The success of any farm business relies on allocating resources optimally across all farming activities. This is particularly important for disease prevention activities because of their potential impact on farm business viability, the temptation to reduce such activity when funds are scarce and the possible implications for animal welfare and food safety. The objective of the current study was therefore to explore the relative impact of alternative disease prevention strategies under a range of different circumstances. This was done by example, using the case of BVD in a typical Scottish beef herd.