On-Call / Vet

This time of the year it is common to see cows standing in the shade and wading in ponds in an effort to find relief from the heat. Unfortunately, the summer sun is not the only factor affecting heat stress on cattle grazing Southwest Missouri pastures.

Warm temperatures and plenty of moisture has brought on lots of lush, green grazing for all classes of livestock in the Ozarks this spring. For horse owners however, the excessive pasture forage brings with it a heightened concern over laminitis and founder. 

Last year producers experienced falling calf prices and input costs that went through the roof. This year calf prices are still expected to be low but for cow-calf operators these difficult times can be seen as an opportunity.

It is breeding season once again and we often get the question, “will heat synchronization work in heifers?” Heat synchronization will work, but before we say yes, I like to look at each individual case and see if the producer has the time and facilities to do so. Some producers want to do large numbers, other may only have a few cows, and so each case must be assessed differently.

It seems that every other week I hear about how unsafe our food supply has become, that livestock producers are poisoning an unknowing public with all manner of substances and that antibiotic use in livestock should be banned because of bacterial resistance to certain antibiotics. Much of what I hear on news shows and read in magazines or newspapers seems often to be biased against prudent use of pharmaceuticals in livestock production. I have a few thoughts based on experience and research that I would like to discuss in more detail in this column.
There are innumerable articles detailing all sides of the problem of antibiotic resistance, food safety and livestock production in general.

There have been many recent reports of deer found dead throughout Missouri; many of these deer have been reported to have died from bluetongue, but in all likelihood, most of these animals were infected with a disease known as epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD. This viral disease is potentially devastating to the white tail deer population both wild and captive, and can affect domestic ruminants.

Recently I have seen a few cases of “Blackleg” in the area. In spite of the familiarity of this disease to most cattle producers, I continue to see cases every year.

Recently there has been increased emphasis on controlling leptospirosis in cattle with special consideration for the serovar Leptospira Hardjo-bovis.

Well, it has finally warmed up.  And with three to four days of warm weather I have already started seeing flies on many of the cattle I work on daily.  So what are your options to control flies and other parasites to minimize the damage done to your cattle’s production? Let’s take a look at several options for both external and internal parasites.

An outbreak of equine herpes virus has created quite a stir in the horse world recently. Several horses that attended the National Cutting Horse Association's Western National Championships in Ogden, Utah this May later developed neurologic signs and then tested positive for Equine Herpesvirus-1. Several shows have subsequently been cancelled, some farms have been quarantined and a few of the affected horses unfortunately euthanized as a result of the outbreak.