Economic effects of bovine respiratory disease on feedlot cattle during backgrounding and finishing phases1

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) can cause significant economic losses for cattle producers. This research assessed the economic effects of BRD in backgrounding and finishing phases with assessment of calves based on serum haptoglobin (Hp). Crossbred heifers with expected high risk of BRD (n = 337) were assembled at a Kentucky order buyer facility and delivered to Stillwater, Oklahoma, in September 2007. Heifers were assigned to pens according to arrival Hp concentration: low (serum Hp < 1.0 μg/mL), medium (1.0 μg/mL < serum Hp < 3.0 μg/mL), and high (serum Hp > 3.0 μg/mL). The heifers were monitored daily for signs of BRD during a 63-d backgrounding phase. After backgrounding, initial serum Hp was disregarded and heifers (n = 193) were allocated to finishing pens (5 to 7 heifers per pen) according to number of BRD treatments received: never treated (0X; n = 54), treated once (1X; n = 54), treated twice (2X; n = 34), treated 3 times (3X; n = 39), and chronically ill (CX; n = 12). Because of the limited number of pens available for the finishing phase, only 54 heifers each from the 0X and 1X categories were randomly selected for inclusion in the finishing phase. Arrival haptoglobin concentration had no significant effect on net returns (P ≥ 0.50) and was not different across number of BRD treatments (P ≥ 0.11). However, net returns decreased in the backgrounding phase (P < 0.001) and the combined backgrounding and finishing phases (P = 0.001) as number of BRD treatments increased. On average, the 0X, 1X, 2X, and 3X groups had $111.12, $92.51, $59.98, and $20.62, respectively, greater net returns than CX (P < 0.001) during backgrounding. When combining backgrounding and finishing phases, the 3X and CX groups lost $72.01 and $143.20 more than the 0X group (P ≤ 0.03).