Straight Talk from the Field:
BVDV Management and Persistent Infection
U.S. veterinarians estimate that BVDV costs beef and dairy producers over $30 a head, even after vaccination.1 Watch the video below to hear insights and recommendations about BVDV management from a veterinarian in Kansas.
For more information on BVDV, PIs and testing, or to locate a lab close to you, please call:
- Ron Kramer 207 347 1664
- ron-kramer@idexx.com
Learn more about available IDEXX diagnostics to help you control BVDV in your herds.
IDEXX recommends a simple three-step plan to manage BVDV:
1
Determine your herd status using high-volume testing at a local laboratory.
2
Test all new introductions to the herd using the IDEXX SNAP® BVD Test.
3
Work with your veterinarian to design a vaccination and biosecurity program.
By testing all new introductions to the herd, veterinarians and producers can help avoid the costly effects of BVDV.
We made a decision to BVDV-PI test all of our cattle. We tested not only the cattle we own, but also the cattle we manage.
Ralph Pelaez
Okeechobee, Florida
Bay City, Texas
Before I found this test, I was blaming health problems on poor nutrition or parasites.
Greg Wright
Victoria, Texas
We used to turn cattle out on pasture at 60 days. Now we are turning them out at 30 days. We don’t have any cattle still getting sick at 60 to 90 days after arrival.
Scott & Todd Harvey
Hydro, Oklahoma
In 2008, I lost 125 calves and spent $66,000 on medicine.
Don Hayden
Smiths Grove, Kentucky
Hear what one cattleman says about BVDV persistent infection.
Hear what cattlemen were saying about BVDV in the 2009 season.
We have experience with cattle going through the feed yard and are well aware of the problems that can be encountered. That’s one of the reasons we choose to use BVDV-PI testing. When we sell our cattle, we advertise them as BVDV-PI tested. That’s got to be a plus.”
It’s a tool that is so easy to use and gives you confidence that you are not harboring a problem. It’s very cost-effective.
Ralph Pelaez
Okeechobee, Florida and Bay City, Texas
I brought the BVDV-PI animal from another ranch to this one and got BVD everywhere before we figured out what the problem was. With the suppressed immune system that BVDV creates—every bug that flew over, they would get sick with it and spread it. What with aborted calves, missing a calf for a year, sick calves, medical costs, and selling at less weight but with the cost of additional feed—it was a substantial loss of dollars.
If you think there is any chance that you have BVDV-PI, start testing everything because BVDV-PI will hurt you.
Greg Wright
Victoria, Texas
We always thought that there was something going on that we were not able to control. That was before we got this PI test.
In the last 6 months we’ve bought only one case of antibiotics. We use to buy a case every week.
Scott & Todd Harvey
Hydro, Oklahoma
In 2009, I lost only 18 calves and spent $28,000 on medicine. PI testing was a part of that 2009 program, and I ran about the same total number of cattle both years.
You just figure up that one year difference and there’s $50,000 dollars in cattle, based on a $500 calf, and a little over $30,000 dollars difference in medicine, that’s over $80,000 dollars. I’d be tickled to make $80,000 this year.
Don Hayden
Smiths Grove, Kentucky
1. Data on file at IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. Westbrook, Maine USA.