The Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak worldwide has brought the subject of disease eradication to the forefront in many discussions since vivid pictures of dead animals have been common in the news media. A review of the great advantages and details of eradication programs in cattle disease may serve to remind cattle producers of some important principles.

Significant programs for cattle disease eradication began as early as the late 1800's. It was then apparent that there were some diseases that had characteristics that would allow their complete elimination from a country's borders. In general, these characteristics include:

* The disease organism only survives in a limited number of hosts. A disease caused by an agent that infects large numbers of animal species would be very hard to eradicate.

* The disease organism must not be able to survive outside the animal host for long periods of time. Disease organisms that can survive in the environment for months or years would be nearly impossible to eradicate.

* There must be a precise way to identify infected animals and distinguish them from non-infected ones. In some cases, infected animals can be readily recognized but generally tests that identify infected animals must be developed and applied.

* The disease must be serious enough that it motivates the large effort that must typically be mounted to eradicate it.

* Eradication of the disease is judged to be less expensive, in the long run, than other approaches to controlling the disease.

A number of diseases have been or are being eradicated from cattle in the US. These include Foot and Mouth disease of current interest as well as Brucellosis (Bangs Disease), scabies and Tuberculosis which are in the final stages of eradication. Other diseases are less familiar to cattle producers but, had they not been eradicated would have still been important causes of animal loss. These include such diseases as Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia and Piroplasmosis (tick fever). Mad Cow Disease is currently being eradicated from Europe at a huge cost.

A number of approaches to eradication exist. Sometimes more than one of these tools is used for eradicating a disease. Approaches include:

* Test and slaughter. Although this is a harsh approach, with many diseases where no effective treatments exists or where spread is very rapid, removing infected or high-risk animals from the population is the only effective track towards eradication.

* Treatment. Dipping cattle to kill the mites that cause scabies is the major thrust to eradication with this skin disease.

* Vaccination. Only very rarely is vaccination effective enough to totally eradicate a disease (human small pox is a very fortunate exception). Sometimes, however, vaccination can be coupled with test and slaughter. Brucellosis is an example of this approach. In some cases with Foot and Mouth disease eradication, cattle in the area of the outbreak are immediately vaccinated to slow the spread of the disease, then later (when there may be more resources for carcass removal), these animals are slaughtered. Vaccination alone does not completely prevent animals from becoming infected with the FMD virus nor from them shedding it. Vaccination does prevent severe disease and decrease shedding of virus.

* Some novel approaches. Screwworm has been eradicated from the US and Mexico by releasing sterile male flies.

As livestock producers in the US, we have great reason to appreciate former and current eradication efforts that make our cattle population quite disease free and thus allow the economical production of animal products. This disease freedom allows us to keep large numbers of animals in a small area and to move them around for breeding, sale and exhibition very freely.

Are cattle disease eradication efforts in the US now almost history? This question is an interesting one. There are still diseases that are eradicable and have been eradicated in some countries. The US approach to these diseases has either been to live with them or to practice wide scale vaccination. Diseases that fit this category are Johne's Disease, Bovine Leukosis Virus, Anaplasmosis and even BVD.

Whether additional eradication programs are begun in the US will depend on a number of factors. One of these is producer's interest in such programs. Whether we embark on additional eradication or not there will always be the need for surveillance to be sure that the diseases have not returned. There should also be great appreciation for the freedom that past eradication efforts have afforded us in our livestock programs.

BIOSECURITY 'FACT SHEETS' ON-LINE

Don't forget that you'll find much more information regarding disease and on-farm biosecurity issues in the four new Biosecurity Fact Sheets recently authored by OSU Extension Veterinarians Drs. Bowman and Shulaw. They can be accessed in PDF format from the website: http://prevmed.vet.ohio-state.edu/extension/index.htm or a hard copy of each of these fact sheets is available at local OSU Extension offices. The Fact Sheets are entitled: On Farm Biosecurity, Disinfectants, Biosecurity for Ag Agents, and Biosecurity for Youth Livestock Exhibitors.

OCA ROUNDUP GOES TO WOOD COUNTY ON JULY 14

The annual Ohio Cattlemen's Association Summer Roundup will held July 14 and hosted by the Wood County Beef Producers. Some of this year's Roundup tour stops will feature beef quality assurance (BQA) information. Therefore, all Roundup tour participants will receive documentation of BQA training and a copy of Ohio's new BQA manual. For more OCA Roundup details or registration information, contact the OCA office at 614.873.6736. In the mean time, following is a 'snapshot' of one of the farms you'll enjoy during the 2001 Roundup.

Calvin Gerwin & Sons - The Gerwins run a family partnership that includes 1,200 crop acres and 250 head of Holstein steers marketed annually. Calves are purchased locally at 500 pounds, but bottle calves are also in the mix. The cattle are fed a silage-based diet until 1,000 pounds then moved to a finishing facility where the are fed dry corn until market. The Gerwins have a feedlot sales history of 90 percent choice, six percent prime, and four percent select and a death loss of less than one percent. Working with the local Wood County Soil and Water District they constructed a cost share solid waste storage facility to hold waste from March through July.

Weekly Purcell Agricultural Commodity Market Report for June 26, 2001
Wayne D. Purcell, Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/periodicals/purcell/

The cattle market is proving to be very resilient as we move toward the end of June. The June 22 Cattle on Feed report showed more cattle moving into the feedyards than had been expected, but after a relatively weak open on Monday, the cattle markets traded aggressively higher on the day. The October contract that we have been watching closed around $75.50, and it is rather clear that the downside correction that I have talked about on this chart has been completed. It approached the $74.25 that I had suggested might be a full 50 percent correction, and we are now poised for higher prices. Tuesday's somewhat weaker prices in cattle and feeder cattle after Monday's strong move did not surprise me. I would now expect to see the cash market, which is in the low $70s in limited trade so far this week, to start to get better as we move through the summer and into the fall, and that is what the market appears to be telling us. The cattle market was helped by the action in the hog pits where we saw new contract highs in both the nearby contracts and the fall and winter contracts. October lean hogs, for example, surged up to $58.50. This is, I think, a reflection of the very modest pace of expansion that we are seeing.

Selective hedgers that have lifted short hedges in the cattle complex ought to key off that October contract and replace those hedges on a move back up toward the highs at $76.50. Alternatively, you can hook a trend line to the early May low and Monday's low and monitor this market and hedge again only when you see a close below that trend line. That will leave open the possibility of the market being able to take out the highs and move to still better price levels. In feeder cattle, with a move above $92 on Monday and somewhat lower prices on Tuesday, we have a similar situation. You can construct a very steep trend line on the August contract, which is the contract I have been watching. I would not be too anxious to lift short hedges just because margin calls are accumulating in this complex. You can never say "never" to the futures market, but I don't think, fundamentally speaking, we can justify prices significantly above $92. Any hedges in the $89-$92 range I would think should be held until we see whether or not this market is going to top across these highs. Keep in mind that all we need is a "scare" with regard to Foot and Mouth Disease or BSE and these markets could come tumbling down very quickly.

Visit the OSU Beef Team calendar of meetings and upcoming events

BEEF Cattle is a weekly publication of Ohio State University Extension in Fairfield County and the OSU Beef Team. Contributors include members of the Beef Team and other beef cattle specialists and economists from across the U.S.

All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status. Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Admin. and Director, OSU Extension. TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868

Fairfield County Agriculture and Natural Resources