By Gnanasekar (GS) Rangasamy
Senior Manager – Dairy Solutions, Asia
In India’s competitive dairy feed industry, feed mills invest heavily in formulating high-performance products to improve productivity. However, there is an largely unseen challenge that can influence how farmers perceive feed effectiveness due to subclinical mastitis.
While this condition shows no visible symptoms in dairy cows, it results in reduced milk yield, lower productivity, and farmer dissatisfaction, influence how feed performance is perceived and may impact feed sales, brand reputation and customer perception.
What is Subclinical Mastitis?
Subclinical mastitis is an inflammation of the udder that is not detected by visual inspection.
- Milk appears normal, but somatic cell count (SCC), a measurement of milk quality, is elevated.
- It often goes unnoticed for weeks.
- It may contribute to milk yield losses ranging from 05% to 25% depending on the severity of infection, stage of lactation, and herd management practices.
- It can reduce the processability of milk for procurement companies, for instance SCC can reduce paneer yield, as well milk product shelf life.
Subclinical mastitis is a herd-level management challenge. Nutrition alone does not prevent or fix this condition, but appropriate nutrition can support overall tissue integrity and cow health, thereby helping to reduce the risk of subclinical mastitis.
Prevalence in India
This condition affects 12–70% of lactating cows depending on farm hygiene, region, and herd size (Krishnamoorthy et al., 2021). These figures reflect industry-wide observations, not outcomes linked to feed or nutrition programs. The map was created using data from Research in Veterinary Science Volume 136, May 2021, Pages 561-586.
to show the incidences of subclinical and clinical mastitis by state. As you can see, instances of subclinical mastitis are high in every part of the country and can equal huge economic loss for the farmers, feed and dairy industries.
The Overlooked Challenge for Feed Mills
At first glance, a feed miller might not associate subclinical mastitis with feed performance. However, subclinical mastitis can influence how farmers evaluate their feed programs, especially when milk yield does not meet expectations.
When cows face health or management challenges, farmers may attribute reduced milk yield to feed quality—even when nutrition is not the root cause. This may influence their confidence in a feed brand and farmers may explore alternative nutritional strategies, which can affect feed purchasing patterns and possibly result in them taking their business elsewhere.
When outcomes vary due to on-farm conditions, especially due to sub-clinical mastitis, because feed is linked to cow performance, it can be difficult for feed mills to demonstrate the value of premium formulations and retain their customers. For this reason, sales and support teams may spend more time addressing farmer concerns, impacting time spent on developing new business for the mill.
Economic Impact Example: 1,000 MT Feed Mill (Monthly)
An example of how much opportunity can be lost due to subclinical mastitis:
For a feed mill producing 1,000 metric tons of feed per month, provides feed for approx. 6,500 cows every month (calculated as 5kg feed consumed per day). If 30% of 6,500 cows consume/offered half kg less feed per day due to subclinical mastitis, the mill would lose about 30 metric tons of feed in a month. This is nearly 3% of its total production. This is the opportunity lost within the mill’s own customer base. In terms of revenue, assuming a price of ₹25 per kg, the monthly revenue loss would be around ₹7 lakh.
What is a Feed Mill to do?
Feed mills wanting to maintain customer satisfaction by supporting udder health have options.
The first is with the feed itself. Micro-nutrients, particularly trace minerals that are shown to support the immune system and tissue integrity. But not all minerals are the same. Prioritizing cow health with highly bioavailable trace minerals is key. Bis-chelated organic trace minerals are shown to have better absorption rates than inorganic trace minerals, ensuring more of the minerals in the ration are utilized by the cow.
Feed mills have a diverse customer base and not everyone may be as educated on the challenges that can reduce cow health, milk yield and dairy farm performance. Supporting farmer education on best practices for udder hygiene, milking routines, how to monitor SCC trends, and understanding how micro-nutrients support cow performance a few ways are feed mills can aid customers while also building their own credibility.
Mills can also encourage regular SCC/subclinical mastitis[DE1] [KG2] testing as part of herd-level monitoring. Feed programs can be evaluated alongside management practices to ensure farmers have a complete picture of cow performance
By supporting farmers with information, management insights, and consistent nutritional programs, feed mills can strengthen customer relationships and reinforce brand trust.
References Paramanandham Krishnamoorthy et al., 2021. Global and countrywide prevalence of subclinical and clinical mastitis in dairy cattle and buffaloes by systematic review and meta-analysis. Research in Veterinary Science 136 (2021) 561–586.