Rapid Turnaround in Mastitis and SCC After Six Weeks of Escalation
When Rob Rolston hit six consecutive weeks of somatic cell count infringements, things were getting serious. His bulk tank SCC was parked between 400,000 and 500,000, with new clinical mastitis cases appearing every single day. Despite spending heavily on interventions—an emergency herd test, full machine checks, intensive RMT screening and treatment of 126 cows—results continued to deteriorate. The final blow came when his SCC peaked at 705,000, along with an estimated $80,000 in total costs, including $50,000 in treatments.
Nothing was changing the trajectory.
Until he ran Snapshot®.
The Snapshot analysis identified a high presence of environmental mastitis markers, revealing that Rob’s problem wasn’t a bacterial mystery requiring more drugs or more culling—it was a systems and routine issue. The report highlighted specific causes of infection pressure and translated them into clear, practical corrective actions: adjustments to milking routines, improvements to SOPs, and small, achievable workflow changes that could be implemented immediately.
These were changes fully within Rob’s control—no new equipment, no expensive consultancy, no complicated protocols. Just targeted action rooted in accurate pathogen and environmental data.
The turnaround was dramatic:
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Back in compliance in 3 days (SCC dropped to 328,000)
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248,000 SCC within one week
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Zero SCC infringements for the rest of the season
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Clinical mastitis cases stopped
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Total cost: $395, compared to $80,000 already spent without improvement
For Rob, the value wasn’t just the numbers—it was the relief of regaining control. The uncertainty, frustration, and daily clinical cases disappeared almost overnight.
Snapshot provided Rob with a level of clarity no other test or intervention had offered. Instead of guessing which pathogens were driving mastitis, he had a factual breakdown of infection sources and the changes needed to stop them. With support from the Farm Medix team, Rob implemented the routine and SOP adjustments that aligned with the findings—and the results followed immediately.
In Rob’s own words,
“It was the first time we actually understood what was causing the mastitis. Once we changed the routine, it stopped—just like that.”