Biosecurity practices of beef cow-calf producers

Objective-To evaluate biosecurity practices of cow-calf producers. Design-Cross-sectional survey. Sample Population-2,713 cow-calf operations were used in phase 1 of the stu dy, and 1,190 cow-calf operations were used in phase 2. Procedure-Producers were contacted for a personal interview between Dec 30, 1996 and Feb 3, 1997 regarding their management practices. Noninstitutiona l operations with 1 or more beef cows were eligible to participate in the s tudy. Producers who participated in the first phase of the study and who ha d greater than or equal to 5 beef cows were requested to continue in the st udy and were contacted by a veterinarian or animal health technician who ad ministered further questionnaires. All contacts for the second phase of the study were made between Mar 3, 1997 and Apr 30, 1997. Additional data on u se of various vaccines, testing of imported cattle for brucellosis, Mycobac terium paratuberculosis, bovine viral diarrhea, and tuberculosis as well as potential for feed contamination were collected during the second phase of the study. Results-Producers commonly engaged in management practices that increased r isk of introducing disease to their cattle such as importing cattle, failin g to quarantine imported cattle, and communal grazing. Producers inconsiste ntly adjusted for the increased risk of their management practices by incre asing the types of vaccines given, increasing the quarantine time or propor tion of imported animals quarantined, or increasing testing for various dis eases in imported animals. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Cow-calf herds are at risk for disease e xposure from outside sources when cattle are introduced to the herd, and pr oducers do not always adjust management practices such as vaccination sched ules and quarantine procedures appropriately to minimize this risk. Veterin ary involvement in education of producers regarding biosecurity risks and d evelopment of rational and economical biosecurity plans is needed.