AbstractsEconomics

Three partial budget models were developed to explore the costs of mastitis in dairy goats. The models were calculated at goat level and farm level. Input variables were deterministic data based on the literature, experts and dairy goat prices, all in Dutch circumstances. Sensitivity analyses were performed for the partial budget models to identify input parameters with strong impact on the net results. With the first model are the total costs of mastitis on an average dairy goat farm of 700 goats in Dutch circumstances calculated. The total costs at farm level were about €3500/year and at goat level about €5/ year. In spite of the low costs per goat, are the total costs of mastitis for an average dairy goat farm 69 percent of the costs of mastitis on an average dairy cow farm of 65 cows. Clinical mastitis is very expensive for dairy goat farmers in comparison of subclinical mastitis. The costs of clinical mastitis for a dairy goat farm of 700 goats exceed the costs of subclinical mastitis in case of nine clinical mastitis cases per year. Subclinical mastitis is accountable for 63% of the total economic losses of mastitis. Production loss is responsible for 33% of the economic losses of clinical mastitis, 100% of subclinical mastitis and 75% of the total economic losses of mastitis. Culling costs are accountable for 66% of the costs in clinical mastitis and 24% of the total costs of mastitis. Treatment and labour have a small influence on the total economic losses of mastitis at farm level (2%). With the second model are the direct and indirect costs of a goat with subclinical mastitis at goat level calculated for one year. The costs of goat with a subclinical mastitis are about €65/goat/year. Production loss is accountable for 68%, contagious transmission for 17% and the increased chance of clinical flare-up for 15% of the total costs of subclinical mastitis goat/year. Prominent parameters in this partial budget model were the degree of production loss, the reproduction ratio and the chance of clinical flare-up. With the last model we had calculated the benefits of diagnosing and treating subclinical mastitis during lactation. We can’t advise diagnosing and treating subclinical mastitis during lactation; the benefits are about -€ 5.900 per year for 700 goats. The profits of curing doesn’t compensate for the high costs of diagnosing and treating. The costs of withdrawal of milk are paradoxical more than the revenues of the increase milk production after treatment. The reasons are the relatively bad test characteristics of diagnosing in comparison with the relatively low prevalence of subclinical mastitis.