The Economics of Bovine Respiratory Disease Treatment Regimens

Abstract

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the leading cause of feedlot morbidity and mortality in North America, and decisions about BRD therapy are critically important to feedlot veterinarians and their clients. A spreadsheet tool was utilized to evaluate variables having the greatest economic impact on a decision to move from one BRD treatment regimen to another.

Differences in case fatality rate and re-treatment proportion between two potential BRD treatment regimes are important variables when selecting BRD treatment protocols based on return to ownership and management. Other variables unrelated to treatment efficacy that are important for selection of a BRD treatment regimen are sale price and cost of gain. Purchase price of the cattle, morbidity proportion, labor costs not associated with BRD treatment, trucking costs, processing costs, interest rate and yardage cost were not found important to selecting an appropriate BRD treatment regimen.