Evaluation of point-of-care tests for identification of pathogens to inform clinical mastitis treatment decisions in pasture- and confinement-managed dairy cows in Australia.

To support antimicrobial stewardship in livestock production, there is a growing array of point-of-care diagnostics to guide antimicrobial treatment. The primary objective of this observational study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of 5 point-of-care tests currently available in Australia for guiding lactational treatment of nonsevere clinical mastitis. A secondary objective was to describe the pathogen profiles of mastitis-causing organisms in cows managed in barns ("intensive") and on pasture ("nonintensive").

The Effect of Month and District on 100-Day In-Calf Rate in Year-Round Calving Dairy Herds.

Monitoring 100-day in-calf rate (100DICR) is an integral part of the assessment of reproductive performance in year-round calving dairy herds. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of month on 100DICR in year-round calving herds in New South Wales (NSW), Australia and determine whether a fluctuating 100DICR target is an appropriate alternative to a constant 100DICR target. The 100DICR is defined as the percentage of all current lactating cows over 100 days in milk (DIM) that conceive on or before 100 DIM.