British Mastitis Conference to be a virtual event this year

Ian Ohnstad, chairperson of the organising and scientific committee, says: “Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, this year’s event will be held as a virtual conference, with the only difference being that delegates will not be able to interact with one another. The speakers will, however, still be able to answer questions at the end of their presentations.

"The research summary section will continue to involve the selection of four authors from those presenting 'posters' to make short oral presentations of their work. This format enables new, novel and innovative research to be made available to a wider audience. It also provides an opportunity for new researchers to become more widely known and gain further experiences."

This year’s conference will be opened by Andrew Bradley, QMMS and University of Nottingham, who will present an update on selective dry cow therapy. This will be followed by a presentation by Sarne De Vliegher, University of Ghent and MEX, on the latest information on minor and major mastitis pathogens. The presentations by authors of selected posters will follow the morning break.

The afternoon session sees Lisa Morgan, Innovation for Agriculture, discussing inspiring and supporting change on farm and how to make it happen. This will be followed by Tom Greenham, Advance Milking, who will examine the subject of mastitis control on AMS farms. The final paper will be given by an in-practice veterinary surgeon and a client farmer who will present an AHDB Dairy mastitis case study.

Mr Ohnstad says: “Unfortunately for 2020, it is with regret that the organising committee has decided not to hold the pre-conference workshop, as it is difficult for participants to get the maximum benefit from the interactive training day as a virtual format.

“Based on previous feedback and experience, and although this year's event by being virtual has necessitated some changes, we are confident that this year’s conference will again be a valuable day for all those involved in mastitis control and at every level."

For more information, see the website at www.britishmastitisconference.org.uk. For further information go to www.britishmastitisconference.org.uk or call Karen or Anne at The Dairy Group on 01823 444488.

• Prof Andrew Bradley qualified from Cambridge Veterinary School in 1993 and has a PhD in novel approaches to mastitis vaccination. Following further clinical qualifications, Andrew has been active in mastitis research. In 2005, he founded Quality Milk Management Services (with his wife, also a veterinary surgeon) with the aim of establishing a laboratory and consultancy service for the dairy industry, focussed on providing a flexible approach that added value to laboratory results. Andrew also holds the post of Clinical Reader in Dairy Production Medicine at the University of Nottingham.

• Prof Sarne de Vliegher graduated as a veterinarian from Ghent University, Belgium, in 1998, after which he started working at this university’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. He has an MSc from Utrecht University and PhD on heifer mastitis from the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada. After working in bovine veterinary practice for seven years, Sarne now teaches at Ghent University. He leads the M-teamUGent (www.m-team.UGent.be), working with vets, farmers and the industry on mastitis and milk quality issues and is cofounder and co-owner of MEXTM. He has been very active in the field of mastitis around the world and is currently president of the National Mastitis Council.
• Dr Lisa Morgans is a livestock veterinarian and facilitator with research interests in bottom-up approaches to Knowledge Exchange, improving medicine use on farms and practical ways to improve farm animal welfare. She completed an AHDB Dairy sponsored PhD at the University of Bristol in 2019 where she investigated a farmer-led, participatory approach to changing practices on UK dairy farms around antimicrobial use. She is currently head of Livestock at Innovation for Agriculture and works on projects as diverse as calf welfare to precision livestock farming.
• Tom Greenham worked as a veterinary surgeon in a dairy practice for ten years with a growing interest in udder health and milking performance. This led to him setting up Advance Milking Limited with a colleague. Advance Milking provides specialist advice for dairy farms in the UK and Ireland, as well as working around the world to deliver training and independent support to dairy engineers, veterinary surgeons, and other industry stakeholders on the impact of the milking machine’s impact on mastitis, milk quality and milking efficiency. Research is a growing area of work, with Advance Milking currently leading studies on milking efficiency and udder health, as well as providing independent advice for novel product development.