinations with your KeyVet, get in touch with us now.
