The Empirical Impact of Bovine Somatotropin on New York Dairy Farms

Abstract

Data from 259 farms that participated in the Cornell University Dairy Farm Business Summary Project were used to measure the impact of bovine somatotropin (bST) on milk production and profitability per cow. Linear regression was used to estimate the response to bST when other variables were held constant. Bovine somatotropin was a dummy variable for bST use or nonuse in the equations. For farms that used bST on 25% or more of the cow days in 1994, milk production increased by 510 kg per cow. Returns above purchased feed costs increased $153 per cow for farms that used bST. Milk receipts over operating costs increased $120 per cow for farms that used bST. The use of bST was estimated to increase net farm income by $27 per cow, but this estimated coefficient was not statistically different from 0. Differences in costs for labor or veterinary services per cow were not significantly different between farms that used bST and farms that did not use bST.

Growth hormone: roles in female reproduction

“…GH is the major galactopoietic hormone in cows and is commonly used to increase milk yield in commercial dairy herds (Tauer & Knoblauch 1997, Etherton & Bauman 1998. Indeed, treatment of dairy cows with bGH increases milk yield by 10-40%, by affecting both mammogenesis and lactogenesis (Breier et al 1991).…”

Methodologies for ex ante projections of adoption rates for agbiotech products: Lessons learned from rBST

“…Actual 6-month adoption was recorded at 39 percent, including the 25% who subsequently suspended use (Lyson, Tauer, & Welsh, 1995), with most farms indicating treatment of all cows at the appropriate stage in the lactation cycle. Tauer and Knoblauch (1996) using a nonrandom sample of 259 New York dairy farms found (Lucas, 1995). By August 1998, Monsanto was reporting 30% of cows nationally were "in herds that are supplemented" with Posilac (www.monsanto.com/dairy/press4.html).…”

“…When responding to the question on production effects, answers ranged around 25 pounds per cow per day, or a 30% increase, which is above many experimental results. Tauer and Knoblauch (1996) found for 1994 an average yield response of just 5.7% for users (about 5 lbs. daily), but that value is averaged across entire herds which contain untreated cows as well.…”

Estimation of Treatment Effects of Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin Using Matching Samples

“…This is the same data source used by Stefanides and Tauer;Tauer and Knoblauch;and Tauer (2001a) to assess the impact of rbST, although they used fewer years of data and different estimators. This is a voluntary farm record project primarily meant to assist dairy farmers in managing their operations.…”