Education
Decision-making for treating tough diseases in dairy calves is complex and challenging. Sometimes timely euthanasia is needed. More training and support for calf caretakers are needed in the process.
Whether calves will be retained and backgrounded or sold shortly after weaning, it is important to consider the impacts of weaning strategies on calf health and performance.
Call it pandemic fatigue or just burnout: You could be losing motivation, experiencing emotional numbness, feel that almost all people drain your energy. Your productivity may drop even if your hours haven’t.
The poet Ovid said, “Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence.” This quote perfectly encompasses a key in business success: small habits done repeatedly truly do add up.
University of Wisconsin animal welfare researcher Sarah Adcock addresses several considerations when using caustic paste to complete disbudding, as well as some drawbacks that could be improved upon.
After a typical birth the calf should breathe within 30 seconds of delivery, says Dr. Geof Smith, dairy technical services veterinarian for Zoetis. If it isn’t, you need to intervene.
While dairy producers are rapidly embracing the concept of using beef semen to freshen their cows, the resulting crossbred calves are proving both a valuable opportunity and a challenge for the U.S. beef industry.
Compared to Holsteins, is calving time with crossbreds more difficult in terms of calf weight, stillbirth, gestation length, or dystocia?
“Similar to Staph aureus and mycoplasma, Prototheca [mastitis] is hard to detect, has no known cure, and is contagious by intermittently shedding from cow to cow.”
Estimating forage usage by cows is an important part of the task of calculating winter feed needs. Hay or standing forage intake must be estimated in order to make the calculations.
Because newborn calves have very little body fat to help them stay warm, calf jackets can help them preserve energy, protect immunity and improve daily gain.
How can we create a sustainable future for animal agriculture? By building it together, says AAA. The 2023 Stakeholders Summit theme has been set, and speaker proposals and applications are open.
Weight at calving not only determines first-lactation performance, it pretty much sets in stone the heifer’s lifetime performance and a herd’s overall performance, according to Gavin Staley, DVM.
Grazing regrowth on irrigated alfalfa fields is likely in fall grazing plans for many producers. However, alfalfa has several challenges to grazing from animal and plant health perspective.
Creating a herd where all the individuals are healthy and normal increases your chances of economic success.
During periods of cold or wet weather, newborn calves (less than 2 days of age) should be checked every few hours with a thermometer and any calf with a below-normal temperature, even if it appears OK, should be warmed.
Merck Animal Health announces that Orbenin-DC (cloxacillin benzathine intramammary infusion) dry cow treatment is now available in convenient 144-syringe pails.
Today is World Mental Health Day. Here are some resources that can help you and other people you know and care about!
Effectively treating calves for scours could be as easy as feeding them something that virtually every dairy farm has on hand: colostrum.
Hot, dry conditions have taken a toll on pasture growth this year. What should cattle producers consider to conserve grass in these dry areas?
Let’s get right to it. According to Merck Animal Health research conducted in 2021 by Farm Journal, 73% of beef producers who vaccinated against pinkeye reported a positive return on investment (ROI).
Bovine pinkeye. It seems to happen every summer. Even though it may look the same in different animals, potential causes and opinions on what vaccines are most effective vary.
Leaving out just 1 of these prevention measures can be costly.
With beef prices soaring and milk prices in favorable conditions, producers are keeping a keen eye on cows who are not pulling their own weight.
Neospora is the most commonly diagnosed cause of abortions in cattle both domestically and worldwide.
Feeding waste milk to calves captures high-quality nutrients and adds value to a product that otherwise would be discarded. But recent research sheds light on concerns about the practice.
Elanco Animal Health is addressing reproductive factors for the cow-calf herd during a one-hour webinar on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m. Central. The program is approved for 1 hour of continuing education (RACE credit).
The American Association of Bovine Practitioners Foundation gives veterinary students financial help.
As drought continues, cattlemen may liquidate part of their herds. If these sales exceed normal sales, the tax rules could allow them to elect to defer these excess sales, says CPA Paul Neiffer.
And just like that, it’s time for fall processing. Let’s look closely at what to give weaning-aged calves for a leg-up in their next stage of life.