 |
||||
|
||||
|
|
||||
The National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) is conducting a feedyard study. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Animal Health Monitoring System, part of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), will continue their second national study of the cattle feeding industry started in mid-August as they interview feedyard managers, owners and employees. Using standardized questionnaires, they will interview feedlot producers through Sept. 22, in the first step of this voluntary industry study. The initial interview will take about an hour and cover health and management issues, according to Dr. David Dargatz. A second round of interviews, lasting about an hour and a half, are scheduled from Oct. 12 to Dec. 10. The last NAHMS study of the feeding industry was in 1994. That study, the Cattle on Feed Evaluation (COFE), provided baseline information on management, quality assurance and animal health related issues for the cattle feeding industry. Dargatz said this year they are looking for information concerning management practices in animal health and feedlots from 1994 to 1999. They are concerned with management in feedlots that impact product quality, and feedlot cattle shedding of pathogens such as 0157, salmonella and campylobacter. Part of the reason for the study is an effort to identify what can be done to effect the level of those pathogens in feedlot cattle. They will also look at antimicrobics and antimicrobial resistance in feedlots. Dargatz said there is a lack of data in that area. The study will investigate antimicrobial use and the level of that usage in the feedlot industry. They will also examine animal health management practices in feedlots and their relationships to cattle health. Dargatz said he hopes the study will identify priority areas for the pre-arrival processing of cattle and calves. In addition to the two interviews, some feedyards will collect fecal samples and keep diaries for a limited number of pens so researchers can look for risks of adverse health outcome of animals in relation to management practices. NAHMS hopes to cover 1,200 feedlots with at least 1,000 head capacity. "The study is strictly voluntary," Dargatz says. The data provided to NAHMS by the individual producers is confidential. |
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
All information is copywrited by Feed Lot magazine and cannot be printed or re-printed
without the publishers express consent. Please contact
Feed Lot Magazine for reprint and copy authorization.
|
||||