By Samantha Tennent
Copyright farmersweekly
Reading Time: 2 minutes
A Kiwi innovation is making waves globally, earning a spot as a finalist in the 2025 International Dairy Federation Dairy Innovation Awards. Mastatest is an automated mastitis diagnostic system that delivers results in just 24 hours – cutting antibiotic use and supporting healthier herds.
Mastatest was developed by Mastaplex, whose CEO, Olaf Bork, is excited they’ve made the finals.
“We are delighted to receive this global recognition of Mastatest as an innovative technology that advances sustainable farming practices. It’s an honour to be flying the flag for the New Zealand dairy technology sector.”
Worldwide, farmers and veterinarians are trying to reduce antibiotic use to slow the development of antibiotic resistance.
“It is widely recognised that we must reduce unnecessary antibiotic use to preserve the effectiveness of the medicines we have,” Bork said.
“And ultimately this leads to better outcomes for the cow, the herd, and the wider community.”
Steve Cranefield, a veterinarian from AgriHealth, promotes Mastatest when he’s working with farmers, especially if they have mastitis challenges.
“Mastatest takes the guesswork out of mastitis treatments and ensures antibiotics are only used when needed, benefiting both farmers and the wider sector.
“We can’t simply grab a tube and hope it works anymore. With Mastatest, farmers are getting better outcomes by using an anti-inflammatory without a withholding period and running a sample on farm.”
Mastatest sends the results to the farmer and their veterinarian within 24 hours, revealing what bacteria are causing the infection and which antibiotic is most likely to cure it.
“It’s powerful information,” Cranefield said.
“Around one in five mastitis cases don’t even need antibiotics, and if they do it’s more likely treatment will be successful if farmers can use the right antibiotic.”
With Mastatest, any cows identified as having sub-clinical mastitis during a herd test can also be tested to identify whether they could spread their infection to other cows.
“It really is a great tool to reduce mastitis within a herd, saving unnecessary drug use and ultimately money for the farmer.”
The innovation award winners will be revealed on October 21 at the IDF World Dairy Summit 2025 in Santiago, Chile.
