The Missouri mule team has been a fixture at the University of Missouri since 1984. To be considered a mule has to be a cross between a draft horse and a mammoth donkey, the world's largest breed of ass. This specific cross creates what is known as a Missouri Mule. Honoring National Mule Day taking place on October 26th, Brian Consiglio shares seven facts about Mizzou’s equine … [Read more...]
Horse Week is happening now
Complimentary Sponsored Content Horse Week is a free weeklong online film festival dedicated to horses. It takes place October 20–26, 2024. Films range from documentary features to quick training tips and include a lineup of brand new exclusives and award-winning favorites. Source: RIDE TV. Link. … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – October 17, 2024
Last week’s AHD Bulletin – Animal Health Digest Bulletin, October 10, 2024. Link. Most read posts from the October 10th AHD Bulletin – How to stop making excuses. Link. Larval therapy decreases layup time for coffin bone infection. Link. Oak mites join chiggers, mosquitos . . . big annoyance for pets, humans. Link. Explaining why cats chatter. Link. … [Read more...]
Farmers told to bolster biosecurity as HPAI spread “by no means on the downward trend”
Experts have warned dairy producers to assume the worst when taking steps to secure their premises against HPAI infections. Source: Dairy Reporter, October 10, 2024. Link. . . . almost a third of all cases since the inception of this event have occurred within the last 30 days.” – Alex Hamburg, DVM … [Read more...]
Preventing inflammation in transition cows
Barry Bradford, PhD, recommends sound transition cow management steps to prevent acute inflammation. This article is a good reference when working with dairy producers and their herd teams. His five steps are: Manage body condition score Transition cow housing Antioxidants Anionic diets Tweaking immunity/inflammation: remember, the use of NSAIDs to treat … [Read more...]
Facial recognition app recognizes cow from 50 feet
Complimentary Commercial Content 406 Bovine leverages facial recognition technology to create ‘digital twins’ of cattle, enabling producers to pull up wellness, movement and treatment data by simply taking a photo of their animals’ heads. Source: Dairy Reporter, July 22, 2024. Link. RFD TV, August 15, 2024. Link. Video [13:13] Facial recognition is the newest form of … [Read more...]
Key technologies revolutionizing the dairy farm
Automation, robotics and AI in dairy farming are taking off. As sustainability, efficiency and consumer transparency become more critical, technological advancements targeting automation, data decision-making, animal welfare and more shape the future of modern dairies. It’s a game changer, writes Andrew Hunt. Source: The Bullvine, October 10, 2024. Link. Key … [Read more...]
Allogrooming serves an important function in horses
It’s believed that grooming areas on the body that they can’t reach establishes and maintains social relationships, and may also foster trust and cooperation in horses. It also helps remove sweat, dirt, mud, lice, fleas and ticks and distributes natural oils throughout the coat. Sources: More than scratching an itch, The Paulick Report, October 4, 2024. Link. A … [Read more...]
Simon Sinek: What Noah taught me about leadership (true story)
Simon Sinek shares a true story of his experience with a barista named Noah which taught him an interesting lesson about leadership. In under three minutes, Sinek shares the importance of leadership creating the right environment. Throughout the day managers will walk past me, ask me how I am doing and if I need anything . . .” Source: Live2Lead, YouTube, Simon Sinek, … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – October 9, 2024
Last week’s AHD Bulletin – Animal Health Digest Bulletin, October 3, 2024. Link. Most read posts from the October 3rd AHD Bulletin – “Social license to operate” topic drives equine gathering agenda. Link. Probiotics, prebiotics for feline digestive health. Link. Non-antibiotic approaches to canine recurrent UTIs. Link. Plain speak matters. Link. … [Read more...]
To mask or not in the swine barn for flu?
Montse Torremorell, DVM, shares the risks from bidirectional transmission of influenza A virus between pigs and people. He says the frequent spillover of human-origin seasonal influenza viruses to pigs is a main driver for flu diversity, resulting in new reassortant viruses that threaten pig health, productivity and public health. Results from a recent study evaluating masks … [Read more...]
New products from World Dairy Expo
Mark Moore shares new products that garnered attention at World Dairy Expo that took place in Madison, Wisconsin, from September 28th to October 4th. Featured are management products that promise to help streamline some of the processes on farm. For animal health pros working with dairies, learning about new products outside your own offerings can be beneficial during a … [Read more...]
Worker safety includes teaming with veterinarians
Working with livestock always includes opportunities for someone to get injured. National Safety Month is behind us, but attention to safety requires continual attention. Every day, about 100 agricultural workers suffer a lost-work-time injury. Two articles from the NCBA BQA library are timely as fall cattle work progresses. Understanding the animals, as well as the best … [Read more...]
Oak mites join chiggers, mosquitos, other insects as big annoyance for pets, humans
According to cicada expert Dr. Gene Kritsky, a particular mite known as the "oak leaf itch mite" can be seen in large amounts following a cicada emergence. The articles shared here offer information on these little critters known as Pyemotes herfsi. Oak leaf itch mites are nearly invisible to the naked eye (0.2 mm in length), but they are responsible for mite bite outbreaks in … [Read more...]
Celebrate National 4-H Week (video)
National 4-H week celebrates how the organization helps prepare youth for success in college and careers. From October 7th through October 14th, the week will be marked by activities across the country, showcasing the talents and accomplishments of 4-H members. Whether through community service projects, leadership workshops or educational fairs, the week will shine a spotlight … [Read more...]
Meeting the challenges post-hurricane Helene
Hurricane Helene has devasted much of the southeast U.S. The damage to homes, businesses and transportation routes will impact our animal health business in many ways. Patience and understanding must prevail. Supporting first responders and local animal rescue organizations is important in the coming months. A colleague working the phone lines as a volunteer for Crisis … [Read more...]
Can PRRSV, PEDV be inactivated in truck cabs?
Truck cabs are a biosecurity concern, especially in swine production, to reduce the spread of PRRSV and PEDV. Research from the Swine Health Center updates truck cabin biosecurity methods in this article. Source: National Hog Farmer, September 11, 2024. Link. While ozone and air-purifier technologies have emerged as promising alternatives for decontamination, further … [Read more...]
Organizational basics, SOPs important in on-farm dairy production
Discussing procedural drift, Lisa Holden, PhD, emphasizes the need for dairy producer management to refresh SOP training and monitoring. It's easier to write an SOP and train than to create the culture of compliance, she shared. Source: Dairy Herd Management, January 12, 2023. Link. The consistency that cows crave so much is gained through those standard operating … [Read more...]
Waste milk fed to calves may be creating resistant bacteria
Feeding non-salable milk from antibiotic-treated cows to calves is a common practice. Now, the presence of antimicrobial residues in waste milk raises significant concerns within the scientific community. Researchers assert that waste milk’s use poses a risk by exerting selective pressure, fostering the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria in the intestinal microbiota of … [Read more...]
Genetic resistance for F18 Escherichia coli holds
Increases in cases of post-weaning diarrhea caused by E. coli from 2019 through 2023 prompted researchers to better understand strain variances and study genetic susceptibility of specific breeds to F18 E. coli. Comingled susceptible and resistant pigs were acclimated, then challenged and monitored for variability and disease. Researchers shared the following study … [Read more...]
Got weeds? Sheep and goats being used in urban areas (video)
Using sheep for prescribed grazing is not a new landscaping method, but more urban communities are opting for it to handle land management concerns such as invasive species, wildfire risks, protection of native vegetation and animal habitats and maintaining historic sites. Kristin M. Hall shares the story of the Chew Crew grazing near downtown Nashville along with other places … [Read more...]
Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in Rural America course debuts
A new resource aims to boost practical support to help people navigate mental health resources in rural communities. The course, “Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in Rural America,” targets veterinarians. Rural Minds has partnered with Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and NY FarmNet to provide the service. Rural Minds and Cornell staff think veterinarians … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – September 26, 2024
Last week’s AHD Bulletin – Animal Health Digest Bulletin, September 19, 2024. Link. Most read posts from the September 19th AHD Bulletin – Subtle leadership. Link. Study: superbug crisis could get worse, kill nearly 40 million people. Link. Injectable iron – New science on a routine practice. Link. 10 reasons to love sticky ichthammol ointment. Link. … [Read more...]
FDA establishes four Animal and Veterinary Innovation Centers
University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of California at Davis, Kansas State University and University of Arkansas are the recipients of funding for work to advance regulatory science and further develop innovative products and approaches to better support animal health and veterinary interventions. Source: National Hog Farmer, September 20, 2024. Link. … [Read more...]
USDA launches network to support financially distressed farmers and ranchers
The Distressed Borrowers Assistance Network is a USDA initiative to provide personalized support to financially distressed farmers and ranchers nationwide. Through a series of cooperative Agreements, this national network will connect distressed borrowers with individualized assistance to help them stabilize and regain financial footing. USDA's Farm Service Agency will … [Read more...]
Changing weather patterns call for a change in deworming habits
Sponsored Content Lice over-summer instead of over-winter like many parasites. They hide on cattle in folds between the legs and body and the dewlap. One type of louse can even over-summer in the ear. Once they get cold, they wake up and start reproducing. If cattle are treated too early, the lice don’t become an issue until several months into an endectocide product’s … [Read more...]
The story no one talks about: the cost to produce food
John Nalivka shares an opinion piece that speaks to the pinched wallets consumers are experiencing. The overall costs costs of livestock production, have increased 28 percent from 2019 to 2023. The cost of energy posted a 35 percent increase over the same years while the cost of labor rose 24 percent from 2019 to 2023. Land values have also risen significantly, making … [Read more...]
Mizzou’s next-generation anaplasmosis vaccine shows promise
University of Missouri researchers are developing a new* vaccine proven to protect cattle from a devastating tick-borne cattle disease, bovine anaplasmosis. Roman Reddy Ganta, MSc, PhD, led the study that created the new vaccine. The work involved genetically modifying the pathogen Anaplasma marginale in a lab. By deleting a specific gene and then injecting the modified … [Read more...]
Voluntary waiting period data can set up cows for success
A dairy cow’s voluntary waiting period, the time after calving until breeding, is a flurry of internal activity, writes Steve Pavelski. He asserts the voluntary waiting period should be considered a preparation period. The article is a good resource to share and discuss with dairy producers. Source: Progressive Dairy, September 5, 2024. Link. The most profitable voluntary … [Read more...]
Breeding soundness exams give 20:1 ROI
The lack of breeding soundness exams keeps Joe Dalton, PhD, awake at night, writes Becky Mills. He shares concerns about data on the low percentage of producers who test bulls already in their bull battery for at least two breeding seasons. He emphasizes a complete breeding soundness exam, not just a semen test, as critical to the value of reproduction. Source: Angus Beef … [Read more...]