United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Program Aid No. 1946

Beef 2007–08

An Indepth Look at the U.S. 

Beef Cow–Calf Industry

For More Information

To find out more about Beef 2007–08, 

please contact

USDA–APHIS

Veterinary Services, Attention: NAHMS

NRRC Building B, Mailstop 2E7

2150 Centre Avenue

Fort Collins, CO 80526–8117

Phone: (970) 494–7001

E-mail: NAHMS@aphis.usda.gov

Or visit NAHMS on the Web at 

http://nahms.aphis.usda.gov.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits 

discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis 

of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where 

applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental 

status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, 

political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an 

individual’s income is derived from any public assistance 

program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) 

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for 

communication of program information (Braille, large print, 

audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center 

at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint 

of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil 

Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, 

D.C. 20250–9410, or call (800) 795–3272 (voice) or 

(202) 720–6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider and employer.

Issued August 2007

How Beef Producers Benefit

By fully participating in the Beef 2007–08 study, 

you will receive several reports and information 

sheets that will allow you to compare your 

operation to others in the beef industry.

What Your Participation Involves

Participation in all NAHMS studies is voluntary. If 

you are selected to participate in Beef 2007–08 

and decide to do so, representatives from USDA’s 

National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) 

will visit you to complete a questionnaire. If you 

are eligible and choose to continue in the study, 

veterinary medical officers (VMOs) and/or animal 

health technicians (AHTs) will visit and explain 

further phases of the study.

■ NASS will contact selected beef cow–calf 

producers in October or November 2007.

■ VMOs and/or AHTs will visit from January 

through March 2008.

■ VMOs and AHTs will make a second contact 

from July through August 2008.

A Scientific Approach

APHIS established NAHMS to collect and report 

accurate and valuable information on animal 

health and management in the United States. 

Since 1990, NAHMS has developed national 

estimates on disease prevalence and other 

factors related to the health of U.S. beef cattle, 

dairy cattle, swine, equine, poultry, catfish, and 

sheep populations. The science-based results 

produced by NAHMS have proven to be of 

considerable value to the U.S. livestock, poultry, 

and aquaculture industries. NAHMS studies are 

■ National in scope,

■ Voluntary and confidential,

■ Statistically valid,

■ Scientific, and

■ Collaborative in nature.

Confidentiality

Because NAHMS’ studies rely on voluntary 

participation, APHIS protects the privacy of 

every participant. Only those collecting the data 

know the identity of the respondent. No name or 

address is ever recorded in any APHIS database. 

No data will be reported on any individual or in a 

manner that would allow the identification of an 

individual.

“The NAHMS Beef 2007–08 study is extremely important for the 

beef cattle industry and needs the participation of producers 

across the United States. This study provides valuable 

benchmarks for cow–calf producers, veterinarians, and animal 

scientists and truly takes the pulse of the cow–calf industry. In 

order for our industry to maintain its competitive position in the 

global economy, we must continue to evaluate management 

techniques, herd-health concerns, and food safety issues and 

be able to respond appropriately when needed to producer 

and consumer questions or concerns. The beef-cattle industry 

is critical to the economy of the United States and does an 

excellent job of providing high-quality food for people in the 

United States and the world.” 

—Max Irsik, Beef Cattle Extension Veterinarian

University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine

“The NAHMS Beef 2007-08 Study will provide useful 

benchmarks for individual cattle producers and for those who 

advocate for animal agriculture. The results of this study will 

help education and research providers to better allocate scarce 

resources to the activities most valued by producers.”

—Tom Field, Professor of Animal Sciences

Colorado State University
In October or November 2007, the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS)—part 

of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS)—will launch the Beef 2007–08 study. This national study marks the first time in 10 years 

that NAHMS has taken an indepth look at the U.S. beef cow–calf industry. Producers from 24 

States* with the Nation’s largest beef cow inventories will be asked to participate in Beef 2007–08. 

The study will examine the priority health and health-management issues now facing the U.S. beef 

cow–calf industry.

Study Focus

Beef 2007–08 is a national study designed to 

provide individual participants, stakeholders, and 

the industry with valuable information on 79.4 

percent of U.S. beef cow–calf herds and 87.8 

percent of U.S. beef cows. Beef 2007–08 will

■ Describe trends in beef cow–calf health and 

management practices,

■ Evaluate management factors related to 

beef quality assurance,

■ Describe record-keeping practices on cow–

calf operations,

■ Determine producer awareness of bovine 

viral diarrhea (BVD) and management 

practices used for BVD control,

■ Describe current biosecurity practices and 

producer motivation for implementing or not 

implementing biosecurity practices, and 

■ Determine the prevalence and antimicrobial 

resistance patterns of potential food-safety 

pathogens.

How You Can Help

By participating in Beef 2007–08, you will 

help the industry and your own operation by 

contributing to the development of reliable and 

valuable information that will be used to

■ Educate the producers and veterinarians of 

tomorrow,

■ Help policymakers and industry make 

informed decisions,

■ Measure the impact of disease,

■ Evaluate the potential impact of diseases 

affecting beef cattle and/or human health,

■ Assist researchers and private enterprise to 

identify and focus on vital issues related to 

beef cattle health and productivity, and 

■ Conduct economic analyses of the health 

and production of the U.S. beef cow–calf 

industry.

Testing Options

Test results on biological samples will be provided 

to participating producers at the conclusion of the 

study.

BVD 

Goal: Estimate the percentage of calves 

persistently infected with BVD virus by testing 

ear-notch samples. The study will also identify 

factors associated with herds having persistently 

infected calves.

Food-Safety Pathogens

Goal: Estimate the prevalence of specific 

food-safety pathogens such as Salmonella and 

Escherichia coli O157 via testing of fecal samples.

The Beef 2007–08 Study

*Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, 

Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, 

Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New 

Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South 

Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming.

“I urge you to complete the NAHMS Beef 2007–08 cow–calf 

questionnaire. The information you provide will help direct 

future research, educational efforts, and policy development 

focused on cow–calf operations in the United States. As a fellow 

cow–calf producer and veterinarian, I know that having reliable 

data is essential in making good decisions. Please take the time 

to help create this important information to aid your operations 

and the cow–calf producers of America.”

—John Maas, D.V.M.

Maas Beef, Clarksburg, CA