White BJ*, Goehl DR, Theurer ME and Abell KM
The present trial was conducted to evaluate potential health, performance, and economic differences between calves monitored with Remote Early Disease Identification (REDI) and Conventional Visual Observation (CON). Seven replicates of high risk cattle (n=614) for bovine respiratory disease were used in the trial. In each replicate, calves were randomly allocated to REDI or CON diagnostic modality and monitored for 30 days. Performance and health outcomes were evaluated for each replicate. Net economic returns were calculated for each replicate based on health and performance outcomes combined with calf prices. A separate economic analysis was performed to evaluate the sensitivity of net returns between the REDI and CON to fluctuation in calf prices. The number of calves initially treated for BRD tended (P=0.09) to be lower in REDI compared to CON, and the percentage of second treatments, and third treatments (P<0.01) were lower for the REDI group compared to the CON group. The REDI group had higher (P<0.01) first treatment success (85.9% ± 6.1) compared to CON (63.3% ± 0.1). No other performance, health, or economic differences were identified (P>0.10). As calf prices were increased, the difference in net returns between the diagnostic modalities increased; however, the magnitude of change was relatively minor. The REDI system showed health advantages which could translate to long-term value in animal welfare. No performance or economic differences were identified in this short-term trial, but further research may elicit longer term implications.
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