Washington State University

Awards Issued Prior to January 20, 2025, Were Funded Under Previous Administrations and May Not Reflect the Priorities and Policies of the Current Administration. Currently There Is No Method to Accurately Assess and Intertwine the Economic and Welfare Implications of Disease and Death on Dairies. Diseases Are Viewed in Isolation Without Providing Insight Into Future Health Problems and Loss of Profitability. Human Medical Epidemiology Offers Useful Insights Into Improving the Depth of Analysis of Health Deficits. This Includes the World Health ORGANIZATION'S Attempt to Standardize the Burden of Disease Through a Time-based Summary Measure of Health Termed a Disability-adjusted Life Year (daly). Livestock Industries Require a Similar Innovation to Move Beyond Simply Monetizing Singular Disease Events, to a Thorough Assessment of the Lifetime Implications of Those Events. This Project Will Create a Framework Based on Novel Diagnostics to Characterize Disease Outcomes and Construct, Integrate, Analyze, and Disseminate a Time-based Summary Measure of Dairy Cow Health. Three Explicit Goals Are to 1) Improve Our Understanding of Disease Progression and Lifetime Consequences of Dairy Cattle Health Events, 2) Assess the Comparative Importance of Diseases Affecting Animal Wellbeing and Economic Losses, and 3) Educate Livestock Caregivers Regarding the Utility of Novel Diagnostics and On-farm Investigations to Maximize Animal Wellbeing. as a Standalone Entity a Dairy Summary Measure of Health Will Provide Dairy Producers and Their Veterinarians a Unique Approach to Understanding the Effectiveness and Consequences of Their Health Management Decisions. It Will Substantiate the Need for Maintaining Consistent and Accurate Health Records, Highlight Particular Areas in Need of Improvement, and Serve as a Unique Indicator of Animal Wellbeing. Overall, This Project Will Help Optimize Livestock Health and Expand the Discussion of Animal Health and Wellbeing to View Profits and Losses in Light of the Quality and Length of Life.