Rodents flock to buildings this time of year. Laura Haggarty shares her experiences with rodents, bait and pets. She shares a warning about Bromethalin, second generation rodenticides, that have NO ANTIDOTE. We added information from the EPA to support her article. Second generation anticoagulants tend to remain in animal tissues longer than do first-generation ones. These … [Read more...]
Beef genetics not equal in dairies
Crossbreeding dairy cows with beef genetics is a growing practice. Between being able to predict calf gender and various processors refusing to buy dairy cows for meat, dairy producers are using beef bulls as a way to add value to bull calves and generate additional income. There is a misconception that all beef genetics are created equal in terms of usefulness in creating a … [Read more...]
USDA withdraws RFID requirement
Recent executive orders have highlighted the need for transparency and communication before placing new requirements on American farmers and ranchers. USDA-APHIS will not implement the requirement regarding types of identification devices that must be applied to cattle. We continue to believe that RFID devices will provide the cattle industry with the best protection against … [Read more...]
BRSV still relevant and compromising
A good preventive care plan includes vaccinating both cows and calves for bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) because it is endemic in the United States. While rarely fatal on its own, BRSV weakens the immune system, often allowing for a secondary bacterial infection that results in pneumonia. BRSV is a factor considered part of bovine respiratory disease (BRD). The … [Read more...]
Colostrum, first-lactation colostrum and quality decisions
First-lactation heifer colostrum has historically been considered to be of low quality which sometimes led to it being dumped. However, first lactation colostrum should not immediately be discounted as inferior as it may be just as high of quality as colostrum from older cows. The author discusses variables worthy of sharing with producers in face-to-face discussions, on social … [Read more...]
Cull cow considerations require flexibility
Carrying an old, open or ornery cow through the winter is analogous to hiring an employee, paying them monthly but not expecting them to show up to work for the next year. Cull cow weight and cull cow market price remain top factors in cow-calf production profits. Heather Smith Thomas shares strategies to offer the best welfare and garner profit out of cull cows. Use her … [Read more...]
Body condition score cows before the next winter storm
Harvest season is running behind for more than half of U.S. corn producers < link >. For those who run cows, the rain delays offer an opportunity to conduct body condition scores (BCS) on cows before turning them out on stalks. The best time for BCS work is concurrent with weaning calves. Use this information to understand BCS, manage input costs and urge producers to do … [Read more...]
24 years, 25 million cattle prove what affects prices
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. . . . … [Read more...]
Caring for cold-stressed calves
Cold weather will add stress to newly born calves in both dairy and beef operations. Taylor Leach reminds us that the most critical, and most expensive, period of calf growth in raising dairy calves is the pre-weaning period. She offers some tips to address cold weather stress during the first weeks of a calf’s life. Source: Dairy Herd Management, October 28, 2019. Link. One … [Read more...]
Study demonstrates benefits of wintering dairy cows outdoors
Recent research from the Journal of Dairy Science < link > suggests that outdoor housing through the winter might be cleaner and healthier for the cows than indoor housing. The University of Minnesota study compared organic cows housed on an outdoor straw pack with wind protection to cows housed indoors on a compost-bedded pack barn. Source: Hoard’s Dairyman, October … [Read more...]
World Dairy Expo 2019, not all black and white (pictorial)
We often think of dairy cows as Holsteins, but this recap of the recent World Dairy Expo shows the variety of breeds that produce milk. Delilah became the second Brown Swiss ever to claim back-to-back World Dairy Expo Supreme Champion titles. Sixty-two thousand people from 94 countries attended the five-day event in Madison, Wisconsin. Visitors from Canada, Mexico, Italy, … [Read more...]
You can’t disinfect a turd, but disinfectants work
We can learn a lot from practical biosecurity protocols used by swine veterinarians and their clients. The approaches practiced in swine production apply across species as we expand our thinking about zoonoses and One Health. Biosecurity must be a mindset and lifestyle. . . it must be ingrained and adhered to, and we also need to trust all employees to do the right thing even … [Read more...]
Rodeo, a tough sport with rich heritage
Rodeo has been around as long and demands as much or more from its athletes than do urban sports, writes Jonathon Reed. He shares the history, development and challenges of rodeo as a competitive sport. . . . young competitors learn their skills on the farm or ranch, as part of everyday chores or seasonal cattle work. Horsemanship and general equine knowledge get worked in … [Read more...]
CWD, a lingering threat
Deer harvest season is underway across the country. Various methods of surveying deer health get implemented depending on state regulations and previous disease evidence. John Maday’s article updates our post, Group calls for national CWD strategy, July 30, 2019. Link. Source: Drovers, October 2019. Link. Science-based and enforced regulation of captive cervid facilities is … [Read more...]
Mastitis in the mist, parasites in the drizzle. Rethink garden hose use
Though dairy related, the details presented about aerosolization and droplet-mediated transmission of bacteria applies to all animal health environments. Consider how various cleaning methods might literally cause a germ tsunami in various these settings. In addition to mastitis-causing pathogens, there are many bacteria, viruses, and parasites found in manure. If aerosolized, … [Read more...]
Pinkeye in cattle poses challenges more than 100 years after arrival
Pinkeye was first identified in the U.S. in the 1890s. Face flies, sometimes thought to cause it, entered this country from Nova Scotia in 1952. “M. bovis tends to be just in the conjunctiva in the lubricating fluid. Unless there is trauma to the eye, the bacteria can’t bind to the cornea,” says Annette O’Connor, DVM. Some of the things suspected of causing trauma include … [Read more...]
62,000 attend World Dairy Expo, Delilah wins again
It will take a few more days for Madison, Wisconsin, to recover from the successes of the 2019 World Dairy Expo. Jim Dickrell shares information on the 53rd Expo which ended October 6. Cutting Edge T Delilah, a Brown Swiss, was named the Supreme Champion for the second year in a row. Source: Dairy Herd Management, October 10, 2019. Link. Also see: 2019 World Dairy Expo … [Read more...]
Profitable cows start with a sound heifer development plan
How you develop heifers makes all the difference in what kind of cows they become, writes Burke Teichert. He shares his perspective on issues that drive good decision making in the development and selection of replacement heifers: We should not strive for maximum conception rate in yearling heifers Heifers do not need to reach 65% of expected mature cow weight to have … [Read more...]
Producers can reverse BRD trends
The severe stress calves experience stress during weaning and shipping is opportunity for bovine respiratory disease (BRD). Despite producers’ and feedlot managers’ best attempts to manage the costly malady, mortality rates for feedlots continue to increase. John M. Davis with Beef Cattle Professional Services at Boehringer Ingelheim, suggests it is time to manage the disease … [Read more...]
October calves may come early
Warm temperatures can shorten the length of gestation for fall-calving cows and heifers. Oklahoma State University physiologists looked at two calving seasons’ worth of data on 60 Angus/Hereford crossbred cows calving in August and October. Gestation periods were nearly a full week shorter than normal for those calving in August the first year and four days shorter the second … [Read more...]
Rethinking red meat
New nutrition recommendations published in the Annals of Internal Medicine < link > say that red and processed meats are not bad for us, contradicting current guidelines. A panel of 14 persons working in various fields related to nutrition used a research approach that rates the certainty of the evidence. They focused on the absolute risk rather than the relative risk of … [Read more...]
Mastitis hurts
Pain recognition and mastitis were discussed recently at the 2019 Total Dairy Seminar. Dr. Jim Reynolds, professor at Western University in California, outlined the welfare aspects of mastitis and the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories to reduce pain caused by a mastitis infection. Learn what behavioral changes Dr. Reynolds identified that indicate a cow is experiencing … [Read more...]
Long-term effects of postpartum clinical disease in dairy cows
Researchers continue to study various effects of postpartum clinical disease to dairy production. The transition period will make or break a lactation and quite possibly the entire productive life of a cow. Considering the performance of a dairy cow over several years and lactations makes disease incidents during her production lifetime important considerations. A recent … [Read more...]
Opinion – Addressing push-back on cows, emissions, planet benefits (video)
Our September 3, 2019 post, Cows really do benefit the planet! < link > ruffled some readers’ feathers. Each day our industry understands more about the impact we have on animals, food resources, the planet and, of course, human beings. In those posts, we offered information that debunks the 2006 United Nations claim that cattle were the greatest contributors to … [Read more...]
Burdock plants and cows don’t mix
Eye problems in livestock can be caused by foreign material. One of the more challenging problems is burdock slivers, according to Heather Smith Thomas. A tenacious and invasive weed, burdock is readily spread to new areas by burrs stuck to animals or clothing. When ripe, the burrs release hundreds of microscopic barbed slivers that contain tiny seeds. If a sliver gets into an … [Read more...]
Beef bulls + dairy cows can compromise milk production
Unable to return a surplus of female calves, dairies are assertively seeking to breed and sell surplus calves for meat production. However, many strongly antagonistic traits associated with calving performance and carcass merit can be detrimental to the cows’ ability to calve and re-establish pregnancy early postcalving without any compromise in milk production. Researchers … [Read more...]
New foot-and-mouth disease vaccine granted license by The Pirbright Institute
The Pirbright Institute has granted MSD Animal Health (known as Merck Animal Health in the U.S.) an exclusive commercial license for a new vaccine to protect livestock against several serotypes of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus. Offering greater stability than current FMD vaccines, it’s less reliant on a cold chain during distribution which is hugely beneficial in regions … [Read more...]
Cows really do benefit the planet!
People still think it’s cows that are causing climate change, writes Amanda Radke. She offers resources to help continue to offset the false 2006 claim made by the United Nations and marketing claims made by makers of of plant-food products. Source: BEEF, August 31, 2019. Link. INSIGHTS: More ammunition for meat vs. meatless diet debates. … [Read more...]
Rumen soup, a jigsaw of cow gut microbes
Agricultural Research Service scientists and their cooperators are using high tech tools to better understand the microbial "soup" of the cow's rumen. The rumen is the first of four stomach chambers where tough plant fibers are turned into nutrients and energy. Derek Bickhart, a research microbiologist, estimates there are more than 30,000 species of rumen-dwelling organisms. … [Read more...]
Boosting immunity in cattle may mean more productivity
Barry Bradford with Kansas State University presented new information from his study of immunometabolism at the American Society of Animal Scientists in July. He researched inflammatory responses during times of stress, especially those that impact on liver health. The interactions between normal organ function and the immune system are becoming much tighter than we used to … [Read more...]