BRD is a devastating respiratory condition affecting cattle of all ages and the leading cause of mortality within the cattle industry.

Bungowannah's Andrew Watson has about 550 Angus Hereford cross cows and has been supplying the Riverina beef feedlot for the last 15 years.

He said making the vaccines mandatory was a great idea.

"It should have been bought in 10 years ago," he said.

"I reckon if everyone had used it, it would have saved a lot of animals' lives."

Mr Watson has been vaccinating his cattle since the vaccine first became available about eight years ago after losing some stock.

"About 10 years ago I weaned them, I thought I'd done everything right, put them down at the creek, set them silage, went down there three days later and there was three in the creek floating," he said.

Mr Watson said the bacterial infection could be hard to spot.

"It's hard to see," he said.

'We check our cattle every day and it's like pneumonia, but all you see is an animal that's a bit dopey, a bit of nasal discharge and it's just not quite right and often there'll be high temperature.

"But you're checking 30,000 animals all in the feedlot, it's hard to judge.

"And if you miss one day one, day two they're crook, day three they're dead."

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Northern Livestock Manager at JBS Australia Scott Carswell said the decision was made to benefit cattle health.

"We take welfare pretty seriously," he said.

"This vaccination treats BRD so that's why we decided to take it seriously to make it happen.

"It repels the two viruses mainly associated with BRD, so if they're treated before they come to the feedlot they're given every opportunity to not get it."

Mr Carswell said healthier animals also put on weight more easily.

"Cattle, if they're sick, they stop eating," he said.

"So they're not in as good a condition and they don't do.

"They just stand still when they're sick."

Mr Carswell said JBS would continue to give a $15 per head bonus for vaccinated cattle.

The Bovilis MH+IBR vaccine costs $7 per head.

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