Stephen L. Ott
Agricultural Economist, Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health
C. Matthew Rendleman
Associate Professor, Department of Agribusiness Economics, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

Losinger’s criticism of our paper pertains to the following key points: the use of national estimates, the functional form employed, making multiple uses of the model, not considering all the costs, and the use of NAHMS data for economic analysis. We briefly address each one below, beginning with the last:

The use of NAHMS data for economic analysis was done as we outlined in the paper by progressing from the physical relationships to the economic. Current NAHMS national studies, including Dairy ‘96, collect little economic information. However, productivity parameters, such as milk production per cow, can be collected and used to estimate the association between disease and productivity. Changes in gross revenue can then be determined by multiplying the output prices by the estimated productivity changes. Read More …