Feedlot performance records from the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center for 1993 through 2000 were analyzed to determine the impact of foot rot on avg. daily gain (ADG) and days on feed. The data set included a total of 7,100 steers. Only those steers that had a single foot rot incident and no other maladies were included in the data set.

A total of 459 (6.5%) steers had been treated for a single foot rot incident over the 8-year period. The ADG for cattle not affected by foot rot was 2.87 lb, whereas those that had experienced foot rot had an ADG of 2.80 lb. The difference of 0.07 lb was statistically significant (P=0.03). Average days on feed for the non-affected steers was 262 days compared to 267 days (P<0.01) for affected steers. The authors noted that the earlier the onset of foot rot, the less the effects of the disease on ADG or days on feed. They speculated that the average effect on body weight gain and days to harvest would be greater when cattle are placed on feed at heavier body weights, because they would have fewer days to compensate for gain losses during a foot rot incident (Prof. Anim. Sci. 2006. 22:450).