Herd Health

For centuries, building up herd health has been a crucial part of the cattle industry. Shipping fever is no help in building up the herd and is a common issue for many cattle producers across the country.

The goal of any bovine respiratory disease (BRD) treatment plan is to reduce the number of cattle that go off feed and spend time in hospital pens.

July deworming is a frequently overlooked opportunity to control nematode (worm) infections and increase calf weight gains. Many cow-calf producers deworm their cows in the spring. The addition of a July deworming of cows and calves has been shown to provide seasonal control of worm infections in late winter- or early spring-born calves. Calves gain more weight and are heavier at weaning as a result of improved worm control during summer grazing.

It’s that time again – when summer fun hits the neighborhood, unless your neighborhood is an operation with cattle herds suffering symptoms of heat stress.

“They don’t need that eye to eat,” is a common misconception when it comes to the impacts of pinkeye in the cattle industry. Research shows calves that are diagnosed with pinkeye will weigh between 20 to 40 pounds less at weaning than healthy calves, and a blind calf will weigh about 60 pounds less at weaning. This loss of weaning weight, in addition to the cost of treatment and labor, adds up to an estimated cost to the cattle industry of $150 million annually.

Sometimes it’s the small details that are the most important; take vaccine storage and handling for example. Just a slight misstep and the vaccine you’re relying on to protect your herd could be rendered useless. As branding season approaches and producers start to consider calfhood and pre-breeding vaccinations, it’s worthwhile to refresh your memory on proper vaccine management.