The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday it had confirmed the first new case of mad-cow disease since 2006 after the illness was suspected in a California dairy cow....More

USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford today released the following statement on the detection of BSE in the United States:...More

Even though calving season is not yet done for most producers, it's not too soon to begin planning for breeding of open heifers, says George Perry, South Dakota State University associate professor and SDSU Extension beef reproduction specialist....More

Last year’s drought in the southwestern U.S. was a boon to fever trick control, specialists say. But the battle continues as USDA and animal health experts work to build a protective barrier on the Mexico side of the Rio Grande River. New and valuable tools may be coming this year in the potential availability of medicated molasses tubs and two tick-control vaccines....More

It’s well known that many beef cattle living at high altitudes are afflicted with pulmonary hypertension, or high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs, and that these animals are at risk of dying from congestive heart failure if they are not moved to lower altitudes and medically treated. The health issue is commonly called brisket disease because fluid often collects in the lower chest cavities of cattle affected, swelling the brisket area....More

“Several pyrethroids can have devastating effects on the semen quality of bulls,” says Dietrich Volkmann, DVM, a professor of food animal theriogenology at the University of Missouri Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital....More

When it comes to combating internal parasites in cattle, it’s all about the timing, says Thomas Craig, a professor in Texas A&M University’s Department of Veterinary Pathobiology. And the “best” time to deworm depends on region and climate, and whether it’s a cow-calf operation or stockers. “Suckling calves are not as adversely affected as weaned calves and yearlings,” he says....More

In the hierarchy of internal parasites in beef cattle, there’s little doubt that the nematodes (Ostertagia, Cooperia, etc.) are the headliners. But there’s an ambitious understudy – liver flukes – inching their way into the spotlight....More

Grass tetany goes by many names – grass staggers, milk tetany, wheat pasture poisoning, and barley poisoning, to name a few. Just as varied as its name has been the speculation as to the cause of this condition. Grass tetany affects mature cattle that graze lush forage following the freezing of early-spring pastures or the sudden growth after rainfall following a drought. The condition mostly occurs in the eastern U.S. in areas with cool-season grasses....More

“Managing for a margin is much more important today than at anytime in the past,” says John Rakestraw, CEO of Colorado-based Agra Holdings, which feeds cattle, provides feedlot consulting, and manufactures feedlot nutritional supplements, among other feedlot-based activities. Between 1984 and 2003, Rakestraw worked for ContiBeef LLC – he was CEO and president from 1995 to 2003. ContiBeef – sold to JBS and operating currently as Five Rivers Cattle Feeding – was and is the largest cattle feeding organization in the world....More