Health Woes Increase Despite Knowledge, Technology

Health Woes Increase Despite Knowledge, Technology
Sept. 5, 2006

New technologies and increased knowledge have done little to curb the number of sick cattle. In fact, long-term industry data show an opposite trend, one of increasing health problems and death rates.

In a research review, Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) Vice President Larry Corah and Supply Development Director Mark McCully examined how those trends relate to overall declining beef quality grades.

“We know that health has a direct link to a calf’s ability to express its genetic potential,” Corah says. “As health problems increase, we’re seeing quality grades decline.”

Information from VetLife’s Benchmark® Performance Program shows an increase of about $2 per head for veterinary medicine cost from 1999 to 2005.

“There are a variety of things that relate to potential causes,” says Pete Anderson, vice president of technical services for VetLife. “The main one is that cattle are younger — they’re not lighter. That accounts for a big part of it.”

Feedlots across the country report to the VetLife Benchmark Performance Program, which represents nearly half of the cattle in the United States. In addition to financial numbers, feedlots submit cattle performance and carcass information.

The database reveals feedlot mortality practically mirrors the health trend, jumping almost half of a percent during the past seven years.

That could be a sign of a much larger problem.

“All we know is how many treatments are administered, ” Anderson says. “We don’t know how many get sick, but we can assume there are more sick ones. We can also assume we don’t find all the sick ones. There’s pretty good data to support that.”

Anderson echoes Corah and summarizes all related data in pointing out, “We know that if cattle get sick, they’re less likely to grade.”

Research from Iowa State University shows calves treated two or more times for bovine respiratory disease (BRD) had a 44% reduction in carcasses grading Prime, and a 33% drop in premium Choice. That adds up to a value difference of more than $200 between healthy calves and treated calves.

“That should provide incentive to pay extra attention to your health program,” CAB’s McCully says.

Anderson suggests management that’s already proven successful.

“We know preconditioning works,” he says. “We know low-stress weaning works. We know castrating the bulls before they’re weaned works. We know those things work and when people do them, they get great results.”

Of course, there is more to the picture than simply a relationship between health and grade, as the most recent Benchmark data show. Cattle are healthier in 2006, yet quality grades have continued to diminish, Anderson notes.

“While this does not negate the effects of poor health on grade, it does point out that marbling is a complex biological trait influenced by numerous factors, including health,” he says. “The entire subject requires further study and analysis.”

Corah and McCully’s summary, “Declining Quality Grades: A review of factors Reducing Marbling Deposition in Beef Cattle,” is available through the authors at (785) 539-0123 or (330) 345-2333, or on the Web at www.cabpartners.com/news/research/declining_quality_grades.pdf.

For more information on the VetLife Benchmark Performance Program, contact your VetLife representative, visit www.VetLife.com or call toll free 1-888-462-3493.

— Article provided by Certified Angus Beef.