Herd Health

It’s estimated nearly 9% of beef cattle operations have a calf persistently infected (PI) with bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV). This might seem like a small percentage, but presence of BVDV can mean a risk for something more.

Quality products to care for our animals are critical to success. There are numerous options available in the marketplace today, and accurate information should be used to choose the products we put in our “toolbox.”

Cattle exposed to pinkeye are at risk of lower calf growth rates, potential blindness and permanent damage if left untreated.

Costing an estimated $900 million to cattle producers each year, it’s no secret bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is one of the biggest threats to the profitability of feedlots in the U.S.

Despite producers’ best efforts, sometimes silage will succumb to yeasts, molds and other microbes that can cause spoilage. Heating, mold growth or mustiness are all signs the silage is aerobically unstable. The losses due to unstable silage can be huge: The most highly digestible nutrients go first, and then the tonnage of feed available starts to really drop.

The mosquito bites from yet another post-tornadic storm fence check are a clear reminder it’s time to fill the cattle backrubs.