Vet's Opinion

Three Beef Industry Challenges That Won’t Go Away Soon

Wed, 29 May 2013 11:22:00 +0000

We’ll not only have to deal with these animal welfare, nutrition and cattle health issues on the farm, but at the regulatory and legislative levels as well. We shouldn’t expect these problems to go away anytime soon, so I strongly encourage beef producers to accept the challenge and face them as only we can do.

Vet's Opinion

The Importance Of Weaning And Castration

Sun, 05 May 2013 15:16:00 +0000

I often hear that farmers and ranchers are the nation’s original champions of animal welfare, and I believe it. But, if you’re not weaning and castrating your calves before you sell them, you can’t wear the animal welfare ribbon.

Vet's Opinion

What Cattle Necropsies Can Tell Us

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:21:00 +0000

If you have ever had your vet perform a necropsy, you understand it is detailed work. However, do you know exactly what they are looking for? Mike Apley, DVM, details the step-by-step process of how they determine what cattle disease is infecting your cowherd.

Vet's Opinion

Antimicrobial Resistance Needs A Team Solution

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:00:00 +0000

A friend recently became ill while away from home and went to the local hospital for treatment. When the attending physician learned my friend was involved in beef production, he said, “You agriculture guys use 80% of all antibiotics. No wonder we have so much resistance!” My friend was dumbstruck.

Vet's Opinion

Environment Is Critical In Preventing Neonatal Calf Disease

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:02:00 +0000

We’ve all heard the old adage that “the three most important things about real estate are location, location, location.” If I could propose a new quote on neonatal calf disease, it would be: “The three most important things about prevention of neonatal calf disease are environment, environment, environment.”

Vet's Opinion

Individual Death Loss Can Be A Tip To Bigger Problem

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 21:25:00 +0000

In a lot of periodicals, this title would require reading the article for clarification. But a majority of BEEF readers probably guessed I’m referring to a cow. Oh, we claim we don’t name them, but a number often becomes a name.

Vet's Opinion

A “What If” Question On Antibiotics

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 17:27:00 +0000

Consumers Union is recommending that all supermarkets move toward offering only meat and poultry raised without antibiotics. But broad, sweeping recommendations such as these simply sound appealing to the uninformed. If treated calves can’t be marketed for consumption, what does CR suggest we do with them?

Vet's Opinion

BEEF Veterinarian Provides Top Nine Drought Tips

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 21:22:00 +0000

Times of drought are no time for business as usual. Here are tips for planning ahead for next year and thinking outside the box for this year. Here are nine drought-management tips by BEEF veterinarian columnist Mark Hilton.

Vet's Opinion

Watch Out For Toxic Algae Blooms In Stock Ponds

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 19:23:00 +0000

Your veterinarian can help you find more resources on this potential threat to your herd, including getting in touch with a toxicologist to aid in evaluating blooms.

Vet's Opinion

Egg Producers Acquiescence To HSUS Is Worrisome

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 19:26:00 +0000

The science of animal welfare is ever-evolving. That’s why a federally legislated approach to animal well being, such as that pushed by United Egg Producers and HSUS in the Senate version of the 2012 farm bill, just doesn’t make a lot of sense. Food producers can be much more responsive to new developments when their progress isn’t impeded by federal mandates.

Vet's Opinion

Preconditioning Of Calves Is A Win-Win-Win Equation

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:21:00 +0000

It’s hard to argue with win-win situations in life. Even better are win-win-win situations. Preconditioning (PC) calves fits the win-win-win scenario.

The first win of PC is the calf’s health and welfare. The research studies are solid on the health and welfare benefits to PC calves – there’s less morbidity and less mortality in the feedlot.

Vet's Opinion

Pain Management Is An Issue Industry Must Continue To Address

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:16:00 +0000

What products do we have that are labeled for analgesia (pain control) in food animals? The answer is none.

It isn’t that scientists aren’t working on this issue, however. One of the primary reasons we have no drugs labeled for analgesia in food animals is because we’ve struggled to identify a method to measure pain levels consistently and adequately; without that, you can’t measure a reduction in pain.

Vet's Opinion

Cephalosporins Aren’t Withdrawn From The Market

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:55:00 +0000

FDA’s Center forVeterinary Medicine (CVM) released a final rule in early January prohibiting some extralabel uses of cephalosporins in food animals. Let’s discuss which antibiotics are included in this group, the rationale, and changes coming down the road.

But, first of all, it’s important to understand that the cephalosporins aren’t being withdrawn from the market. You’ll still be able to use ceftiofur products according to label directions when the drug is prescribed by a veterinarian for this use.

Vet's Opinion

HSUS Sets Its Sights On The Beef Industry

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:03:00 +0000

The Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) has been a focus of mine for some time. While I strongly support animal welfare, I am opposed to animal rights and, more specifically, to groups such as HSUS that try to cloud the distinction between animal welfare and animal right.

Vet's Opinion

It’s Time To Be Hay-Smart

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 10:20:00 +0000

There is no doubt that nutrition is one of the keys to health. A pregnant cow that receives proper nutrition mounts a stronger immune response in the face of disease challenge, gives birth to a stronger calf, produces a higher volume of quality colostrum, and rebreeds sooner compared to cows with poorer precalving nutrition.

Vet's Opinion