Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-r6qrq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T22:50:23.967Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Economics of respiratory disease in dairy replacement heifers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2021

Michael W. Overton Open the ORCID record for Michael W. Overton [Opens in a new window]
Michael W. Overton*
Affiliation:
Zoetis Animal Health, Parsippany, New Jersey, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Michael W. Overton, Zoetis Animal Health, Parisppany, New Jersey, USA E-mail: michaelwoverton@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a frequent disease concern in dairy cattle and is most commonly diagnosed in young dairy heifers. The impact of BRD is highly variable, depending on the accuracy and completeness of detection, effectiveness of treatment, and on-farm culling practices. Consequences include decreased rate of weight gain, a higher culling risk either as heifers or as cows, delayed age at first service, delayed age at first calving, and in some cases, lower future milk production. In this data set of 104,100 dairy replacement heifers from across the USA, 36.6% had one or more cases diagnosed within the first 120 days of age with the highest risk of new cases occurring prior to weaning. Comparison of the raising cost for heifers with BRD and those without a recorded history of BRD resulted in an estimated cost per incident case occurring in the first 120 days of age of $252 or $282, depending upon whether anticipated future milk production differences were considered or not. Current market conditions contributed to a cost estimate that is significantly higher than previously published estimates, driven in part by the losses associated with selective culling of a subset of heifers that experienced BRD.

Keywords

Bovine respiratory diseasedairy heifer BRD costdairy replacement heifer
Type
Special issue: Papers from Bovine Respiratory Disease Symposium
Information
Animal Health Research Reviews , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , December 2020 , pp. 143 - 148
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ames, TR (1997) Dairy calf pneumonia. The disease and its impact. Veterinary Clinics of North America Food Animal Practice 13, 379–391.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bach, A (2011) Associations between several aspects of heifer development and dairy cow survivability to second lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 94, 1052–1057.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Closs, G and Dechow, C (2017) The effect of calf-hood pneumonia on heifer survival and subsequent performance. Livestock Science 205, 5–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cramer, MC and Ollivett, TL (2019) Growth of preweaned, group-housed dairy calves diagnosed with respiratory disease using clinical respiratory scoring and thoracic ultrasound – a cohort study. Journal of Dairy Science 102, 4322–4331.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Donovan, GA, Dohoo, IR, Montgomery, DM and Bennett, FL (1998) Calf and disease factors affecting growth in female Holstein calves in Florida, USA. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 33, 1–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dubrovsky, SA, Van Eenennaam, AL, Aly, SS, Karle, BM, Rossitto, PV, Overton, MW, Lehenbauer, TW and Fadel, JG (2020) Preweaning cost of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and cost-benefit of implementation of preventative measures in calves on California dairies: the BRD 10 K study. Journal of Dairy Science 103, 1583–1597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaneene, JB and Hurd, HS (1990) The National Animal Health Monitoring System in Michigan. III. Cost estimates of selected dairy cattle diseases. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 8, 127–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Overton, M and Dhuyvetter, K (2017) Economic considerations regarding the raising of dairy replacement heifers. In Beede, DK (ed.), Large Dairy Herd Management, 3rd Edn. American Dairy Science Association, 1800 South Oak St., Suite 100, Champaign, IL 61820, 457–474.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaffer, AP, Larson, RL, Cernicchiaro, N, Hanzlicek, GA, Bartle, SJ and Thomson, DU (2016) The association between calfhood bovine respiratory disease complex and subsequent departure from the herd, milk production, and reproduction in dairy cattle. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 248, 1157–1164.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sivula, NJ, Ames, TR, Marsh, WE and Werdin, RE (1996) Descriptive epidemiology of morbidity and mortality in Minnesota dairy heifer calves. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 27, 155–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soberon, F and Van Amburgh, ME (2013) Lactation Biology Symposium: the effect of nutrient intake from milk or milk replacer of preweaned dairy calves on lactation milk yield as adults: a meta-analysis of current data. Journal of Animal Science 91, 706–712.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stanton, AL, Kelton, DF, Leblanc, SJ, Wormuth, J and Leslie, KE (2012) The effect of respiratory disease and a preventative antibiotic treatment on growth, survival, age at first calving, and milk production of dairy heifers. Journal of Dairy Science 95, 4950–4960.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steckler, TS and Boermann, JP (2019) Effects of Breed and Health Incidences on Total Milk Consumption and Predicted Body Weight of Holstein and Angus x Holstein F1 Calves during the Pre-weaning Period. Poster W44, ADSA. Cincinnati, OH.Google Scholar
USDA (2018) Dairy 2014, Health and Management Practices on U.S. Dairy Operations, 2014. USDA-APHIS-VS, CEAH. Fort Collins, CO: National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS).Google Scholar
Van Der Fels-Klerx, HJ, Sorensen, JT, Jalvingh, AW and Huirne, RB (2001) An economic model to calculate farm-specific losses due to bovine respiratory disease in dairy heifers. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 51, 75–94.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Virtala, AMK, Mechor, GD, Gröhn, YT and Erb, HN (1996) The effect of calfhood diseases on growth of female dairy calves during the first 3 months of life in New York State. Journal of Dairy Science 79, 1040–1049.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Waltner-Toews, D, Martin, SW and Meek, AH (1986) The effect of early calfhood health status on survivorship and age at first calving. Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research 50, 314–317.Google ScholarPubMed