Case study: Managing BVDV risk before joining at Quintarra Farms
- ASHEEP & BEEF
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Todd Quinlivan (Quintarra Farms) is the lead producer of ASHEEP & BEEF’s ‘Utilising Heifer Pre-Mating Serology to Manage BVDV’ Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) project, funded by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and facilitated by Dr Enoch Bergman (Swans Veterinary Services). The PDS is now at its mid-point, having run for three years with three remaining. ASHEEP & BEEF caught up with Todd to learn about his experience with managing the risk of BVDV and the project’s impact at Quintarra Farms. Our thanks to Todd for his time giving the following interview.
Bovine Pestivirus (BVDV) Background:
Bovine Pestivirus (BVDV) is an endemic viral disease of cattle responsible for considerable financial consequences for both Australian Beef and Dairy producers across Australia. Initial exposure to BVDV can result in potent immune suppression, infertility, early embryonic death, abortion, or the production of Persistently Infected (PI) animals. Whilst Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) ranked BVDV as the second costliest endemic disease of cattle in Australia in their 2015 endemic disease prioritisation survey, and third in their 2022 survey, BVDV still remains possible to control and even eradicate at the herd level.
Find out more about BVDV and how to manage the risk via the BVDV Producer Guide: https://www.asheepbeef.org.au/post/producer-guide-bvdv
Farm and cattle program overview
Todd Quinlivan owns Quintarra Farms, an operation that involves properties at Merivale and Neridup in the Esperance region of south‑east Western Australia. The Neridup farm, located north-east of Esperance, is run as a 100% cropping operation, while the Merivale farm closer to the coast supports a mixed system of cropping, cattle and sheep.
This case study focuses on Quintarra’s cattle operation, a self-replacing Angus herd predominantly based on Lawson genetics. Todd’s focus is on calving ease, growth, carcase quality, structure, fertility and temperament.
Key dates in the cattle program include heifers calving from late February and cows from late March. Heifers are artificially inseminated (AI) in the first week of June and bulls are introduced to the cow herd in mid-June. Pregnancy testing is carried out in August and October. Weaning occurs over December-January. A key market target is to sell steers as weaners to lotfeeders, usually in December/January.
Why did you start testing for BVDV?
“Being made aware by Enoch Bergman of the importance of the disease and the significant economic cost of an outbreak and overall potential production losses was the catalyst to test,” said Todd.
“We had occasional poor calves that gave us the incentive to test for a cause. At the time, we were agisting cattle across the district and in other shires so we knew we were exposed to a higher level of biosecurity risk.”
How did you clear the herd of BVDV?
“In consultation with Enoch, a testing programme was developed whereby we tested, identified the presence of the disease, found PI’s [animals persistently infected with BVDV] and removed them. We did this over several years from the mid 2000s until we cleared our herds of BVDV and have been vaccinating since.
“It was remarkably quick to identify the PI animals and remove them, and to get our herds from being positive to then having no exposure and thus just requiring annual testing and vaccination. Following the recommended pathway was clear and simple to achieve this.
“Anecdotally, we have significantly reduced the tail on our calves’ performance. We have noticed we now have generally very few poor calves at weaning.
“Controlling BVDV is another tool in improving the number of calves weaned at the best weights.”
How do you manage the risk of re-exposure now that the herd is BVDV-free?
“Annual testing for BVDV of a small sample of weaner heifers and vaccinating accordingly, along with following good biosecurity practices, including buying vaccinated bulls from a known source and running a self-replacing herd.”
How did the economics of testing and eradicating BVDV stack up for you?
“The initial ear notching programme was probably the biggest cost in terms of time and labour.
“Doing nothing, considering the risk to our cattle enterprise from a production and fertility point of view, was never an option.”
What’s the importance of running a PDS on BVDV?
“BVDV is a disease than can cause many production and fertility issues effecting profitability. Considering its level of importance but relative ease of removal I wanted to share how it can be controlled within a herd with the right advice and program.”
Top three practical tips for producers considering screening for BVDV?
Run all heifers together for 8 weeks.
Test early to allow for corrective action.
Seek veterinary advice.
What are your other focuses for taking the Quintarra cattle program forward?
“I am very interested in the potential of virtual fencing collars with cattle for grazing and overall cattle management. The other PDS projects running in the d
istrict are very relevant to our cattle enterprise e.g. preventing preputial bull breakdown. We have recently installed scales under a new crush and are recording data on individual animals with eID readers and Koolstock software to help manage our cattle herd.”
Todd’s involvement in this PDS, as a producer who has experienced and effectively managed BVDV, has been a valuable resource to the project. Many thanks from ASHEEP & BEEF to Todd & the Quintarra team.
To find out more about testing for BVDV, take a look at this video of veterinarian Dr Enoch Bergman blood testing at Quintarra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPFMeFyRp4M
