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.
Highlights
The Australian dairy industry produces high quality milk at a competitive price
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 core technical resources of the programme needed to be applicable without modification across the entire Australian dairy industry and contain clear and consistent messages around mastitis control
Summary
The Australian dairy industry produces high quality milk at a competitive price. The number of dairy farms has declined over the last decade from over 12,000 to 8,800, the size of the national herd is relatively stable at 1.8 million cows. The average herd size (of 225 cows) and production per cow (5,163 litres) has increased significantly in the past decade through improved genetics, good pasture management and supplementary feeding regimes. With the advent of processor-based milk quality payment schemes during the mid 1990’s, and the European Union export requirements, a more lateral thinking and industry-wide extension programme was required. Countdown Downunder was initiated in 1998 to improve farm profitability and the sustainability and competitive advantage of the Australian dairy industry.
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