What is the Countdown Downunder project?
Launched in 1998, Countdown Downunder helps dairy farmers control mastitis and reduce the somatic milk cell counts of their dairy herds.
Mastitis is a major problem because it is the main cause of high somatic milk cell counts, which lowers the quality of milk produced and affects farm productivity and profits.
High cell counts can also damage export markets, which would impact heavily on the Australian dairy industry because it exports more than 50 per cent of dairy products. Countdown Downunder helps protect these markets by working to ensure farmers meet international milk quality standards of 400,000 cells/mL or less.
What benefits does Countdown Downunder deliver?
Over the past few years, Countdown Downunder has significantly reduced the somatic milk cell counts of Australia’s dairy herds ensuring the production of high-quality milk.
| Year |
Vats below 250,000 cells/mL
|
Vats below 400,000 cells/mL
|
| 2000 |
64%
|
91%
|
| 2004 |
71%
|
95%
|
As the table shows, 95 per cent of Australia's dairy herds had a cell count below 400,000 cells/mL in 2004. Since then, the national cell count has continued to decrease as a result of Countdown Downunder. This has helped mainatin Australia's reputation as a supplier of quality milk products, ensuring Australia's export markets are protected and farmers recieve good prices for quality milk.
What resources does Countdown Downunder offer?
The following resources and tools have been developed to help dairy farmers achieve real change in the performance of their herd:
Farm 
