Abstract #407

# 407
A decision support tool for Escherichia coli bacterin mastitis vaccine use in dairy cows.
Amanda E. Stone*1, Tyler B. Mark1, Jeffrey M. Bewley1, 1University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.

The objective of this study was to create a producer-friendly decision support tool to evaluate the economic decision of implementing Escherichia coli (0111:B4) bacterin vaccination as a management practice. A partial budget analysis was conducted in Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA) and a producer-friendly dashboard was created (SAP America, Inc. Newtown Square, PA; the dashboard is available at http://afsdairy.ca.uky.edu/J5MastitisVaccine). Farm-specific inputs adjustable by the end user included herd size, milk price, milk yield, vaccine cost, labor cost, feed cost, culling rate from mastitis, coliform prevalence, replacement cow cost, and cull cow value. To demonstrate model sensitivity and utility, 3 example scenarios were evaluated. In all scenarios, vaccine cost was estimated at $4.74 per cow and the rate of clinical mastitis in vaccinated cows was estimated at 8.6%. In the first scenario, a 100-cow herd was modeled with an average clinical mastitis prevalence (48%/year) and milk price ($17.65, calculated from Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute for years 2015 to 2025). In the second scenario, a 100-cow herd was modeled with an average clinical mastitis prevalence (48%/year) and greater than average milk price ($25.70/cwt, calculated from years 2005 to 2015). In the third scenario, a 1,000 cow herd was modeled with an average clinical mastitis prevalence (48%/year) and average milk price ($17.65/cwt). Labor costs, cull cow price, and replacement cow price were $10/h, $1,000/cow, and $1,500/cow for all scenarios, respectively. The benefit:cost ratio of using a Escherichia coli bacterin vaccine was $7.52:$1, $8.51:$1, and $7.53:$1, for scenarios 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The benefit was $8,719/herd/year, $11,552/herd/year, and $87,191/herd/year, for scenarios 1, 2, and 3, respectively. All scenarios evaluated in this project were positive investments. Dairy producers considering investing in a coliform bacterin vaccine may use this as a decision support tool. This work was supported by a grant award from USDA-NIFA-AFRI (2013–68004–20424).

Key Words: economic dashboard, coliform mastitis vaccine, decision support tool