On-Call / Vet

If you’ve been in the cattle business long you have probably heard of the downer cow syndrome, or chances are, have had a downer cow of your own. This is a very common presentation and vets frequently get called out to examine cows that, for any number of reasons, are down and cannot get up. There is some irony in this condition as the apparent superficial problem is quiet easy to identify – the cow’s inability to rise. However, identifying the underlying cause for her apparent problem can be challenging and complex, hence the term, downer cow ‘syndrome’.

As I prepare this column, it would appear there is at least a small reprieve from some of the economic gloom and doom of the past 6 months.  Now I understand that this does not take away from the fact that everyone’s input costs have jumped drastically over the past couple of years.  But it should get you to thinking of ways to maximize your production and more efficiently use your resources.

You’ve been training the cows to come into the catch pen for the past couple of weeks. You got your help all lined up. You’ve got the vet scheduled for the exact time you wanted to work cows. Everything appears ready to go work your herd. But wait-have you taken time to give your facilities an inspection? This may not be the first thing you think about when planning fall herd work, but it may be the most critical and important thing you can do to ensure an efficient and safe working day for your cattle, your help and yourself.

Implanting calves with growth promoting implants is one of the most profitable practices for cattle producers. Unfortunately, my experience suggests that many local producers are simply not taking advantage of growth promoting implants in their calves. This could be due in part to a lack of familiarity with implants and their appropriate use or potentially, a deficiency in management strategy necessary to realize benefits.

Over the past several months, I have examined several beef cows that presented with chronic weight loss and diarrhea. Based on clinical findings, I decided to test several for Johne’s disease, and found cows from four separate farms that tested positive for the disease.

Recent weather conditions have raised several health problems for cattle producers. One of the most dramatic changes has been an increase in mastitis cases on dairy farms. Mastitis can be devastating to the economic well-being of a dairy operation, and successful treatment and control measures are needed to ensure financial stability, especially in the current economic environment.

May is just around the corner. Are you ready for spring bull turnout? Many of you are in the middle of calving and some may have just started. Don’t let the hustle and bustle of this calving season derail your next calf crop. The star(s) of your operation are the bulls, which are often ignored and forgotten most of the year. However, it is critical to have a plan prior to turnout as too how much bull power you will need versus how much you have. Simple questions to start the decision making process are: How many cows will need bred? How many groups are those cows divided into? How many heifers, and do you have a bull designated for your heifers? Are you going to synchronize the herd or heifers? Do you have a backup plan if your bull fails the Breeding Soundness Evaluation? What condition are your bulls in?

Blackleg is a disease that most cattle producers are relatively familiar with, if for no other reason than the ‘blackleg’ vaccine is probably the most commonly administered vaccination by cattle producers. And this for good reason, because for those producers that may have elected to forgo vaccination and unfortunately experienced the disease firsthand as a result, blackleg can be truly unforgettable. The disease frequently affects the biggest, fastest growing calves and renders them acutely dead in the majority of cases.

Flies are a well known and common pest to most all classes of livestock. With heat and humidity, flies thrive and this makes summer in the Ozarks a prime environment for fly populations. Economic losses can be substantial, particularly in beef and dairy cattle. In cattle, flies can cause production losses in the way of reduced weight gain, lowered milk production and the transmission of disease.

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.