Don’t let cost and inconvenience prevent BVD testing

Testing for BVD is easier and less costly than ever before with the AntelBio BVD Milk ELISA. The process starts with individual milk samples obtained through routine DHI testing, allowing traceback when/if BVD is found in pools of milk samples.

The process works for any size herd, but here’s a scenario for a 480-cow herd:

1. On test day, milk samples are collected and forwarded to DHI.

2. After running standard component analysis, DHI pools individual cow samples into groups of 30 (mini-pools).

3. Eight groups of 30 are then pooled into one sample (representing 240 animals), which is analyzed by AntelBio for genetic material from the BVD virus (PCR analysis).

4. Mini-pools are analyzed via PCR for any pool returning a positive result.

5. Individual cow samples from any positive mini-pool are analyzed for the presence of BVD antigen (using ELISA).

Not only does testing DHI samples for BVD require less labor from you, it’s also more affordable. The above testing scenario costs $1.16 per cow for a total of $580 (10 PCRs at $40 each + 30 ELISAs at $6 each).

This is dramatically less than ear notching which typically runs $4 - $6 per cow and can quickly add up to thousands of dollars.

While not every herd will be able to identify the persistently infected (PI) animal(s) for this amount, AntelBio’s experience indicates similar testing scenarios cost between $0.50 and $2.50 per cow. All of this with NO additional investment in time and labor.

Put the value of DHI testing to work for you and opt for a BVD testing series on your next DHI test day.