USDA Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health Releases Part I of the Dairy 2002 Study

Veterinary Services

February 4, 2003

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health (CEAH), a part of USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's veterinary services program, released the first descriptive report of the Dairy 2002 study. The study was conducted through VS' National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS). Copies of Part I, entitled, Reference of Dairy Health and Management in the United States, 2002, have been shipped to producers and other industry members across the country. Data for Dairy 2002 Part I was collected via personal interviews with producers by National Agriculture Statistics Service enumerators.

Dairy producer satisfaction with the study is high and, if asked again, 97 percent would participate in another NAHMS study. The Dairy 2002 study addresses issues important to the U.S. dairy industry. These include: examining changes in baseline dairy cattle health and management practices; levels of participation in quality assurance programs and providing a profile of animal waste handling systems used on U.S. dairy operations. Highlights from Part I of the Dairy 2002 study, include:

Preventive practices for dairy replacement heifers were very common. Only 5.1 percent of operations, representing just 2.5 percent of heifers, did not use any preventive practices.
Waste milk was fed to dairy heifer calves on 87.2 percent of operations but was pasteurized prior to feeding on only 1.0 percent of operations.
The majority of cows were culled for udder health and reproductive problems, 26.9 and 26.5 percent of cows, respectively. Poor production from an unknown cause accounted for 19.3 percent of culled cows.
The rolling herd average (RHA) was 18,235 pounds per cow (averaged across all operations). RHA increased as herd size increased.

Dairy 2002, Part I, adds to the body of knowledge on dairy health and management issues. In 1991, CEAH scientists, through NAHMS, conducted the National Dairy Heifer Evaluation Project (NDHEP). Through this project, baseline information on heifer health, illnesses and management practices, as well as prevalence estimates for Cryptosporidia, Escherichia coli 0157:H7 and Salmonella were published.

The NAHMS Dairy '96 study built on the results of the NDHEP. Objectives of the Dairy '96 study included estimating the national prevalence of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis (Johne's disease), bovine leukosis virus, and fecal shedding of E. coli 0157 and Salmonella in adult dairy cows.

If you would like to request copies of Dairy 2002, Part I or access future reports go to VS' Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/cahm.

Note to Stakeholders: Stakeholder announcements and other APHIS information are available on the Internet. Access the APHIS home page by pointing your Web browser to http://www.aphis.usda.gov and clicking on the "News" button. For additional information on this topic, contact Teresa Howes (970) 494-7410 or teresa.k.howes@aphis.usda.gov.

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