That equates to more than $5200 per herd, according to animal health company Zoetis.

Clinical mastitis occurs when bacteria gains entry to the udder via the teat canal, leading to infection in the udder.

With each case comes the burden of production loss, discarded milk, veterinary intervention and antibiotic therapy, costing farmers an estimated $277 per case, the company says.

And treating outbreaks of clinical mastitis places additional burden on producers in time and labour.

It also claims that, on average in Victoria, 18 hours may be spent treating clinical mastitis in the first month of lactation, which can cause stress and frustration, not to mention significant disruption to the farm’s routine at an already busy time.

According to Dederang dairy farmer Teresa Hicks there was no time to spare at calving time and her team was working long days.

“Treating clinical mastitis can have a knock-on effect across the whole production system and impact the farm immensely,” Ms Hicks said.

“Milk from cows with clinical mastitis is discarded and this period of lost production may be extended when antibiotic therapy is used.

“Significant time and effort is required to not only manage individual cases, but also to ensure milk quality remains uncompromised.”

Ms Hicks said she had been using the product Teatseal, manufactured by Zoetis, for four years as part of her mastitis prevention regime in freshly calved cows.

“We use that in conjunction with a dry cow antibiotic, when we are drying the cow off,” she said.