OSU: The National Animal Health and Monitoring System

By: Steve Boyles, OSU Beef Extension Specialist

The National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) can be a useful source of information for management related decisions. The following is a brief synopsis of a recently release report titled: Cattle and Calves Nonpredator Death Loss in the United States, 2010

Nonpredator causes accounted for 95.8 percent of total cattle losses on beef operations in 2010, while the percentage of total losses due to nonpredator causes on other operation types was about 99 percent. Respiratory problems accounted for the highest percentage of nonpredator cattle losses in 2010 (26.5%). Other common causes of loss were "other" causes (14%) and unknown causes (12%). Weather-related causes and calving problems each accounted for about 10% of losses. The percentage of losses due to mastitis was higher on dairy operations than on beef operations (13 and 0.3%, respectively). Respiratory problems accounted for over half of losses (64%) on "other" operations; many operations in this category were feedlots, which commonly experience problems with bovine respiratory disease.

Calves: Nonpredator causes accounted for 92% percent of the 2.3 million calf death losses in 2010. Overall, 6% percent of the U.S. calf crop was lost to nonpredator causes, with losses highest in the Northeast region (7.6% of the calf crop). The highest percentages of nonpredator calf losses were due to respiratory

problems (29%) and digestive problems (17%). Respiratory problems accounted for nearly half of nonpredator calf losses (49%) on "other" operations. Beef operations had a higher percentage of nonpredator calf losses due to weather-related causes (22%) compared with all other operation types: 4% for dairy operations, 9% for mixed operations, and 6% for "other" operations.

Beef operations had a lower percentage of nonpredator calf losses due to digestive problems (10%) than all other operations types: 31% for dairy operations, 30% for mixed operations, and 23% for "other" operations.

This report and other such publications are located at the following USDA website: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/