Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 2/27/15


New research indicates that beef producers are still waiting for stronger economic incentives to vaccinate their herds against E. coli. Until then, the slow rate of adoption is likely to continue.

Economics researchers at Kansas State University are reporting that given the magnitude of direct costs for feedlots to vaccinate, producers are waiting for a clear direct economic incentive, according to Glynn Tonsor, an associate professor of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University, who co-authored the study. “As such, determining the downstream benefits that would need to occur to encourage adoption is essential to understand if adoption is desirable,” he wrote.

Recent studies have found that vaccinating cows against E. coli O157 might reduce human cases of E. coli infection by 85 percent or more. Two vaccines for the pathogen exist to reduce how much of it cattle excrete in their feces. However, cost and regulatory issues have hampered the vaccines’ widespread use for about five years.

The new study identifies the economic impact to American feedlots implementing the vaccination across a variety of scenarios.
Producers face $1 billion to $1.8 billion in welfare losses over the next decade if they adopt the technology without any associated increases in demand for fed cattle. Retail beef demand increases of 1.7-3 percent or export demand increases of 18.1-32.6 percent would each individually make producers economically neutral to adoption. Retail or packer cost decreases of 1.2-3.9 percent would likewise be sufficient to make producers neutral to adoption, according to Tonsor and co-author Ted Schroeder.

“What might it take for E. coli vaccination programs to be successfully implemented?” they wrote. “Domestic consumer demand increases of 2-3 percent, export wholesale market increases of 18-33 percent, retailer cost reductions of 2-4 percent or processor cost reductions of 1-2 percent would each individually be sufficient to make producer adoption welfare neutral.”

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