Modern approaches to dairy farming in connection with increasing lactational milk yields in a range of 10,000 - 12,000 kg per cow have been contributing to an increased susceptibility to mastitis. The main influences involved in the predisposition tomastitis are detailed in Table 1.It can be concluded that the mere application of the so-called "five-point-plan" to control mastitis is not sufficient to ensure an acceptable udder health status. Especially the consumer demands on higher quality of milk and milk products - often expressed with terms like natural, biological and pure - are asking for an improvement in udder health aiming at the goal of producing milk of healthy cows with healthy mammary glands. Dairying is a business in which we have to maintain two key elements; firstly, the actual good reputation of milk and milk products and secondly, the consumer's acceptance.
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