U.S. Department of Agriculture Publishes Third Dairy 2002 Report

Veterinary Services

January 6, 2004

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) has released the third descriptive report for its Dairy 2002 study. Copies of Part III: Reference of Dairy Cattle Health and Health Management Practices in the United States, 2002 have been shipped to producers and other industry members across the country.

In 1991, 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 Cryptosporidium, Escherichia coli 0157:H7 and Salmonella were published.

In 1996, 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.

The NAHMS’ Dairy 2002 study continues to address issues important to the U.S. dairy industry by describing changes in baseline dairy cattle health and management practices, strategies to address Johne’s disease and providing a profile of animal waste handling systems used on U.S. dairy operations.

Here are a few highlights from Dairy 2002, Part III:

• More than one out of two producers (54.6 percent) knew some basics about foot–and–mouth disease. Anthrax was
recognized by name only by 54.0 percent of producers.

• Over half of all lameness cases on U.S. dairies were attributed to digital dermatitis (hairy–heel warts), accounting for 53.9 percent of lameness cases in cows and 61.8 percent of lameness cases in bred heifers.

• Cull rates across the United States, which include cow deaths for Dairy Herd Improvement Association calculations, are generally reported to be between 30 and 35 percent. For Dairy 2002, 24.9 percent of cows were reported culled in 2001, and 4.8 percent of cows died (as reported in Part I of Dairy 2002).

• The percentage of operations that reported giving coliform mastitis vaccines to a majority of cows during 2001 was 35.8 percent, which accounted for 57.1 percent of all cows.

• Only 10.4 percent of dairy operations representing 20.6 percent of cows administered Salmonella vaccine to the majority of cows.

• Only 8.7 percent of participating operations were fairly knowledgeable about Mycoplasma mastitis, while 22.9 percent had never heard of the disease. Less than half of operations (46.6 percent) recognized the name only.

• Over three–fourths of participating operations (76.6 percent) did not use antibiotics in rations for weaned dairy heifers during the 12 months prior to the Dairy 2002 interview. Less than a fifth of operations (17.5 percent) included antibiotics in heifer rations.

• Overall, 75.2 percent of operations treated all cows (100.0 percent) with dry cow intramammary antibiotics at the time of drying–off. Almost six percent of operations did not treat any cows with this type of antibiotic at drying–off.

• More than one in three operations (34.5 percent) had an average bulk tank somatic cell count (BTSCC) of 200,000 to 299,000, while 23.6 percent of operations had an average BTSCC of 100,000 to 199,000, and 21.7 percent of operations had an average BTSCC of 300,000 to 399,000. Only 2.4 percent of operations had an average BTSCC of 600,000 or more.

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 contact Suzan Holl (301) 734–6464 or suzan.holl@aphis.usda.gov.

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