After 70 years, BVD still wages war on cattle health and producers’ wallets, writes Wyatt Bechtel. He presents economic losses for dairy, beef, stocker/feedlot and all cattle and calves as documented by studies in the U.S and summarized by Derrell Peel, livestock marketing specialist with Oklahoma State University.
Source: Dairy Herd Management, September 2016, page 26.
Peel estimates the total loss to the cattle industry, both beef and dairy, is a staggering $1.54-2.59 billion. He cautions estimates vary widely because of different population sets, methodologies and economic assumptions. ‘I think these numbers probably capture the impacts in a general sense across the industry,’ Peel says. ‘I think the important part is that it’s a big number.’
INSIGHTS: This article is helpful. It presents the basics of BVD, offers the prevention strategy (biosecurity, eliminate PIs, and vaccinate), plus gives an example of BVD prevention in a working dairy. You can share this with producers reluctant to eliminate BVD.