Brisket Disease

Galloway cattle have a long history of being Highly Resistant, if not immune to Brisket Disease. We are working with Dr. Tim Holt, CSU and Mark Stayton, WY to substantiate anecdotal historical information with todays science & technology.

Dr. Holt - Utilizes PAP (Pulmonary Artery Pressure) testing to evaluate cattle 18 months and older. This is a heart catheterization where a pressure reading is taken in the right atrium of the heart. Any cattle with scores over the #50 can not be moved to altitude or they will develop Brisket Disease (which is essentially - congestive heart failure). 

Cattlemen in the Rocky Mountain west are having PAP scores taken and deciding "who" to move to altitude. These scores are also used in Sire Selection as the disease is inherited and passed to progeny. 

Our Cattle here at the DD Ranch were tested as a herd. Thus far 17 cows and our two main herd bulls have been tested. We are very pleased to report that our scores ranged from a low of 30 to the highest score we had of 42 - all other scores were in between with no single animal spiking out side that curve.  We are attaching our "Work/Score Sheet" from CSU for your review.