United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture 

Veterinary Services 

Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health June 2009 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Beef Producers’ Perceptions 

About the Value of Testing for 

Persistent Infection with Bovine 

Viral Diarrhea Virus in Calves 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal 

Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) conducted the Beef 

2007–08 study, which focused on beef cow-calf health 

and management practices in 24 States divided into 

three regions.*

 These major beef cow-calf producing 

States represented 79.6 percent of U.S. operations with 

beef cows and 87.8 percent of U.S. beef cows. 

Goals for the Beef 2007–08 study included taking an 

in-depth look at management practices used for calves 

persistently infected with bovine viral diarrhea virus 

(BVDV) and estimating the prevalence of calves 

persistently infected with BVDV on U.S. beef cow-calf 

operations. 

Infection with BVDV can affect an animal’s 

reproductive efficiency and cause a variety of conditions, 

including respiratory and digestive disease. 

Ultimately, bovine fetuses are the source of 

persistent infection with BVDV in cattle. Fetuses 

exposed to the virus between 40 and 120 days of 

gestation can become immunotolerant to BVDV and 

shed the virus their entire lives. These persistently 

infected animals can pass the virus to noninfected cattle, 

which develop clinical disease. If these newly-infected 

animals are pregnant, they can pass the infection to their 

calves (if the exposure occurs at the right stage of 

gestation) thereby creating the next generation of 

persistently infected calves. Infection with BVDV results 

in other effects at other stages of gestation. Vaccination 

can increase resistance to BVDV infection and thus 

lower the frequency of persistently infected calves. 

However, vaccination is not always effective in 

eliminating the risk of persistently infected calves. Herd 

BVDV control plans include surveillance, biosecurity, 

and biocontainment strategies to prevent, reduce, or 

eliminate BVDV. Appropriate testing, targeted 

vaccination, and management are integral parts of these 

plans. 

 

*

States/Regions 

West: California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, 

Oregon, Wyoming 

Central: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, 

South Dakota 

Southeast: Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, 

Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia

During the Beef 2007–08 study, data were collected 

on beef producers’ perceptions about the value of testing 

their calf crop for persistent infection with BVDV. 

Producers were given a scenario in which a group of 

calves is tested for persistent infection with BVDV and 

any positive animals are removed. They were then 

asked whether or not the value (positive or negative) of 

the remaining calves would change. Further, if there was 

a perception of changed value for the remaining calves, 

producers were asked about the degree of the expected 

change in value. 

Results 

The highest percentage of operations 

(46.6 percent) did not know if the value of the remaining 

calves would change (table 1). Very few operations 

(2.6 percent) believed that the value of the remaining 

calves would decrease. Approximately equal 

percentages of operations believed that the calves’ value 

would increase, or would not be affected, or would be 

affected but by an unknown amount. 

Table 1. Percentage of Operations by How, 

According to Producers, Removing Calves that Test 

Positive for Persistent Infection with BVDV Affects 

the Value of Calves Remaining in the Herd, and by 

Herd Size 

Percent Operations 

Herd Size (Number of Beef Cows)

 1-49 50-99 

100-

199 

200 or 

More

All 

Opera

-tions

Effect on Value 

of Remaining 

Calves Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct. 

Increases value 14.2 16.0 15.7 27.6 15.3 

Decreases value 3.3 1.8 0.0 0.8 2.6 

Has no effect 18.7 20.1 23.7 13.8 19.1 

Do not know 48.8 46.6 37.3 32.6 46.6 

Affects value, but 

amount unknown 15.0 15.5 23.3 25.2 16.4 

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture 

A higher percentage of operations in the West 

region (29.3 percent) believed that testing for persistent 

infection with BVDV and removing infected animals 

increased the value of the remaining calves compared 

with operations in the Central and Southeast regions 

(18.9 and 12.0 percent, respectively) (table 2). 

Table 2. Percentage of Operations by How, 

According to Producers, Removing Calves that Test 

Positive for Persistent Infection with BVDV Affects 

the Value of Calves Remaining in the Herd, and by 

Region

Percent Operations 

Region 

West Central Southeast

Effect on Value of 

Remaining Calves Pct. Pct. Pct. 

Increases value 29.3 18.9 12.0 

Decreases value 0.4 0.0 3.9 

Has no effect 8.1 26.0 18.1 

Do not know 47.1 39.8 49.0 

Affects value, but 

amount unknown 15.1 15.3 17.0 

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Among operations that believed removing 

persistently infected calves affects the value of 

remaining calves, the overall average expectation of 

change was an increase in value of $22.70 per head. 

Most operations (57.2 percent) believed that removing 

persistently infected calves affects the health of the 

remaining calves in the group. Only 7.7 percent of 

producers believed that removal of persistently infected 

calves does not affect the health of the remaining 

calves. 

Summary 

Despite some auction-market data that suggest that 

groups of calves negative for persistent infection with 

BVDV bring higher prices, many operations (46.6 

percent) are uncertain about the value of testing their 

calves for persistent infection with BVDV. More work is 

needed to document the economic effects of testing for 

and controlling persistent infection with BVDV on cowcalf operations. More data and continued education 

efforts addressing feasible control or elimination 

strategies may result in more widespread efforts to 

control BVDV in beef herds. 

More information about BVDV can be found at the 

following Web sites: 

www.bvdinfo.org

www.avc-beef.org

www.aabp.org

________________________________ 

For more information, contact: 

USDA:APHIS:VS:CEAH 

NRRC Building B, M.S. 2E7 

2150 Centre Avenue 

Fort Collins, CO 80526-8117 

970.494.7000 

E-mail: NAHMS@aphis.usda.gov 

http://nahms.aphis.usda.gov

#552.0609 

____________________________________ 

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