Herd Health

Heat, humidity and windless days are bad news for cattle. Actually, high heat and humidity are not good for most living things. A new record was set in North Dakota for the low minimum daily temperature when the thermometer failed to fall below 70 degrees.

It’s well-documented that calf preconditioning programs can help cow/calf producers boost their profitability on sale day ­— even to the tune of an extra $6.38 per cwt.Adding icing to the cake, calf preconditioning also has been shown to positively affect feeder calf performance.

In the cattle business, less sickness equals higher profits in every segment of the industry. The pharmaceutical companies have done a great job providing the cattle producer with a variety of products to control morbidity.

Most operations have some sort of herd health program. Every outfit lays a claim to shot-giving, pour-on strategies or a program that takes in the big picture of complete herd health.

Foot rot causes swelling, heat and inflammation in the foot, resulting in severe pain. Swelling and lameness appear suddenly.

Remember how your arm or some other part of your anatomy felt the last time you got a flu shot or some other shot? Did the area hurt a little?