Issue 6

Maybe Clint Peck, senior editor of BEEF Magazine, said it best when referring to the cattle industry's battle against Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD).

"This isn't rocket science, it's really a pretty easy disease to combat."

For those who have been waiting to test, pardon the expression, but it's time to blastoff.

Animal Profiling International's mission to focus on management over medicine has allowed the company to develop new, enhanced technologies that help support the overall health and safety of animals.  One of the most exciting developments resulting from that mission is a systematic approach using real-time PCR to identify persistently infected (PI) cattle by pooling samples from larger groups of animals.  This allows commercial cattlemen the ability to accurately test large groups of animals for prevalence of BVD PIs at a lower cost than most methods.  Add the ability to have next business day results and you can see why the countdown to Fall testing should be on.

Why test now?  Cattle are coming into feedlots and Fall is the time of year when the highest rates of sickness are traditionally reached.  Perhaps even more pressing is the fact that cattlemen are weaning calves and keeping heifers that will become part of their cow herd.  In the past we've illustrated both the physically and financially devastating results that the spread of BVD causes.  Again, finding the persistently infected (PI) animal with BVD is the key to limiting, and hopefully eradicating, this disease.  Discovering BVD PIs either before or during the weaning process is crucial. 

Despite the best efforts of industry leadership to inform people about BVD we've found that many cowherds and feedlots have continued to purchase animals that are persistently infected with the disease.  Another factor contributing to the inability to control this disease is a continued lack of education about BVD at the producer level.  We've witnessed numerous efforts and articles from experts within the industry that show the value of screening animals for PIs, please take the time to read some of them in the information below. 

The tools to work toward a solution are there for the taking.  The costs to employ them are at affordable levels.  And the extra monetary value for proving that a calf has been screened negative for BVD-PI is there.  Share information with others about this disease and the ramifications of not meeting it head-on.  The numbers support the need - remember, over two billion dollars have been lost due to BVD annually since 2004.  Individually, the cost benefit of removing a PI animal from a cow herd results in an average gain of $20-30 per head from every cow in that herd.  Think it won't be you due to the low percentage of PI animals?  Remember, about 1 in 10 U.S. beef herds are expected to have at least one PI animal.

It's true.  It's not rocket science.  But someone still needs to push the buttons to fire the rocket. 

Please address this issue now by getting a small ear notch sample from your calves.  To continue the education process on BVD and its effects on the ranch and the feedlot, please read the articles listed below.

If you decide that you do not wish to continue to receive Herd Mentality, you can unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of this email.

We hope you enjoy the following information and look forward to any feedback that you have.  Thanks for reading.

Regards,

Bruce W. Hoffman, DVM
President
 Animal Profiling International

The Problems in Spotting the Source
 
 
A "PI-Pair" was found on a Montana cattle operation through the Montana BVD-PI Herd Screening Project. "Finding both a calf and its mother that are PI-positive is very rare - especially a pair that look as normal and healthy as these animals," says Clint Peck, Billings, advisor to the Montana Beef Quality Assurance program.
 
Forward Steps
 
The Montana Beef Quality Assurance Program (BQA) has pushed forward efforts to combat BVD by undertaking a new screening process aimed to help increase production efficiency, reduce health management costs and improve overall beef quality.  While the program discovered the PI animals in the photo above, other participants in the screening process who found no PI animals in their herds have also been pleased with the results.  "You just never know when you're doing the right thing," said Kathy Wiley of their current vaccination program.  "And it's an added value to our calves because they are BVD free."
 
 
Lessons Learned

Clint Peck, advisor to the Montana Beef Quality Assurance Program and Senior Editor to BEEF Magazine reflects on the findings of the first phase of the Montana BVD-PI Herd Screening Project. 

Read the results

The Importance of Awareness
 
The damage BVD PI animals can bring to a larger feedlot is immense.  This is why it has become so important that the cow-calf producer understand the need, and the value of screening for BVD PI's.  Veterinarian Dave Sparks looks at the meaning of BVD persistent infection for cow-calf producers and finds the value cattle feeders are beginning to see and their reluctance towards purchasing what they perceive as higher risk animals.
 

Same Question, New Answers

"I was in private practice for over 30 years and about every 10 years I thought I thoroughly understood BVD," says Dr. Arden Wohlers, DVM, now an Extension veterinarian with the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Education Center. "Then just down the line we would have a whole new concept of it."  The same frustration continues to search for new solutions.  Doug Rich of the High Plains Journal looks at expert opinion on the best ways to confront BVD.

Read the article

FeedBack?

If you have any comments about the information in this newsletter, e-mail us at hq@animalprofiling.com.  We want to hear from you.

© 2005. Herd Mentality is produced and distributed by Animal Profiling International, a technology company dedicated to animal health. You can subscribe to the newsletter at the Animal Profiling International Website.  To change your subscription or unsubscribe from the list, please use the link below.