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> MSU News
Montana cattle ranchers flock to BVD-screening project
June 08, 2006 -- By the MSU News Service
BOZEMAN -- A new project that's investigating the role of screening Montana cattle for persistent infection of bovine viral diarrhea is starting out by exceeding all expectations, say project managers with the Montana Beef Quality Assurance program.
"We have more than 50 Montana ranches who've volunteered to participate in the project, representing about 40,000 head of cattle," said John Paterson, Montana State University Extension beef specialist. "This is triple the amount of interest from what we originally presented as a small pilot project."
Paterson and Clint Peck manage the project. Peck, of Billings, is senior editor of BEEF magazine and an advisor to the Beef Quality Assurance Program.
The goal of the new Montana BVD-PI Herd Screening Project is to improve the overall health of Montana's cows and add value to the state's calf crop, according to the managers. The BVD virus exists in cattle worldwide and can cause severe hardship for ranchers and cattle feeders. The annual cost of at least one persistently-infected animal in a herd ranges from $14.85 to $24.84 per cow.
"The name of the disease is a bit of a misnomer," Peck said. "The main negative health effects of BVD virus are that it can inhibit conception and cause abortion in susceptible female cattle; and it suppresses the immune system, making the animal more susceptible to other diseases."
A cow that has BVD during pregnancy can transfer the virus to her fetus.
"Fetal infection with BVD virus can lead to fetal death, the birth of a normal calf, or the birth of a calf persistently infected with the virus," Paterson explained. That means the infection lasts the entire life of the animal.
Peck added, "The primary source of the disease within herds and between herds is PI (persistently- infected) cattle. PI animals usually have a very high amount of virus circulating in their blood, and they shed virus very efficiently to susceptible animals."
A permanently infected animal can rapidly infect its pen mates when cattle are concentrated. The disease has no human health implications, however, Peck and Paterson said. Eating meat from infected cattle is no threat to the beef consumer.
"Armed with new research data, cattle feeders are starting to realize the economic impacts of a PI in a feedlot," Peck said. "One PI feeder calf in a pen can make a lot of other calves sick and create costly headaches for a feedlot manager."
Through programs like the Montana BVD-PI screening project, PI calves can be identified by analyzing the DNA in a tiny piece of the animal's tissue, the project managers said. Once identified, PI animals can be isolated from other cattle in the herd.
"Using this knowledge and relatively inexpensive diagnostic techniques and a ‛pooled' screening approach -- costing less than $2 per head -- we can identify PI animals and separate them from the herd before they have a chance to infect other animals," Peck said. "Then it becomes a win-win situation for the rancher and for whoever might own the cattle once they leave the ranch for the feedlot."
Testing for PI status is a once-in-a-lifetime event, Peck said.
Tim and Kristin Larson of Sidney are ranchers and cattle buyers working to help promote the idea of PI screening. Kristin is also a member of the board of directors of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, a co-sponsor of the project with MSU.
"We're starting to see interest from other buyers and cattle feeders around the region who want to locate herds that are PI free," Kristin said. "This could develop into an added-value market for ranchers who invest in a screening program."
Dr. Bruce Hoffman, a veterinarian in Churchill, Mont., said a sound vaccination and cattle management program -- coupled with strategic PI testing -- can eliminate the BVD virus from cow herds across the country. Hoffman is president of Portland, Ore.-based Animal Profiling International (API). As a veterinarian, he said he believes the BVD virus can be controlled. He has been working with ranchers from California to Georgia to eliminate BVD-PI.
Peck said the Montana program decided to work with API due to its competitive lab costs and next-day turn around time for screening results. API analyzes ear notch samples for the BVD virus.
Evelyn Boswell, (406) 994-5135 or evelynb@montana.edu
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