Annual costs associated with disease incidence and prevention in Colorado cow-calf herds participating in rounds 2 and 3 of the National Animal Health Monitoring System from 1986 to 1988

Abstract

Summary Thirty-nine and 47 randomly selected Colorado cow-calf operations were monitored for health events and their associated costs during rounds 2 and 3, respectively, of the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS). Data were collected from each operation for a one-year period by NAHMS veterinarians through monthly interviews, and the costs associated with the incidence and prevention of disease conditions were determined and expressed on a per cow basis. The beef producers involved in this study spent an average of $32.75 per cow in round 2 and $40.97 per cow in round 3 on an annual basis for the treatment of disease conditions. These costs were not different between the 2 rounds because of the wide ranges in the individual herd costs for disease incidence in each round. In both years of the study, the largest contributor to the total mean annual cost of disease incidence was the cost of death of diseased animals, and this cost accounted for approximately two-hirds of the total mean annual cost in each round. The total mean annual costs of disease prevention in these herds were $11.24 and $11.19 per cow in rounds 2 and 3, respectively. There were wide ranges in both rounds in the amounts of money spent per cow by individual herds for disease prevention. The largest individual cost of disease prevention in each year was the cost of vaccines/drugs, whereas the smallest individual cost in each round was the cost of veterinary services. Nearly all the preventive veterinary services cost in each study year was attributed to pregnancy examination, brucellosis vaccination, breeding soundness examination of bulls, pulmonary arterial pressure testing, and campylobacteriosis vaccination. The costs of disease incidence and prevention were summed to determine the most costly individual disease conditions in the study herds. Death of unknown cause was the most expensive disease condition in both study years. Diarrhea of unknown cause, nonpregnancy, dystocia, pneumonia, hypothermia-exposure, general disease of parasitism, and brisket disease were other disease conditions that ranked among the ten most costly disease conditions in both rounds of the study. It was concluded that reducing the costs associated with disease has the potential for increasing profits in cow-calf operations.