The biggest value-added protocol in calf health is weaning, not vaccination. This, according to 24 years of big data generated from 25,000 million cattle by Superior Livestock Auction. Ken Odde, Kansas State University animal science professor, revealed which calf health programs, premiums and genetic breeds have on prices during the recent National Red Angus Conference.
. . . calf health continues to be a very important issue even though we’ve probably got better vaccination programs and calf health programs than we had previously.” – Ken Odde, Kansas State University
Source: Progressive Cattle, November 4, 2019. Link. “Prior to [these data], we had lots of states with preconditioning sales, green tag programs, and most never went very far,” Odde said. “Mostly, supply-driven programs didn’t have the structure to be sustainable. So what Superior has done is really profound.”
INSIGHTS: This is an excellent article to share as veterinarians make fall VFD inspection calls and sales reps meet with producers. Dr. Odde is well-known and respected in the cattle industry. Identify specific data relevant to each customer and highlight it in your discussions.
Bottom line, planning for a weaning period before a sales event helps vaccines mount immunity before the stress of being sold and shipped.