A model for evaluating animal health management strategies with the cow viewed as a durable asset

There is a growing concern among livestock farmers over animal diseases that reduce production efficiency. The impacts of diseases like cystic ovaries, metritis and mastitis are not as great as those that cause mortality but the cumulative effect can contribute significantly to the survival of the farm businesses in the existing competitive economic environment. Along with this concern is the increasing availability of alternative management strategies and treatments for such diseases. The ability of decision makers to measure the economic impacts of the diseases that reduce production efficiency and to evaluate the economic consequences of alternative management strategies is becoming a crucial element in the dairy industry. This study was an attempt to address the two issues: (1) to improve the decision making process of farmers regarding animal health strategies and (2) to develop quantitative tools that are adaptable to decision making processes in animal health economics.; The study reviews statistical and economic models that have been used in the evaluation of the economic impact of animal diseases on production. Integration of decision analysis and simulation that utilizes dynamic programming is identified as an appropriate conceptual framework for evaluating the economics of animal diseases that reduce production efficiency. The cow was modeled as a durable asset reflecting the continuous flow of costs and benefits over her entire lifespan.; The model was developed using a Fortran computer code and run on a mainframe computer. Sources of data included secondary and primary data sources including the Food Animal Health Resource Management System (FAHRMX) database, Today's Electronic Planning (TELPLAN) and Today's Electronic Farm Accounting (TELFARM) databases. A case study of cystic ovaries was analyzed using the model. The results showed that it is more economical to treat cystic ovaries than not to treat. As expected, lactations 4 and 5 are the optimal lactations for keeping dairy cows on the farm business. If treated, the Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GNRH) was superior to treatment with the Human Chrionic Gonadotropin (HCG) and no treatment (NT), hence relying on spontaneous recovery. The model was also used to evaluate other factors such as the cost of extending the length of the calving interval.