Study reveals source properties are key to preventing bovine respiratory disease deaths in Australian feedlots

Research involving over one million Australian cattle highlights the importance of source property health and early prevention strategies to reduce BRD mortalities, urging coordinated efforts across the supply chain.

A study of more than 1 million Australian feedlot cattle suggests the decisive factors behind deaths from bovine respiratory disease are largely set before animals arrive at the feedlot, strengthening the case for tighter prevention on source properties.

Researchers from Adelaide University, working with Apiam Animal Health and Meat and Livestock Australia, reviewed health and production records for 1,040,253 cattle across three feedlots between 2018 and 2024. Published in Preventive Veterinary Medicine, the analysis is said to be the largest Australian examination of BRD-specific mortality to date.

Although overall death rates in feedlots remain below 0.5%, BRD accounted for nearly 38% of all recorded deaths in the study. Cattle from supplier properties with a history of higher BRD mortality were more than four times as likely to die from the disease. Animals bought through auction yards also faced greater risk than those sourced directly from paddocks, likely reflecting extra handling, transport and mixing.

The timing of losses was striking: around 69% of BRD deaths occurred in the first 60 days on feed, with the peak risk near day 35.

The authors said vaccination before arrival appeared to reduce mortality, especially in the early high-risk period, and argued that effective control will require coordination across breeders, backgrounders, transporters and feedlots rather than reliance on feedlot management alone.

Reference: Gebremeskel Mamu Werid, Tony Batterham, Hafte Kahsay Kebede, Joshua Aleri, Farhid Hemmatzadeh, Wayne S. Pitchford, Darren J. Trott, Kiro Petrovski, Determinants of mortality from bovine respiratory disease in Australian feedlot cattle: A survival analysis. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Volume 255,
2026, 106952, ISSN 0167-5877,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2026.106952.