Veterinary Practice

How to Be the Best Veterinary Mentor

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 22:03:08 GMT

Mentorship in veterinary medicine is often treated as something informal. A student rides along, watches a few cases, asks a few questions and moves on.

In reality, those early experiences shape how new veterinarians think, work and handle pressure. The difference between a student who leaves confident and one who leaves overwhelmed often comes down to how intentional that mentorship was.

These mentorships can be just as beneficial for the mentor veterinarian. Dr. Erika Nagorske, bovine veterinarian with Four Star Veterinary Service, regularly takes on mentees as a mutually beneficial scenario.

“It’s like the refresher of the medicine and the science, because they ask so many good questions. And that’s what I want it to be. I want it to be very open and fluid,” Nagorske says.

Good mentorship does not require a complete overhaul of the day. It requires a shift in mindset. When a student is with you, the goal is no longer efficiency, but education.

1. Prepare for the Day to Take Longer

The simplest adjustment is also the most important: expect the day to slow down.

“Just mentally prepare yourself. Things are going to take longer. And that’s okay,” Nagorske says.

Explaining decisions, answering questions and creating space for hands-on learning all take time. Trying to maintain a full-speed schedule while mentoring often leads to frustration for both the veterinarian and the student.

Planning ahead can help. That might mean building extra time into certain calls or accepting that the day will not run as tightly as usual. When that expectation is set early, the experience improves for everyone involved.

2. Let Them do the Work

Observation alone is not enough to prepare students for practice. They need the opportunity to participate.

“Even if it’s just letting them close one layer of an incision. That’s not going to ruin your day, but it’s going to make their day really, really good,” Nagorske says.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dr. Erika Nagorske (@docnagorske)

Hands-on experience builds confidence in a way that observation cannot. Even small tasks can help students feel engaged and capable, rather than passive.

Those opportunities also make the transition into practice less abrupt. When students have already performed parts of a procedure or worked through a case, they are better prepared for the moment when they are the one making decisions.

“The next time they see it, they might be the doctor. So let them do it, let them ask all the questions and walk them through everything,” Nagorske encourages.

3. Create a Safe Space to Fail

One of the most valuable things a mentor can provide is a controlled environment where mistakes are allowed.

“You need a safe place to fail, because the last thing you want is your failure to totally ruin you,” Nagorske says.

Students often come into clinical settings with high expectations of themselves. When something goes wrong, it can feel disproportionately significant. A strong mentor helps reframe those moments.

That does not mean ignoring risk. Patient safety comes first. It does mean allowing students to work through situations when appropriate, stepping in when necessary and using those moments as teaching opportunities rather than failures.

4. Take Care of the Basics

Mentorship is not only about medicine. It is also about recognizing the student is navigating a new, and often uncomfortable, environment.

“That sounds so silly, but I remember many situations where I was like, ‘I think I might pee my pants, and I feel so bad asking to stop,’” Nagorske says.

Students are often hesitant to speak up about basic needs. They do not want to interrupt the flow of the day or create inconvenience. That hesitation can turn what should be a positive experience into a stressful one.

Taking a moment to check in about food, breaks and expectations for the day creates a more supportive environment and allows the student to focus on learning.

5. Take Photos of Them

Some of the most impactful parts of mentorship are also the easiest to overlook.

“They love it. I’m always just like their personal paparazzi, taking pictures while they’re doing stuff,” Nagorske says.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dr. Erika Nagorske (@docnagorske)

With permission from both the student and the producer, capturing those moments can be meaningful. It gives students something tangible to take away from the experience and reinforces that they were an active participant, not just an observer.

6. Be Intentional About the Experience

Not every veterinarian enjoys teaching, and that is worth acknowledging. Mentorship takes time, patience and effort.

When a student is present, the experience should be purposeful. That does not mean every moment needs to be structured, but it does mean making an effort to include them, challenge them and support them.

Mentorship does not need to be perfect to be effective, but in a profession where the transition into practice can be difficult, intentional mentorship can make a lasting difference.

Where Euthanasia Delays Begin on Farm

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 17:36:42 GMT

Perhaps you have experienced a similar situation: there is a down cow that lingers longer than it should, or a calf that continues to decline despite repeated reassessment, and eventually it becomes clear the issue was not a lack of effort, but a delay in acting when the outcome was already decided. These cases tend to stick with you because they reveal something deeper about how decisions actually unfold on the farm.

As Dr. Mariana Guerra-Maupomé, professional services veterinarian with TELUS Agriculture, puts it, “The main problem is not the lack of guidance. We have plenty of standards and guidelines. The main problem is the failure to turn concern into timely action.”

Most farms are not struggling because they lack knowledge, but because their systems do not consistently support acting at the right time, even when the need is recognized.

Beyond the Euthanasia Method

Euthanasia discussions often center on technique, and that makes sense. Proper execution is important. However, when you step back and look at where things break down, the issue is rarely how euthanasia is performed. More often, it is when the decision is made and how long it takes to move from recognition to action.

This is where the two-clock model becomes especially useful for veterinarians trying to diagnose system failures on farm.

“Clock 1 starts when a compromised animal is identified to when the decision is made, the decision to euthanize. Clock 2 starts when the decision to euthanize is followed by the procedure of euthanasia and the confirmation of that,” Guerra-Maupomé says.

In practical terms, the model separates euthanasia into two distinct types of delay:

Clock 1: Recognition-to-decision delay
Where uncertainty, unclear thresholds or hesitation slow downs the decision itself
Clock 2: Decision-to-action delay
Where logistics, training or equipment affects how quickly euthanasia is carried out

Most farms have invested effort in improving Clock 2, ensuring once a decision is made the procedure is performed correctly and efficiently. The larger and more persistent challenge lies in Clock 1, where unclear expectations or hesitation can delay decisions by hours or even days.

This distinction matters, because it shifts the focus from refining technique to understanding why action is not happening sooner.

Delay Is More Than a Welfare Problem

It is easy to frame delayed euthanasia strictly in terms of animal welfare. But in a production setting, the consequences extend well beyond that. Delayed decisions affect not just the animal, but the broader operation.

“Late euthanasia creates three types of risk: clinical risk, animal welfare risk and business or compliance risk. With euthanasia being delayed, there’s non-compliance to audit, reputational risk for the industry and supply risk for the industry as well,” Guerra-Maupomé says.

Positioning euthanasia within this broader context often resonates more strongly with producers, because it connects timely decision making to efficiency, compliance and long-term sustainability, rather than isolating it as a standalone welfare issue.

Where Systems Tend to Break Down

When delayed cases are reviewed, the same patterns tend to emerge reflecting a lack of clarity in how decisions are structured and communicated. One of the most consistent issues is vague guidance around reassessment. Without clear expectations, cases drift and repeated evaluation replaces decisive action.

“Stop using vague language like ‘Let’s monitor or recheck later.’ Define exactly when you are going to check. The decision trees suggest checking in less than 24 hours, but I would encourage you that you can even check in six to 12 depending on the severity,” Guerra-Maupomé says.

This is where Clock 1 quietly ticks on. Each undefined “recheck later” adds time. Without a clear endpoint, the system defaults to waiting rather than progressing toward a decision.

Role Clarity Keeps the Clocks Moving

Even when the clinical picture is clear, delays can still occur if roles are not well defined. When responsibility is ambiguous, decisions are often deferred, and cases stall despite obvious need. Strong systems prevent that by establishing a clear flow of responsibility.

“The caretaker identifies a compromised animal and escalates. The supervisor makes a decision to euthanize the animal. Next, a trained operator executes the procedure promptly, and then the operator or supervisor confirms that and documents,” Guerra-Maupomé explains.

This structure helps keep both clocks moving, ensuring once a problem is identified, it progresses steadily toward action without unnecessary delay.

The Veterinarian’s Role in Euthanasia Decisions

This type of structure also changes how veterinarians fit into the process. In many operations, euthanasia decisions still depend heavily on veterinary input, which can unintentionally slow things down, particularly when access is limited or communication is delayed.

A more effective approach positions the veterinarian as a system designer and reviewer.

As Guerra Malcome explains: “The veterinarian should never be the bottleneck for a case. The veterinarian is there to help train, audit and review the system. A veterinarian has an oversight role and can help at every single step.”

When farms operate this way, decisions can be made promptly on site while still benefiting from veterinary guidance, training and ongoing oversight.

The Human Side of Delay

It is also important to recognize not all delays are structural. Some are human, and those factors can be just as influential.

These challenges tend to show up in predictable ways on the farm:

Hesitation in clear-cut cases, even when prognosis is poor
Repeated reassessment without escalation, particularly in borderline animals
Avoidance of decision-making, especially among less experienced staff

This is where system design intersects with human behavior.

“A clearer and more structured system does not just improve decisions. It also lifts a weight off the staff. By providing clear protocols and structured support, we reduce ambiguity, delay and the staff burden,” Guerra-Maupomé says.

Reducing ambiguity helps reduce hesitation, which in turn shortens Clock 1 and improves outcomes.

Insight Into Action

Improving euthanasia outcomes does not require complex interventions, but it does require intentional system design and follow through. A few focused changes can make a meaningful difference:

Define clear, time-based reassessment points so Clock 1 does not drift
Assign primary and secondary decision makers to prevent hesitation
Ensure trained personnel are available to carry out euthanasia promptly
Review both clocks regularly to identify where delays are occurring

These steps help create a system where decisions are made and acted on consistently, rather than reactively or inconsistently.

A Process, Not a Moment

Euthanasia is often thought of as a single act, but in practice, it is a process shaped by how quickly problems are recognized, how clearly decisions are made and how reliably systems support follow-through.

The two-clock model makes that process visible. One clock measures how long it takes to decide, and the other measures how long it takes to act. Both matter, but in many cases, it is the first clock that ultimately determines the outcome.

For veterinarians, the opportunity is to influence both. Because in the end, the difference between a good outcome and a poor one is rarely about knowing what to do, and far more often about whether the system supports doing it at the right time.

Genomics and the Evolving Role of the Bovine Veterinarian

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 14:41:40 GMT

Genomic testing is gaining traction in the beef industry, but for many producers, adoption still feels out of reach. The tools are available and the data is powerful, but the starting point is often unclear.

Increasingly, producers are looking to their veterinarians for guidance. The challenge is that many veterinarians are still defining what their role in genomics should look like.

Insights from Dr. Kirk Ramsey, professional services veterinarian, and Kelsey Luebbe, genomics technical services scientist, both with Neogen, highlight both the opportunity and the uncertainty shaping this shift.

An Expanding Role for a Trusted Voice

Producers have no shortage of information about genomics. Industry media, technical specialists and webinars all contribute to awareness, but when it comes time to make decisions, veterinarians remain a trusted source.

That trust is rooted less in genomics expertise and more in long-standing relationships and a deep understanding of herd performance. Veterinarians already play a central role in decision-making on many operations. Genomics is simply extending that role into new territory.

For many practitioners, genomics aligns closely with work they are already doing.

Veterinarians advise on heifer selection, evaluate bulls and track reproductive performance over time. They understand how cattle perform within a specific environment and how past decisions continue to influence current outcomes. This perspective is increasingly valuable as genomic data becomes part of the conversation.

“We have to be very diligent about looking for opportunities to expand our consulting realm because we have to maintain a capacity to provide value to our customers, especially as technology comes on and is moving forward,” Ramsey says.

Rather than focusing solely on treatment and prevention, veterinarians are being pulled into more strategic discussions, helping producers evaluate trade-offs and set long-term direction.

“We have to be on top of understanding what’s out there, understanding how we can provide value, and then at the same time, trying to be more than just the traditional veterinarian that we have always been. Maybe dive in a little bit more and leverage our capacity to understand the production systems and new technologies, helping our customers be progressive.” Ramsey adds.

This adjustment does not replace traditional services, but builds on them.

The Confidence Gap

Despite this opportunity, many veterinarians do not feel fully prepared to lead genomic discussions.

“As a veterinarian, I had no idea that my producers were looking to me for genetic advice. I knew they were looking to me for treatment advice, vaccination protocols or maybe even general production type questions, but I didn’t realize I actually had that much influence over whether they would even look in the genomic direction,” Ramsey says.

There is a growing awareness that expectations have changed, even if training has not fully kept pace.

“We don’t have a ton of training as veterinarians on genomics,” Ramsey begins. “It was a class we took at 6:30 a.m. back in undergrad, but I don’t feel like I learned a lot more in the DVM program.”

At the same time, industry organizations and companies are beginning to expand continuing education and develop resources to support veterinarians in this space.

The knowledge gap exists, but it is narrowing.

(Vernon Bewley - Neogen)

A Practical Entry Point

For veterinarians, stepping into genomics does not require mastering every detail of the technology. It starts with approaching it the same way they approach other herd-level decisions.

“If somebody comes and says, ‘Hey, I want to start testing,’ the first thing is to establish the goals. What are you trying to accomplish? Where are we headed? What are the things that we can help you identify? Where are the hurdles that you currently are facing and how can we help you move past them?” Ramsey says.

1. Start with herd goals, not genomic tests

Genomics is most useful when it is tied to a defined objective. Without that context, even strong data has limited value.

“Sometimes that conversation stalls because ‘What are your goals?’ is such a huge, open-ended question. So we reframe it: Where are you making money? Where are you losing money? Or, where does it really bother you that you’re losing money? That’s where we start,” Luebbe says.

Framing the conversation around economics makes it more actionable.

2. Use what you already know about the herd

Veterinarians bring years of observation and data to the table. Genomics adds another layer, helping explain patterns and refine decisions rather than replacing existing knowledge.

3. Lean on available resources

While genomics-specific training for veterinarians is still developing, practical information is available through industry partners, genomic companies and professional organizations.

4. Focus on interpretation, not promotion

The veterinarian’s value lies in helping producers understand and apply results, not in selling a specific test.

5. Integrate genomics into existing decision points

Genomics fits naturally into decisions already being made, including replacement selection, breeding strategies and long-term planning.

What Getting Started Looks Like for Producers

For producers, the biggest barrier to adoption is often uncertainty, not resistance.

A practical starting point is to focus on a defined group of animals tied to an immediate decision, such as replacement heifers. This allows genomic data to be applied directly without overcomplicating the process. Luebbe suggests making the process fun can be a good entry point.

“Test the animals that you’re arguing about with your brother,” Luebbe says. “Whether it’s the whole bunch, the bottom 50% or the top 25%. Do it so that you can gain some additional information to help you make better decisions.”

Optimally, testing should represent the whole group being evaluated rather than a small subset of top-performing animals, ensuring the results provide a meaningful picture.

Genomics works best alongside visual assessment and experience. It adds insight into differences that are not always visible but does not replace practical knowledge.

The Growing Intersection of Genetics and Health

While genomics has traditionally focused on production and maternal traits, its role is expanding into health.

“We’re starting to bring more health-driven traits to the table. Using genomics to understand the capacity of the immune system for the animal and their genetic risk of developing bovine respiratory disease or congestive heart failure. We’re starting to see this change in the industry and leveraging genomics to understand what health concerns our cattle might be having,” Ramsey says.

This shift strengthens the connection between genomics and veterinary expertise, creating new opportunities to improve herd resilience and reduce disease risk through selection. As these tools evolve, veterinarians will play a key role in helping producers interpret and apply this information effectively.

A Shift Already Underway

Genomics is no longer a future concept. It is a tool that is steadily becoming part of everyday decision making.

“Genomics will never replace a producer’s understanding of their cattle,” Ramsey says. “But what it can do is uncover that layer hidden underneath the skin and identify the genetic capacity that they’re actually bringing.”

For veterinarians, the shift is already happening. Producers are asking questions, expectations are evolving and data is becoming part of routine conversations. The opportunity is not to become an expert in every aspect of genomics, but to build on the role veterinarians already hold.

Getting started does not require having all the answers. It requires stepping into the conversation and helping move it forward.

A Veterinarian’s Guide to Protecting Your Body in Practice

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 14:15:51 GMT

Large animal practice is physically demanding work. Long days in barns, repetitive movements and awkward positioning can take a toll that many practitioners feel within the first few years of practice.

Dr. Tracy Potter, a recent veterinary graduate working in dairy practice, has already begun thinking carefully about how those physical demands can shape a career.

“And when I was first riding around with veterinarians, I quickly realized that the rate of chronic injuries is super high,” Potter says.

That observation pushed her to think differently about longevity in the profession.

“I really value this body that I was given, and I want to make it last so that I can be a vet for a really long time — but also so that I can enjoy my life outside of being a vet,” Potter says.

Early in her career, she noticed another message circulating among veterinarians: The idea that injuries are almost inevitable.

“I was really encouraged to have a back-up plan and like, ‘Oh, you should really think about doing mixed animal so you can fall back by doing small animal when you get injured.’ And I didn’t really like that answer,” Potter says.

Instead of assuming injury was unavoidable, Potter began focusing on practical ways veterinarians could protect their bodies and extend their careers. Drawing from her early experiences in dairy practice, she outlines several habits that can help reduce strain and support long-term career sustainability.

1. Train Both Arms

One of the simplest strategies for reducing strain is also one many veterinarians overlook: learning to palpate cows with both arms.

Relying exclusively on a dominant arm can place repeated stress on the same muscles and joints, increasing the risk of fatigue and injury. Developing ambidextrous skills allows veterinarians to alternate arms and distribute that workload.

However, training the non-dominant arm requires patience. It took two to three months of work for Potter to feel like her non-dominant arm was useful, and six months for her to feel like it was as good as her dominant arm.

“These muscles that you use for palpating take a really long time to grow. They’re really small muscles, and they are really prone to injury,” Potter says.

Gradual progression is key. Starting with easier examinations and slowly building toward more demanding palpation work allows those muscles to develop safely.

Over time, alternating arms between cows can reduce fatigue during long palpation sessions while helping protect against overuse injuries.

2. Improve Palpation Ergonomics

Body positioning and technique also play a major role in preventing strain.

One important factor is leverage. When palpating, a veterinarian’s shoulder should ideally be positioned above the cow’s rectum. That alignment allows larger muscle groups in the shoulder and back to contribute to the movement rather than forcing smaller arm muscles to do all the work.

“This is just physics. You can get a lot better leverage when your shoulder is above the cow’s rectum,” Potter says.

Achieving that position often requires using a stool, particularly when working with taller cows. Some practitioners hesitate to do so, but avoiding it can lead to unnecessary strain.

“Get your ego in check and just get a stool,” Potter says.

While it may seem like a small adjustment, proper positioning can significantly reduce stress on the shoulder, wrist and back during repetitive procedures.

Potter also stressed the importance of protecting your shoulder joint while entering and exiting a cow.

“Instead of just ripping your arm out of the cow, I always think about retracting my shoulder blade down my back first. That protects your joint,” says Potter.

3. Train Like an Athlete

Another key lesson Potter emphasizes is that the work itself should not be considered sufficient physical conditioning.

“Speaking of strength training, our job is not strength training,” Potter says. “I think about it like we’re athletes.”

Athletes train deliberately to prepare their bodies for the stresses of competition. Veterinary professionals, she says, should think about their physical preparation in the same way.

“You can’t imagine a professional soccer player saying ‘I don’t need to train. I just go to the game and that’s my workout,’” Potter says.

Regular strength training — even just a few sessions each week — can help veterinarians build the stability and resilience needed to handle the physical demands of practice.

The goal is not perfection but consistency. Even short workouts can make a difference when maintained over time.

4. Make Expertise the Priority

Protecting the body also means thinking about the long-term shape of a veterinary career.

Procedures such as pregnancy diagnosis will always be a core part of dairy practice, but many veterinarians are also developing consulting and advisory roles that rely more heavily on expertise than physical labor.

“Make your brain more valuable than your arms,” Potter says.

Services such as employee training, milk quality consulting, nutrition management and on-farm research can expand the value veterinarians bring to clients while reducing the amount of repetitive physical work required.

Building a sustainable career

Dairy practice will always involve physical work. But injury does not have to be accepted as an inevitable part of the profession.

Potter’s advice reflects lessons learned early in practice: small habits and deliberate preparation can help veterinarians protect their bodies while building careers that last.

How to Handle Uncomfortable Moments in Veterinary Practice

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 14:00:56 GMT

Veterinary medicine rarely unfolds exactly as planned. A routine appointment can suddenly feel tense, or a conversation with a client takes an unexpected turn. Walking back to the truck or the clinic, you may find yourself replaying an interaction and wondering what could have gone differently.

These moments are uncomfortable, but they are also common. While they may not feel productive as they’re happening, they can become some of the most valuable learning experiences in your career. Dr. Tera Barnhardt, a large animal veterinarian in Kansas, outlines how to navigate conflict and professional growth in veterinary medicine.

1. Recognize the Complexity of Veterinary Practice

Veterinary medicine operates in a high-stakes environment where medical uncertainty, emotions and financial considerations all intersect. Difficult moments do not always have a single cause. You spend years training to diagnose disease, but the human side involves expectations and time constraints that don’t always align neatly.

As Barnhardt explains: “Things get expensive very quickly. The stakes are high. Nobody really has everything under control or knows exactly what they’re doing all the time.”

Recognizing this shared uncertainty can help you approach difficult moments with much-needed perspective.

2. Pause Before Reacting to Conflict

When situations become uncomfortable, the instinct can be to move on quickly, dismiss the conflict or immediately defend a decision. However, taking a moment to pause can help keep the conversation constructive and prevent the interaction from escalating.

Barnhardt encourages colleagues to approach these situations with curiosity.

“I have to handle it with integrity and understanding. I have to come from a space where I want to learn more. I want to figure out why you’re mad,” she explains.

That pause allows for a shift in mindset. Instead of focusing on who was right or wrong, the question becomes what might be learned from the experience.

3. Focus on Understanding the Client’s Concern

Sometimes frustration stems from a misunderstanding, unmet expectations or fear about an animal’s outcome. Asking clarifying questions can help uncover what is actually driving the tension.

“If those people are mad and the reason is correct and real, that’s worth digging into. We’re not perfect. Sometimes there really is something we need to look at,” Barnhardt says.

Approaching the situation with that perspective allows you to examine whether something about the interaction could be handled differently in the future without assigning blame.

4. Acknowledge the Client’s Perspective

Even when there is disagreement, recognizing a client is worried or overwhelmed can help deescalate tension. In well-run practices with strong relationships, tension can still arise because every case involves more than medicine alone.

By meeting the client where they are emotionally, you keep the conversation productive. Barnhardt emphasizes the importance of this connection.

“Really be vulnerable with yourself about what went wrong. Why are they upset? Meet them in the middle,” she says.

5. Reflect on the Interaction Afterward

Once the moment has passed, taking time to think about what happened ensures the experience isn’t wasted. Was there a communication gap? Were expectations clear?

Self-reflection can be uncomfortable and requires asking difficult questions, but it is part of the ongoing process of becoming a more effective communicator.

“Be honest with yourself about what happened in those moments. That’s where the growth comes from,” Barnhardt says.

Small insights gained during a quiet moment of reflection can significantly improve future conversations and build deeper trust with the people you serve.

6. Use the Experience as a Learning Opportunity

Every veterinary career includes moments that feel frustrating — a difficult conversation, a misunderstanding or a case that doesn’t unfold as expected. However, these are the experiences that help veterinarians grow into the profession.

While uncomfortable moments rarely feel productive when they happen, they offer the most valuable insights into how communication, expectations and decision-making intersect in the real world. Over time, those reflections shape how you navigate the complexities of practice with confidence.

From Good to Best: Record Keeping That Actually Gets Used

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 17:15:12 GMT

Most farms are not short on data. They are short on recorded, usable data.

Some have spreadsheets, some use software, some have their treatment sheets printed. But unless the numbers are prioritized, cleaned up and reviewed, they rarely change management decisions.

As Bethany Dado-Senn, calf and heifer technical specialist with Vita Plus, puts it: “The cows don’t lie. They’re trying to tell us all the time what is going on. But if we don’t have any way to measure their outputs and the results, then we can’t do anything about it.”

The real challenge is not collecting everything, but collecting what matters and building a system veterinarians and producers can sustain together.

A practical framework helps: prioritize, essentialize and systemize.

1. Prioritize: Decide What Actually Matters

Before adding another metric or installing another program, start with focus.

“We need to start small. We need to identify what our top priority is to start,” says Kelly Sporer, farm data consultant with Cornerstone Ag Management. “We can’t look at everything and say ‘We’re just going to start, we’re going to dive in, we’re going to do it all.’”

Trying to track everything almost guarantees that nothing will be done well.

Instead, identify the two or three numbers that will move the herd forward right now. Those priorities will differ by farm.

“Everything that we do, we have to think about that customer, that relationship or that client, and what they’re trying to do and where they are now,” Dado-Senn says.

For example, a veterinarian might help a producer prioritize:

Fresh cow losses
Calf morbidity trends
Pregnancy rate
Early-lactation culling

The goal is focus, not complexity. Once priorities are clear, progress becomes measurable.

2. Essentialize: Remove What Gets in the Way

“A lot of the dairies we work with are not collecting completely comprehensive data,” Sporer says.

Even when farms try to track data, the system often breaks down. When records are entered inconsistently, the story they tell can be misleading.

Dado-Senn recalls once reviewing records that appeared to show catastrophic losses: “I’ll look back and it’ll look like we had a mass die-off one month, but it was really just the one month they finally cleaned their records up.”

Incomplete data makes analysis nearly impossible.

“If we have incomplete and inaccurate data, I can do a whole lot for you as far as data analysis, but we can’t do very much in ways of recommendations or changing anything in management,” Dado-Senn says.

And if the data is never reviewed with the intention of making changes, motivation disappears.

“If nobody is looking at it, that data is completely useless to the farm that’s spending valuable time collecting it,” Sporer says.

Essentializing can help with this by removing friction.

That might involve:

Standardizing health event terms
Assigning one person responsible for data entry
Recording events the day they happen
Simplifying treatment sheets
Reviewing numbers regularly with the herd team

The veterinarian plays an important role here, helping define case definitions, treatment thresholds and consistent terminology so the records reflect real clinical events.

3. Systemize: Move From Good to Better to Best

Record keeping does not need to be perfect. The key is building a system that improves over time.

“This is not about being super robust. It’s about starting somewhere,” Sporer reminds.

GOOD — The basics are written down

Deaths recorded somewhere
Pregnancy checks entered
Treatments written down

BETTER — Records become organized

Health events recorded consistently
Reasons for death or culling included
Data entered into herd software

BEST — Data drives decisions

Trends reviewed by age or stage of lactation
Protocol changes evaluated before and after
Health and reproduction trends analyzed over time

The goal is simple: When management changes, records help answer one question: Did it work?

That is when records stop being paperwork and start becoming management tools.

Importantly, not every farm needs to operate at “best” immediately. Progress from inconsistent notes to reliable digital entry is already a major improvement.

5 Record-Keeping Mistakes That Make Data Useless

Collecting data takes time. But when records are incomplete or inconsistent, the information becomes nearly impossible to use.

Recording data months later
Events should be recorded as close to real time as possible.
Using vague or inconsistent health terms
Different staff describing the same condition differently makes data nearly impossible to analyze.
Collecting data no one reviews
Review meetings reinforce why records matter.
Incomplete herd inventory
Animals still listed in the system long after leaving the herd distort nearly every performance report.
Trying to track everything at once
Strong record systems develop step by step.

Partnership Turns Numbers Into Action

Record keeping works best when it is collaborative.

“When everybody is working toward the same goal, which is the success of the farm, there’s no room for pointing fingers,” Dado-Senn says.

The veterinarian–producer partnership is central to building that culture.

Veterinarians translate trends into management insights. Producers provide the operational context that explains what is happening in the barn.

Together they decide what to track, how to track it and when to review it.

Without that collaboration, records sit unused. With it, they guide decisions from calf to cow.

When farms prioritize what matters, remove unnecessary barriers and build simple systems together, record keeping moves from good to better to best. That’s when the numbers start working for the herd.

Low-Stress Handling Isn’t Just for Livestock

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 17:59:40 GMT

We spend years learning how to move cattle properly.

We study flight zones. We talk about pressure and release. We redesign facilities so animals can flow instead of fight. We debate crowd tubs like they’re moral issues.

Then we walk into the clinic and bark at a technician before coffee.

Ashley Nicholls, founder of Reach Agriculture Strategies, has a way of making a room laugh before he makes it uncomfortable. When speaking on low-stress handling, he starts in familiar territory: prey behavior, blind spots, comfort zones. But he doesn’t stay there.

“We understand [cattle] are prey animals,” Nicholls says. “They have blind spots. They have a flight zone. They hide pain. And their priority is survival.”

Then he pivots.

“Employees. Team members. Colleagues. They have blind spots. They have a flight zone. They hide pain. And at the end of the day, their priority is survival — it’s just workplace survival,” he says.

The room got a little bit quieter after that.

Flight Zones Aren’t Just Physical

In livestock handling, we read the pen before we apply pressure. We look for heads up, animals bunching, tension in the group. We understand what looks calm may only be a snapshot.

Nicholls reminds us this is the same with people: we may only ever get a snapshot. We don’t see what’s happening off screen — exhaustion, financial stress, family strain, imposter syndrome. Yet we respond as if the visible moment is the whole story.

Even simple gestures can make a big difference.

“Something as simple as starting with ‘good morning’ just opens a channel of communication,” he says.

In barns, we know better than to storm in loudly. The same applies for spaces with coworkers.

Communication: It’s Not the Words

Nicholls references the 55-38-7 rule of communication: 55% body language, 38% tone and pitch and 7% actual words.

“In other words, 93% of what we’re doing is completely non-verbal,” he explains.

This is an important consideration. You can ask a perfectly reasonable question and still raise the stress in a room if your arms are crossed, your voice is clipped, you’re standing too close or you’re not making eye contact. The words may be neutral, but it’s all in the delivery.

Nicholls points out cattle feel pressure long before they process anything else. Humans do, too. We scan posture, pace and tone for signals of safety.

“If I climb over the fence and I land in the pen and I’m big and loud,” he says, “All of a sudden the cattle are holding up on the backside of the pen — I probably did that.”

If the room feels tense, it’s worth assessing the energy you brought in with you.

Pressure and Release

Low-stress handling depends on timing. Apply pressure, get movement. Release pressure, allow the animal to settle. Teams are no different.

Nichols demonstrates this with a deceptively simple exercise: A group is asked to lower a lightweight pole to the ground while each person keeps two fingers supporting it. What should be easy becomes surprisingly difficult. The harder individuals try to correct it on their own touch, the higher the pole floats.

When communication is inconsistent or unclear, people push against each other instead of working together. Pressure escalates, frustration builds and the task stalls.

In livestock handling, we’d change our angle or soften the cue. In workplaces, we tend to repeat ourselves louder.

Are You Crowding the Tub?

Nicholls calls the crowd tub “the most poorly named piece of equipment in beef.”

The mistake? We crowd it.

Cattle need room to circle back toward the exit. If you pack the tub tight, they can’t move their feet. They can’t think. They lock up.

“If we take away their ability to make decisions, they also don’t have the ability to improve,” Nicholls explains.

Micromanagement works the same way.

Hover long enough and people stop taking initiative. Correct every move and they stop experimenting. Remove decision-making and growth stalls.

In livestock systems, we intentionally design spaces that allow movement. In workplaces, we sometimes build invisible walls.

Space to Mess Up

Nicholls is blunt about this part. Teams need space to mess up — and space to fix it.

Agriculture often sends mixed signals. We say we want initiative. We say we want ownership. Then we add, “Check with me first.”

He jokes about “seagull leaders” — the ones who hover overhead, swoop in to criticize or “steal your chips,” then disappear.

That approach creates anxiety, not development.

In ranching, you set the gate before you ride out. You create the conditions for success before you ask for performance. The same principle applies to onboarding staff, explaining expectations and clarifying the why.

Clarity reduces stress, autonomy builds confidence and release allows learning.

Low Stress Shouldn’t Stop at the Gate

Low-stress livestock handling changed how we think about welfare and productivity. It works because it respects biology and behavior. It acknowledges that fear blocks learning and pressure without relief creates chaos.

Humans operate under the same principles.

The uncomfortable question Nichols leaves behind is simple: if we’re willing to treat livestock with patience, intentional movement and respect for their stress thresholds, why wouldn’t we treat our teams the same way?

Low-stress handling shouldn’t stop at the gate.

How to Prevent Needlestick Injuries in Livestock Practice

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 15:30:03 GMT

Most injection injuries in food-animal practice never make it into an incident log. They happen, they sting and the work continues. But some of them are not minor. Some require urgent medical care, and recognizing which is which can prevent permanent damage.

Dr. Jeff Bender, veterinarian and director of the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center at the University of Minnesota, recently spoke on the significance of accidental self-injection as an underreported occupational hazard in livestock medicine. It can be common to continue working, assuming the exposure is harmless, but that assumption is not always correct.

Immediate Response: Slow Down and Assess

When a needlestick occurs, the first step is to stop. Do not finish the chute run. Do not assume it is minor.

Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water and note the time of exposure. Identify the exact product involved, how much was injected and where. A superficial puncture through clothing is very different from a deep injection into a finger or thumb.

Bring the product bottle and label to medical care. Most physicians and emergency departments are unfamiliar with livestock pharmaceuticals. The clinical risk depends heavily on whether the product is oil-based, long-acting, hormonal, sedative or modified live.

As Bender emphasizes: “Make sure you grab the bottle, take this bottle with you to the urgent care or the clinic, and let them know this is what you got.”

Tetanus status should also be confirmed at the time of evaluation.

Certain exposures warrant immediate medical attention:

Oil-adjuvanted vaccines
Sedatives, such as xylazine
Hormonal products, such as prostaglandins

Further, if there is increasing pain, swelling, pallor or neurologic symptoms, medical attention is required. These are not wait-and-see injuries.

Not All Products Carry Equal Risk

The severity of a needlestick injury depends far more on the product than on the needle.

Oil-adjuvanted vaccines pose the greatest risk for local tissue damage. Oil-based products can trigger intense inflammatory reactions, increasing pressure within confined spaces like digits. Compartment syndrome, tissue necrosis and surgical intervention are real possibilities. Any digital injection with an oil-based vaccine should be treated as a potential surgical emergency until proven otherwise.

Sedatives present a different type of danger. Even small amounts absorbed systemically can lead to hypotension, respiratory depression, bradycardia or sudden collapse. Exposures involving sedatives warrant urgent evaluation and monitoring.

Bender shares a story highlighting how unpredictable animal behavior adds risk: “Recently, one of our residents had xylazine, and a rambunctious horse caused her to squirt it in her eye. She passed out, and luckily, she didn’t hit her head or anything.”

Hormonal products also deserve heightened caution. Prostaglandins and other reproductive hormones can have systemic effects and pose particular risk to pregnant individuals. What is a small dose for a cow can have meaningful physiologic consequences in a human.

Modified-live vaccines raise concerns about zoonotic potential depending on the organism involved, reinforcing the need for product-specific evaluation. Antibiotics and long-acting depot formulations are often underestimated. Allergic reactions, hypersensitivity and prolonged local inflammation are possible, particularly with depot products that extend tissue exposure time.

The guiding principle is simple: identify the compound before deciding the injury is minor.

Why Human Medicine May Struggle to Advise

Emergency physicians rarely encounter livestock vaccines or reproductive hormones. When a veterinarian or farm worker presents after an accidental injection, the provider may not know the formulation, adjuvant type or pharmacologic effect.

“Usually when I ask my physician colleagues this question… they really don’t have a clue,” Bender says.

Without clear product information, evaluation becomes guesswork.

This places veterinarians in the role of interpreter. Providing the exact product name, formulation and safety data sheet allows healthcare providers to assess risk accurately. Keeping that documentation accessible in clinic trucks or digital files is a simple and effective safeguard.

Prevention Starts Before the Stick

Injection injuries are often described as inevitable. In reality, many are predictable.

Fatigue at the end of processing days, poorly restrained animals and hurried recapping of needles are high-risk moments. Sedatives and oil-based vaccines deserve heightened procedural caution. For certain products, two-person administration may be appropriate.

Facility conditions also matter. Safe chutes, adequate lighting and readily available sharps containers reduce impulsive decision-making. A stocked first-aid kit everyone can locate is not optional. On many farms, especially those with newer employees or language barriers, safety training around injectable products may never have been formalized.

Risk reduction in this context does not require complex protocols. It requires intentional practice.

Key prevention points include:

Avoid recapping needles whenever possible
Ensure secure animal restraint before injection
Use appropriate needle length and gauge
Keep sharps containers accessible
Review high-risk drugs with staff before use

Take It Seriously

Food animal practice involves powerful pharmaceuticals administered in dynamic environments. Accidental injection is a predictable hazard of the profession.

The obligation is straightforward. Stop when it happens. Identify the product. Seek care when indicated. Build systems that reduce risk for the next time.

Needlestick injuries are not badges of experience. They are occupational exposures. And they deserve respect.

The Power of 'I Don't Know' As A Veterinarian

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 16:24:11 GMT

There is a particular pause that follows a producer’s question when you do not immediately have the answer.

It might happen at the chute during processing, in the middle of a herd check or on the phone during a respiratory outbreak when performance is slipping and no one can afford guesswork. In that moment, the pressure is unmistakable: You are the veterinarian. You are supposed to know.

This was a common theme at the 2026 AABP Recent Grad conference. For early-career veterinarians especially, hesitation can feel like exposure — like proof you are not as prepared as everyone assumes.

But veterinary medicine, particularly production medicine, is built on probability, not certainty. Complex herd systems rarely offer immediate clarity. And sometimes, the most professional response is not a rapid explanation, but a measured one:

“I don’t know.”

Used thoughtfully, those words do not weaken authority. They strengthen it.

Uncertainty Is Not a Failure

Even experienced practitioners encounter cases that do not fit neatly into expectations. Diseases evolve. Presentations vary. Environmental and management factors intersect in ways that defy simple explanations.

In herd medicine, nutrition, environment, genetics, management and timing overlap constantly. The first explanation that comes to mind is not always the most complete one. The discipline lies in pausing long enough to gather more information before committing to a conclusion.

Admitting uncertainty in those moments is not incompetence. It is intellectual honesty.

Saying “I don’t know” does not signal that you lack expertise. It signals that you respect the complexity in front of you.

“You should never be afraid to say ‘I don’t know’, but you shouldn’t stop there,” says Dr. Riley Jones, beef chair for the conference.

The real truth is what you’re likely saying is: “I don’t know yet”.

And that ‘yet’ is very important. It communicates that, at present, you need more information — not that you are incapable. It implies investigation, follow through, and that the work is not finished.

You Do Not Practice Alone

Importantly, you don’t have to have the answer immediately accessible. You have access to a network of knowledge including:

Practice partners
Mentors
Extension specialists
Nutritionists
Diagnostic laboratories
Continuing education
Colleagues across the country willing to take you call

“Collaborate with others,” says Dr. Tera Barnhardt, large animal veterinarian in Kansas and keynote speaker at the conference. “Collaborate across the country. Collaborate with people who work on a totally different species than you.”

Jones explains how reaching out for help shows her clients how much she cares.

“I love saying ‘Hey, I don’t know this, but I know a classmate or a professor who is an expert in this field. Can I contact them to get more information?’ A lot of clients really value that. They don’t expect you to always be an expert, but they really want to know that you’re trying,” she says.

A willingness to consult the right sources represents stewardship. Using the resources available to you shows you are responsible in your practice. A producer doesn’t need you to know everything instantly, they need to know you will pursue the right answer.

Why Uncertainty Builds Trust

There is a persistent fear admitting uncertainty erodes credibility. But misplaced certainty damages trust far faster than honest restraint.

Producers operate within uncertainty every day. Weather shifts. Feed quality varies. Markets fluctuate. They understand biology does not always follow a script.

When a veterinarian says, “I don’t know yet,” and follows it with a plan, it communicates several things:

I respect the complexity of your operation.
I am not guessing to protect my ego.
I will gather more information.
I will follow up.

Trust in bovine practice is not built on always being right. It is built on being reliable.

Producers remember whether you closed the loop. They remember whether you called back. They remember whether you were transparent about what you knew — and what you were still investigating.

In that context, “I don’t know yet” can be profoundly trust-building.

Early-Career Discomfort Is Not Disqualification

For early-career veterinarians, the internal pressure can be intense.

“You will not know everything. You will see things that you didn’t study. You will face scale and crisis that you weren’t prepared for,” Barnhardt says.

You may be advising producers who have managed cattle for decades. You may feel like every case is a test. The physiological response — racing heart, tight chest, narrowed thinking — can make uncertainty feel dangerous.

But discomfort is often the marker of growth.

Not knowing immediately does not mean you do not belong in that conversation. It means you are practicing in real conditions, where variables exceed textbooks.

The goal is not to eliminate uncertainty. It is to learn how to navigate it with integrity.

Adding “yet” reframes the moment for yourself as much as for the client. It reminds you that learning is active, ongoing and collaborative.

Authority, Reframed

Authority in modern bovine practice is not about omniscience. It is about judgment, process and follow-through.

Judgment recognizes when information is incomplete.
Process identifies the next steps.
Follow-through closes the loop.

“I don’t know yet” holds all three.

It signals you will not offer an answer you do not believe in. It signals you will do the work. It signals you are accountable for the outcome of your advice.

Over time, that posture strengthens credibility more than reflexive certainty ever could.

You will not know everything. No one does. But you have training. You have experience. You have colleagues. You have resources.

That being said, using resources does not remove responsibility.

“At the end of the day, you can have all of these resources and do everything that you can to gather information, but it’s your decision,” Jones says.

The goal is not to outsource judgement, but to inform it.

Sometimes, the most powerful thing you can say in the moment is not a diagnosis. It is a commitment.

“I don’t know yet. Let’s find out.”

Why Your Chute-Side Manner Matters

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 22:21:24 GMT

Good chute-side manner isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about how cattle experience handling, how accurately treatments are delivered and how safely people can work. During a chute-side demonstration at CattleCon in Nashville, Tenn., Ron Gill and Paige Pratt emphasized that many of the most common problems seen later — leakage, injection-site reactions, poor efficacy and safety risks — start with small decisions made at the chute.

From how handlers move around cattle to how needles and syringes are selected and used, chute-side technique plays a central role in animal welfare and Beef Quality Assurance outcomes.

1. Movement Around the Cow in the Chute Matters

Handlers continue to influence cattle behavior even after the headgate closes. Gill showed how small changes in handler position — stepping forward, stepping back or changing angle — can prompt cattle to adjust their stance and head position. Using your movement when the animal is inside the chute can improve neck access and reduce resistance, allowing procedures to be performed more calmly and accurately without escalating stress.

“One thing you can do a lot of times, you can step forward,” says Gill, who proceeded to move to the front of the cow. “Notice that the animal steps back when I do that, and then I’ve got better neck access.”

2. Proper Restraint Determines Accuracy and Safety

Accurate injections and safe handling depend on adequate restraint. When cattle are not properly positioned, injections are more likely to leak or be misplaced and handlers are placed at greater risk. The speakers caution against leaning into crowded or partially restrained animals and emphasize that rushing procedures undermines both safety and efficacy.

“If you have to lean over in there to give a shot and one of them throws her head up or jumps, then that’s where people get hurt,” says Gill, who advises against working cattle in line for the chute without restraint, even if they’re packed in tight.

3. Needle and Syringe Selection Is a Chute-Side Decision

Choosing the correct needle and syringe is part of chute-side technique, not an afterthought. Needle gauge and length must match cattle size, skin thickness and injection route. Inappropriate needle selection or damaged equipment increases pain, leakage and treatment failure, particularly when combined with poor restraint or rushed technique.

“The lighter those cattle are, probably the smaller gauge, the smaller diameter we want,” says Pratt. She also highlights the importance of needle length, to make sure the injectable is getting to the right depth, and syringe tip style, favoring Luer lock.

4. How Syringes Are Handled Affects Whether Products Work

Syringe handling influences dosing accuracy and product effectiveness. Common chute-side mistakes include exposure to sunlight, contamination during filling and improper cleaning practices. These errors can reduce vaccine efficacy before the product ever enters the animal, making careful syringe management a critical part of chute-side manner.

“Once you sterilize these, don’t be pulling the plunger back until you have a needle in a bottle,” Gill says. “What have you just done? You sucked all the dust out of the corral into your syringe.”

5. Chute-Side Manner Reflects Management Priorities

Chute-side habits reflect how seriously an operation takes stewardship and animal welfare. Consistent techniques such as using the same locations, spacing injections appropriately and avoiding shortcuts help prevent long-term problems such as abscesses and lost performance.

“If you’re going to be doing it, spending the money ... do it correctly,” Gill says.

Refining these small chute-side decisions ensures that every animal is treated with the respect it deserves and every investment is given the best chance to succeed.

Neonatal Calf Distress: Managing the First 24 Hours

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 18:11:16 GMT

The first 24 hours of life represent the most vulnerable period a calf will ever experience, where oxygen deprivation, metabolic acidosis, trauma and pain can quickly overwhelm an already compromised neonate. Managing neonatal distress involves early detection, rapid assessment and decisive intervention.

Many distressed calves arrive compromised. Prolonged calving, excessive traction or repeated premature intervention increase the likelihood of hypoxia, trauma and delayed physiologic recovery. A live calf is not necessarily a stable calf. Distress is often subtle in the first minutes and can be missed if assessment relies solely on heart rate or movement.

Dr. Ryan Breuer of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine outlined the following early indicators of neonatal distress:

Delayed head lifting or failure to achieve sternal recumbency
Irregular, shallow or gasping respiration
Blue or pale mucous membranes
Meconium staining
Swollen head or tongue

“If calves are not trying to get up or won’t stay in sternal recumbency after 15 minutes, these calves have a very poor prognosis,” Breuer says. These calves need immediate veterinary care and are often experiencing combined hypoxia and metabolic acidosis.

“Acid is toxic to the brain and can cause scarring and neurologic death to the brain tissue,” adds Breuer, listing blindness as a neurologic sign to look out for. “These animals can’t see, or they’ll start stargazing, tipping their nose to the sky.”

Respiratory Distress: The Primary Emergency

Respiratory compromise is the most immediate life-threatening component of neonatal distress. Newborn lungs have never expanded, and even mild impairment can prevent adequate oxygen exchange.

“Open mouth and flaring nostrils are signs of respiratory distress,” explains Breuer, adding that blue tinged or cyanotic mucous membranes are also indicators that the calf is not getting enough oxygen. “If the heart rate is less than 50 beats per minute and falling, intervention is going to be needed to save them.”

Calves in respiratory distress should be placed in sternal recumbency to maximize lung expansion. Physical stimulation including vigorous rubbing, nasal septum stimulation or pressure on the nasal philtrum can trigger inspiratory reflexes and help initiate more effective breathing.

Other Distress Indicators in Calves

Meconium staining is a visible indicator that the calf experienced distress before delivery. Passage of the meconium into the uterus typically reflects prolonged time in the birth canal or delayed delivery.

“Now that the amniotic sac has ruptured, there’s mixing of the waste and what the calf is submerged in,” Breuer says. “This can cause issues down the road because it can cause difficulties in cleaning that airway.”

Calves born with meconium staining are more likely to experience respiratory compromise, difficulty clearing airways and delayed stabilization after birth.

Trauma from dystocia can contribute to pain, reduced movement, impaired breathing mechanics and delayed recovery. Swelling of the head, tongue and soft tissues can further compromise airways and oxygen delivery.

Ongoing Monitoring Through the First 24 Hours

Calves that survive an initial distress event remain at elevated risk through the first 24 hours of life. Ongoing monitoring for declining vigor, abnormal respiration or changes in responsiveness is essential as early compromise often evolves rather than resolves.

Many calves that survive neonatal distress reappear later as poor performers, respiratory cases or unexplained losses. Effective neonatal distress management is not about saving every calf but about recognizing when intervention can still alter the outcome and preventing avoidable compromise. The first 24 hours determine which calves stabilize and recover and which never fully catch up.

To learn more about the first 24 hours of neonatal calf care among other topics, check out the Dairy Cattle Welfare Council webinar series .

5 Considerations for Calf Care

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 16:39:33 GMT

Calves that struggle rarely do so because a single decision was wrong. More often, they falter because their daily environment, feeding or handling is unpredictable. Inconsistent inputs can quietly undermine digestion, immunity and growth, creating calves that never quite thrive and are repeatedly flagged for treatment.

“How do we improve consistency?” asks Ohio State University Extension specialist Jason Hartschuh when speaking on the proper care of calves . “Consistency is critical.”

When working with calf operations, consistency is not a management buzzword but a biological requirement. Hartschuh emphasizes the importance of decreasing variability in practice for better animal health. Below are five areas where variability shows up most often and where veterinarians can have a meaningful impact by helping producers identify and reduce it.

1. Milk Replacer Mixing

Milk replacer programs often look correct on paper but fall apart in execution. Studies show wide swings in total solids and feeding temperature when caretakers are given identical instructions.

“Forty-one batches of milk replacer were mixed,” says Hartschuh, describing a recent project. “The same directions were given on how to mix that milk replacer, but the solids content of [the resulting batches] ranged from 6% to 14.5%. The temperature ranged from 80°F to 115°F.”

Of these batches, less than half of them reached the ideal solid content of 10% to 15%, two hit the precise goal of 13%, and two hit the final temperature goal of 110°F to 115°F.

Day-to-day variation in concentration or delivery temperature forces repeated digestive adjustment, which can manifest as loose manure, reduced intake or inconsistent growth. Over time, this physiological stress can weaken immune responses and complicate disease diagnosis.

What vets can ask:

Are milk replacer amounts weighed or scooped?
How often are solids checked?
What temperature does milk reach the calf, not just the mixing bucket?

2. Water Quality and Delivery

Water is often treated as background input, yet its composition can vary widely. Elevated sodium from softened water, high total dissolved solids, sulfates or microbial contamination can all influence intake, digestion and health, even in well-managed milk programs.

Research has shown differences in calf performance, fever incidence and diarrhea days tied solely to water source and water access. Hartschuh described work where they varied how water was offered to calves.

“At five months of age, the calf that we provided water to every feeding from birth versus waiting until the calf was 17 days old gained about 28 more pounds,” Hartschuh says.

They found this was linked to rumen development being positively correlated with water intake, therefore these calves had increased digestion and absorption leading to growth.

What vets can recommend:

Routine water testing, including sodium and bacteria
Rechecking water quality seasonally
Offering water to calves from birth

3. Feeding Equipment Hygiene

Many sanitation programs fail because they are incomplete. Rinsing equipment with water that is too hot can bake fat into plastic surfaces, encouraging biofilm formation. Inadequate drying or cracked nipples further compounds the issue, allowing bacteria to persist between feedings.

“It comes down to talking more about the sanitation of equipment to make sure that we’re not transferring disease from one calf to the next or that there’s nothing growing in that biofilm that milk can develop,” Hartschuh says.

What vets should look for:

Initial rinse water temperature
Whether equipment is fully dry before reuse
Nipple condition and replacement frequency

4. Feeding Timing and Delivery Technique

Calves adapt to routine. Variations in feeding time, volume or delivery method disrupt that adaptation.

“We have that milk mixed up consistently, now we have to feed it every day consistently at the same time,” Hartschuh advises.

Even bottle height matters: poor positioning can interfere with esophageal groove closure, altering milk flow and digestion. Hartschuh recommends holding the bottle at 24" to 27" high so that the calf isn’t gulping air and the milk flows down nicely, bypassing the rumen to the abomasum.

What vets can ask:

Are feeding times consistent from day to day?
Is delivery technique the same across caretakers?
Is water offered in a way that encourages intake?

5. Temperature and Ventilation

“Trying to figure out how to ventilate those barns as we go from potentially 60°F tomorrow down to 16°F in a few days, with those temperature swings, how do we keep calves comfortable and healthy?” Hartschuh asks.

Repeated environmental adjustments driven by weather changes can increase physiological stress. This is especially important to consider with big temperature swings. Attempts to protect calves by closing barns often trade cold stress for poor air quality, increasing respiratory risk instead. Hartschuh advises that consistency in ventilation is often more protective than short-term temperature control.

What vets can emphasize:

Air quality at the calf level
Adjusting jackets and bedding proactively during weather shifts
Using calf behaviors (posture, rest patterns) as indicators for needed changes

Diagnosing Systems, Not Just Calves

When calves cycle through low-grade illness, repeated treatments or uneven growth, inconsistency is often the underlying driver. Stepping back to evaluate systems, rather than symptoms might help identify patterns that need adjusting. Improving consistency doesn’t require new products or protocols but rather a tightening of execution. This could pay dividends across health, performance and labor efficiency.

Veterinarians and Producers See BRD Risk Through Different Lenses

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 13:49:05 GMT

The hardest cattle health decisions often live in the gray zone. Nowhere is that truer than with bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in cattle that aren’t clearly high risk, but don’t look entirely safe either. A new survey suggests that when cattle fall into this medium-risk category, veterinarians and feedlot managers might be working from different mental playbooks.

The study, published in Translational Animal Science, examined how veterinarians and feedlot managers assess BRD risk and decide whether to use metaphylaxis when risk is uncertain. They surveyed 25 veterinarians consulting for a combined more than 600 feedlots and 30 feedlot managers. While both groups rely heavily on experience, the results show meaningful differences in how risk is perceived, what outcomes are expected and which factors ultimately tip the decision toward treatment.

Veterinarians and Producers Hold Different Expectations for BRD Outcomes

BRD remains one of the most costly and consequential diseases in feedlot cattle, driving losses through mortality, morbidity, treatment costs and long-term performance impacts. Metaphylaxis is widely accepted for cattle at high risk, but less straightforward when cattle fall somewhere in the middle.

In the survey, respondents were asked to consider hypothetical groups of medium-risk cattle and estimate expected morbidity and mortality if metaphylaxis were not used. Veterinarians consistently anticipated worse outcomes than feedlot managers. On average, vets expected higher percentages of sick cattle and greater death loss, while managers’ expectations were lower and more variable.

That difference matters. Expected disease burden strongly influences whether metaphylaxis is justified. If one party anticipates substantial losses and another expects manageable disease, alignment becomes difficult from the beginning.

Key Factors Used to Decide on Metaphylaxis

While both veterinarians and producers described metaphylaxis decisions as multifactorial, the survey revealed clear differences in which risk signals each group emphasizes most when cattle fall into the medium-risk category.

Veterinarians tended to emphasize factors tied to biological vulnerability and population-level disease risk, including:

Health history of the cattle, particularly prior illness, vaccination status and consistency of backgrounding
Degree of commingling, with mixed-source cattle viewed as substantially higher risk
Body weight and age, with lighter, younger cattle seen as less resilient
Transportation stress, including haul distance and time in transit
Weather conditions, especially temperature swings and adverse conditions at arrival
Expected morbidity and mortality, with vets more likely to anticipate higher disease impact if metaphylaxis was withheld

Veterinarians also placed strong weight on how these factors interact, rather than viewing any single signal in isolation. In the gray zone, multiple moderate risks stacking together often justified treatment.

Feedlot managers and producers, by contrast, placed greater emphasis on operational context and sourcing signals, including:

Cattle source and origin, particularly whether cattle came from known suppliers
Market channel, such as sale barn versus direct-from-ranch purchases
Historical performance of similar cattle, drawing heavily on prior closeouts
Visible condition at arrival, including fill, alertness and signs of stress
Variability within the load, with uneven cattle raising more concern than uniformly moderate-risk groups
Cost–benefit considerations, especially when expected disease levels were perceived as manageable

Producers were generally less likely than veterinarians to rate environmental conditions or body weight as primary decision drivers on their own, instead weighing how cattle had performed under similar circumstances in the past.

Where they aligned:

Before cattle arrived, both groups consistently identified market channel and cattle origin as the most influential pre-arrival indicators of risk. After arrival, overall cattle condition became the dominant real-time signal for both veterinarians and producers — often serving as the final checkpoint before deciding whether metaphylaxis was warranted.

Experience Continues to Guide Metaphylaxis Decisions

One of the study’s most striking findings is how heavily metaphylaxis decisions still depend on professional judgment rather than formalized thresholds. Respondents frequently described relying on gut feel, period outcomes with similar cattle and local norms.

That reliance on experience isn’t necessarily a flaw — BRD risk is complex and context-dependent — but it does introduce variability. Two operations receiving similar cattle under similar conditions might make different metaphylaxis decisions, with both believing they are acting responsibly.

From an antimicrobial stewardship standpoint, that variability is significant. Medium-risk cattle represent the largest opportunity and challenge for reducing unnecessary antibiotic use without increasing disease loss.

Opportunities to Better Align Veterinarians and Producers on BRD Risk

Rather than framing these differences as conflict, the authors point to an opportunity for better alignment. Veterinarians and managers bring complementary perspectives: Veterinarians tend to focus on population-level disease prevention, while managers weigh operation history, cost and day-to-day realities.

Clearer conversations around expected morbidity, acceptable loss thresholds and what success looks like for a given group of cattle could narrow the gap. So could shared post-placement reviews that compare expectations with actual outcomes, helping refine future decisions.

As scrutiny for antibiotic use in food animals continues to intensify, metaphylaxis decisions will only draw more attention. This study highlights that improving consistency doesn’t necessarily require new drugs or diagnostics, but better alignment between the people making the call.

When risk is uncertain, clarity between veterinarian and producer might be one of the most powerful tools available.

What's Driving Canada's Veterinary Drug Shortage and Why it Matters

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 17:52:05 GMT

In Canada, the veterinary community is ringing alarm bells. In late November, the national body representing veterinarians, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), issued a stark warning : Veterinarians across the country are facing severe shortages of essential drugs, including antibiotics, sedatives, vaccines and other core animal-health products.

Tracy Fisher, president of the CVMA, warns that without reliable access to these medications, veterinarians cannot properly do their jobs, and animals suffer. They are asking both federal and provincial governments to address the issue.

This is not a problem confined to one sector of the profession. According to the CVMA, shortages are affecting companion animal and livestock practices alike, raising concerns not only about animal welfare but also about food safety and stability.

Regulatory Forces Behind the Drug Shortage

Medications that once formed the backbone of routine veterinary care are now increasingly unavailable, disrupting treatment decisions across species and practice types. Antibiotics, anesthetics and sedatives, vaccines and other foundational drugs are among those becoming difficult or impossible to source.

Regulatory changes appear to be a central driver. In 2017, Health Canada imposed new inspection standards requiring manufacturing facilities in other countries to be inspected by Canadian officials. This has increased the burden on companies supplying the Canadian market. For some manufacturers, the cost of these inspections has outweighed the benefit of maintaining approval in a relatively small market.

As a result, Canada has seen a steady erosion of veterinary drug availability. CVMA estimates suggest up to 40% of medications previously accessible to Canadian veterinarians are no longer on the market. While some of these products remain available in the U.S. and elsewhere, Canadian clinics are unable to legally source them, leaving practitioners with fewer and often less-ideal options.

“We’ve lost 40% of the medications that we used to have in the 1980s,” Fisher says. She believes Canada should license products if they have been approved in two other reliable countries with strong safety regulations. “[The drugs] already have the standards met in Europe, Great Britain and the U.S.. Eliminate some of the red tape and bureaucratic processes that are holding up some of these things.”

Why Canada’s Crisis Matters to Global Veterinary Medicine

For veterinary professionals outside Canada, this crisis offers a cautionary example of how quickly a stable system can unravel when regulatory pressure, economics and global supply chains collide.

Veterinary pharmaceuticals rely heavily on multinational manufacturing networks and imported active pharmaceutical ingredients. When compliance costs rise or markets shrink, manufacturers might quietly exit. Once a supplier disappears, alternatives are often limited or nonexistent. Canada’s experience shows how vulnerable veterinary medicine can be when redundancy is low.

Drug shortages also create clinical consequences. When first-line therapies vanish, veterinarians must adapt protocols, rely on substitutions or delay treatment entirely. In livestock systems, these gaps can ripple outward, affecting herd health, productivity and food supply chains. Sustained shortages risk broader impacts beyond the clinic, including public confidence in animal health systems.

What U.S. Veterinarians Should Take From This

The U.S. might not have experienced shortages on Canada’s scale, but the underlying pressures are familiar. Many veterinary drugs already come from a limited number of manufacturers, and global supply-chain disruptions have shown how quickly availability can change.

Canada’s situation is not a prediction of what will happen elsewhere, but it is a reminder of what could happen if market forces and regulatory frameworks drift out of balance. Monitoring availability trends, maintaining contingency plans for essential medications and engaging in discussions around regulatory flexibility could help prevent similar disruptions.

Canada’s veterinary drug shortages are more than an inconvenience. They represent a systemic failure that developed gradually. For the broader veterinary community, the lesson is clear: Access to essential medications cannot be taken for granted. Paying attention now might be the best way to ensure shelves do not go bare elsewhere.

Information on U.S. animal drug shortages and how to report them can be found on FDA’s website .

5 Tips for Vaccine Handling

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 16:53:40 GMT

Vaccines are one of the most effective and economical tools available to maintain herd health, reduce disease loss and support animal well-being. However, even the best vaccine can fail if it’s not handled correctly. Dr. Jon Townsend, dairy technical services veterinarian with Merck Animal Health, recently touched on the topic during a Dairy Calf and Heifer Association webinar .

“You’ve made the investment in those vaccines. You want to get the best response out of them. You want to get the best cow health possible,” Townsend says.

Whether you’re working with calves, replacement heifers or mature cattle, following consistent vaccine handling practices ensures your investment delivers the intended immunity. Here are five key guidelines to keep in mind.

1. Store Vaccines at the Right Temperature

Vaccines are sensitive, biological products. Many must be kept refrigerated at a specific temperature range to remain effective.

Use a dedicated refrigerator (not the one used for drinks and lunches), as frequent door opening causes temperature swings.
Place a thermometer in the fridge to monitor temperature regularly.
Avoid storing vaccines in the refrigerator door where temperatures fluctuate the most.

2. Don’t Mix all your Vaccine at Once

Many livestock vaccines are sold as two-part products. Once mixed, the live organisms begin to break down.

“Only mix what you’ll use in the next one to two hours if you have to mix up a vaccine,” Townsend advises. “Your modified live vaccines you have to mix. So don’t mix a huge bottle that’s going to take the whole day to use. By the time you get to the last dose that vaccine has potentially degraded, and you won’t get the same response that you would have immediately after reconstitution.”

3. Keep Mixed Vaccines Cool and Out of Sunlight

Heat and sunlight can rapidly damage vaccines, particularly modified-live vaccines.

Keep syringes and mixed bottles in an insulated cooler with cold packs.
Do not place vaccine bottles on the chute, in your shirt pocket, or on a truck dashboard.
Check your cooler throughout the day to ensure cold packs are still cold and not melted.

Unsure about what cooler to use? Consider making it yourself.

“You can either buy a fancy one, or you can make one yourself with an Igloo cooler and drill some holes,” Townsend says. In the end, the goal is the same. “It’s really important to keep that vaccine cool. If you’re using a multi-dose syringe, make sure you’re keeping [it] cool between calves.”

4. Maintain Needle Cleanliness

Contamination can destroy vaccine potency and introduce infection to animals.

Use new clean needles when drawing vaccine from the bottle.
Do not set uncapped syringes or needles down on surfaces like tailgates or barn rails.
If a needle becomes dirty, bent or touches anything questionable, replace it.

“We need to be thinking about changing out needles more frequently than [we] did 30 years ago,” Townsend says. “Then disinfect the needle and syringes after use or dispose of them, and think about disinfecting multi-dose syringes.”

Townsend also highlights the importance of making sure there is no disinfectant residue remaining after cleaning as it has the potential to inactivate your vaccines. Producers and veterinarians should work together to set up protocols for syringe reuse.

5. Use Sharp, Appropriate Needles

A sharp needle ensures a clean injection and reduces animal discomfort.

Replace needles regularly and check for sharpness.
Choose needle size based on animal size, vaccine viscosity and route of administration:
- Subcutaneous: typically 16 to 18 gauge, ½" to ¾"
- Intramuscular: typically 16 to 20 gauge, 1" to 1½"

Townsend specifically warns about the development of burrs, small barbs or defects that can catch on skin, on your needles after too many uses.

“If you wouldn’t want it going into your arm for a vaccine, you shouldn’t be putting it into a cow or calf either,” he says.

Overall, the immunity an animal gains from vaccination is only as good as the care taken in handling the product. Proper storage, careful mixing, maintaining temperature and using clean, sharp needles are straightforward steps that protect your investment and your herd.

Juggling Glass Balls: How Veterinarian Micah Jansen Prioritizes What Matters Most

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 14:55:49 GMT

“The key to juggling is to know that some of the balls you have in the air are made of plastic and some are made of glass. And if you drop a plastic ball, it bounces, no harm done. If you drop a glass ball, it shatters, so you have to know which balls are glass and which are plastic and prioritize catching the glass ones.”

When Micah Jansen, DVM, first heard the glass ball theory by author Nora Roberts, she remembers instantly connecting with it.

“As working moms, we have a lot of things we are balancing,” Jansen said on The PORK Podcast . “This concept helps me remember that I must differentiate the glass balls from the rubber balls. If I drop a rubber ball, like failing to get a deliverable to a co-worker on Friday, I can get it to them on Monday. But my daughter’s Christmas program – that’s a glass ball I cannot drop because it won’t happen again.”

She says understanding the difference between the two has helped her focus and be more deliberate as a working mom. It’s also helped her learn how to prioritize and say no at times.

“When I start getting upset about not getting something done or not being somewhere I wanted to be, I have had to learn to say, ‘Okay, even though I’m upset, this is a rubber ball. It is not the end of the world if I can’t accomplish this because I’m catching this glass ball over here.’”

As a swine tech services veterinarian with Zoetis, the struggle is real at times. No two days are alike for Jansen who has been with the company since 2015. From helping people understand how different products work and troubleshooting with clients on swine health issues to assisting with research projects and hosting student interns, Jansen has learned that her role requires some juggling.

Fortunately, she enjoys the challenge.

The Face of Veterinary Medicine is Changing

“The swine industry is constantly changing,” she says. “It’s becoming more integrated, and with those changes in structure, has also come a change in what swine medicine looks like.”

More production systems today have staff veterinarians who work full time and focus on their system’s pigs. Veterinary clinics are becoming more consolidated, too. There has also been a major shift from mostly men to mostly women entering practice.

She believes this may be another reason why the structure of swine medicine has changed, too. Women are multi-taskers at heart and as more women step into veterinarian roles, Jansen says they have sought out how to find balance between their roles at work and at home as mothers so they could do both well.

“I’m still the only woman in the room sometimes,” Jansen says. “But, I’ve never wanted that to define me. I try to focus on what I know without a doubt to be true and also be humble. If I don’t know the answer to something, it doesn’t mean I can’t find it. I’ve always been somebody who would rather not know the answer and come back to someone than to tell them something that’s wrong.”

Jansen spends a lot of time working with students through internships and other research programs. She says they’ve taught her a lot along the way. She is impressed how younger generations are realizing sooner in life that you only have so much time to devote to certain things like work or school, while also taking care of your mental health and well-being.

“They are better at saying, ‘OK, you want me to complete this task, but I know I have exams next week so I can’t commit to getting it done today. However, I will get to it as soon as I’ve completed my other exams,’” Jansen says. “Never in a million years would I have ever done that! But I admire them for being honest with themselves.”

Hard Decisions

A big part of being a great swine veterinarian is making hard decisions and offering clients holistic support.

Terry Moeller, a Zoetis strategic account manager and colleague, says, “Micah always strives to do the right thing when it comes to pig health, and she has extensive knowledge of critical financials that yield a strong return on investment for our customers.”

Her grasp of the swine industry and understanding of the decisions producers face every day have helped her be successful in her role.

“The decisions that we help our clients make are going to impact essentially whether or not they can feed their families,” Jansen says. “Regardless of if you’re in private practice or if you are a staff veterinarian working for a production system, you constantly must keep in mind the other piece of it that adds up fast. When we make a decision to treat an animal, it’s not just a single animal. You have to take it times 1,000, times 10,000, or times 5 million, depending on what decision you’re making.”

Abbey Briscoe, a veterinarian with Harding Veterinary Services, says this is one of the things she admires about Jansen.

“Micah doesn’t settle for ‘easy.’ She doesn’t have her mind made up with an answer to a problem for a client and genuinely takes her time to listen to everything surrounding an issue, gathering all sides and information before thoughtfully answering,” Briscoe says. “She will follow up with additional advice and options once she has had more time to digest and gather outside expert feedback on a case. She honestly wants her clients to have the best possible insight to an issue.”

One of the not-so-easy roles Jansen plays at Zoetis is serving as a go-to-person on influenza. She admits she actually enjoys studying influenza.

“I think people don’t like flu because it can be really overwhelming,” she points out. “Part of the reason it becomes so complicated is that the influenza virus is so good at changing. We continue to see changes in the virus over time, and what makes it even more nerve-wracking is that interface between pigs and people.”

Biosecurity is key to fighting influenza. She says it’s a constant challenge of knowing what you should do next when it comes to animal husbandry, pig movement or vaccination.

“And then what do we do about caregivers? Even if they’re sick, they want to come into work because they want to be able to feed their families. But at the same time, how do we decide when a sick employee could be putting that population of pigs at risk?” she says. “There are so many moving pieces.”

If she could share one message with the industry now, it’s a simple, but profound one.

“Let’s make sure we’re doing things the right way,” Jansen says. “We know the right way. We love data in the swine industry, and we always talk about how it drives our decisions. Let’s make sure that’s not just something we’re saying. Let’s make protocol decisions based on that concept and doing everything we can to get better.”

Jansen shares more about swine health, her days at the University of Illinois and her passion for team roping and more on The PORK Podcast. You can watch it here on YouTube or listen anywhere podcasts are found.

Watch more episodes here.

Honduran Veterinarian Honored by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 13:17:36 GMT

Carlos Tabora, a veterinarian from Honduras, was recently recognized for his commitment to transforming the livestock system of his home country during the second Food and Agriculture Organization Global Conference on Sustainable Livestock Transformation. Through its ‘Recognition of Good Practices and Innovations’ initiative, the organization highlights projects that promote sustainability, resilience and equity in food systems worldwide.

“This achievement reflects the joint efforts of thousands of farming families who have decided to commit to a more just, profitable, and sustainable livestock industry for future generations,” Tabora says. “This recognition reaffirms the commitment of Honduras’s rural communities to building a livestock model that protects natural resources and strengthens livelihoods.”

Tabora is the acting livestock project manager for Heifer Honduras, the local branch of Heifer International, which works to end hunger and poverty in communities across the globe — including within the U.S. — through seed investments of livestock or agriculture followed by mentorship.

Congrats to @HeiferHonduras' Livestock Project Manager Carlos Tabora for receiving the @FAO Recognition of Good Practices & Innovations! His work has helped 10,000 Honduran farmers transition to climate-smart, inclusive livestock systems: https://t.co/2cIqleQREb pic.twitter.com/ihr9BvqDBG
— Surita Sandosham (@HeiferCEO) October 15, 2025

In his role, Tabora led program activities in Olancho, the largest livestock-producing region of Honduras. Historically, livestock production in this area revolved around the expansion of pastures at the expense of forests, which contributed to deforestation, soil degradation and greenhouse gas emissions.

In response to this challenge, Heifer International launched the ‘Transitioning Livestock Production in Olancho: From Traditional Grazing to Climate-Smart Systems’ initiative based on the adoption of silvopasture systems. These systems integrate trees, forage crops and livestock grazing, and can increase meat and milk production, improve soil fertility, conserve water and capture carbon. This initiative also involved Field School educational sessions held on host farms where farming families learned about animal nutrition, pasture management, reproduction and herd health.

Over 10,000 farming families have adopted silvopasture systems, resulting in a 25% increase in productivity and an 11% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Further, this initiative has actively encouraged women’s leadership within agriculture.

The model being applied in Olancho is now being replicated in six additional areas of Honduras, with plans to expand to Guatemala and Mexico next year.

How Certified Veterinary Technicians Can Strengthen Your Cattle Practice

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 19:40:10 GMT

Oct. 12-18, 2025, is National Veterinarian Technician Week. This is the perfect time to celebrate some of the most versatile, hard-working, and essential members of the veterinary world or consider whether having a credentialed veterinary technician (CVT) could be good for your practice.

In cattle practice, where every day brings a new challenge — from calving complications to herd health checks and emergency calls miles down the road — CVTs bring structure to the chaos. They’re the steady hands that keep the work moving, the organized minds behind the paperwork, and the friendly faces clients often see first.

But beyond the appreciation posts and coffee gift cards, this week is a good reminder to ask a bigger question: How could a veterinary technician make your practice stronger?

The Value of CVTs

Cattle veterinarians wear a lot of hats. On any given day, they might manage herd health programs, run regulatory testing, deliver calves, diagnose lameness and field a few “while-you’re-here” questions about nutrition. It’s a demanding mix of clinical skill, logistics and endurance.

A skilled CVT helps shoulder that load. Under proper supervision, technicians can collect samples, assist with treatments, monitor anesthesia, record data, maintain biosecurity and help keep visits efficient and thorough.

That support means veterinarians can spend more time where their expertise is most valuable: making diagnoses, planning herd strategies and strengthening client relationships. It’s not just about saving time; it’s about elevating care.

Recognizing the growing role of technicians in food animal work, the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) released new Guidelines for Credentialed Veterinary Technicians in Bovine Practice in 2024.

The goal? To help practices use CVTs safely, effectively and confidently.

The guidelines outline:

Clear definitions. They distinguish CVTs from assistants.
Task lists and supervision levels. Each procedure — from sample collection to post-operative care — includes a recommended level of supervision (direct, indirect or veterinarian-only).
Built-in flexibility. They’re not meant to limit what practices do but to encourage veterinarians and techs to sit down together and ask, “Where can we work smarter?”

These guidelines are meant to open the door for team discussions about how to delegate tasks responsibly while improving efficiency and morale.

Lessons from the Field

At the 2025 AABP conference, Oberlin McDaniel of NC Mobile Veterinary Service emphasized something every good cattle practice knows instinctively: Teamwork is everything.

Many large animal practitioners are operating solo practices, meaning performing every task personally. This could lead to inefficiencies, missed revenue opportunities and physical and mental fatigue.

McDaniel pointed out that CVTs could contribute greatly to data flow in modern herd management. Whether entering lab results, tracking treatments or uploading records, technicians keep the information stream accurate and actionable — a key edge for practices embracing digital herd health platforms.

The return on investment is also a significant concern for veterinarians. Research has shown that the use of CVTs in small and mixed animal practices can increase revenue by 14% and increase veterinary productivity by 17%. In this work, 25% of the mixed animal practices were primarily bovine. The USDA Veterinary Services Grant Program is also available to support technician training and retention in underserved areas.

Perhaps most importantly, McDaniel emphasized that better technician integration isn’t just about doing more work, it’s about doing better work. When CVTs handle routine or preparatory tasks, veterinarians have time to consult more deeply with producers or tackle complex cases. Everyone wins, especially the cattle.

How Could a CVT Improve Your Practice?

If you’re not sure where to start, consider these benefits:

More visits, less rush. With a CVT preparing samples, logging data and managing restraint, veterinarians can cover more ground, literally and figuratively.
Better preventive care. CVTs can lead vaccination, sampling or deworming programs, improving consistency and compliance.
Stronger communication. CVTs can provide an enhanced client experience with more responsive communication. Techs help reinforce messages and build trust.
Cleaner data, better records. From digital uploads to treatment logs, accurate data makes your job easier. Having a CVT could streamline this process.
A happier, more sustainable practice. Delegating appropriately prevents burnout, improves job satisfaction and keeps teams motivated.

Practices that invest in training and trust see higher productivity and stronger team retention, two things every rural practice could use more of.

Celebrating and Empowering Vet Techs

National Veterinarian Technician Week is a great time to thank your technicians, but the best way to celebrate them is by giving them the professional recognition and responsibility they’ve earned. A well-utilized CVT doesn’t just make your day easier, they make your practice stronger, your clients happier and your herd care better.

So this October, take a moment to recognize the hands, minds and hearts that keep your practice moving forward and ask yourself how you can help them do even more.

5 Sampling Tips for Improved Diagnostics

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 13:15:46 GMT

You’d be hard-pressed to find a veterinarian or producer who hasn’t been frustrated with a diagnostic result. When it comes to herd health, good diagnostics are like detective work, but even the best tests can’t help if the wrong evidence is collected.

Sampling isn’t just grabbing what’s handy; it’s a deliberate process that links a clear question to the right animal, tissue and timing. Getting that process right saves money, reduces frustration and leads to faster, more confident decisions.

Here are five practical ways producers and veterinarians can work together to improve sample collection on the farm so that every diagnostic submission counts.

1. Start With the Right Question

Before taking a single sample, step back and ask: What do we want to know?

“Your diagnostic question really drives everything from sample selection to animal selection,” says Drew Magstadt of the Iowa State University Diagnostic lab. “If we don’t define the problem — What are you seeing? What’s going on? Why are you calling the lab? — we can’t really formulate a differential diagnosis list that we ask a diagnostic question.”

Taking samples “just to see what turns up” often leads to inconclusive results and wasted effort.

Field tip: Include your diagnostic question on your submission form. This helps the lab choose the best testing pathway and increases your chances of getting actionable answers.

2. Choose the Right Animals To Sample

When disease strikes, not all animals tell the same story. Aim to collect from animals showing early or typical clinical signs, not just those that are terminally ill.

“The answer isn’t always ‘the dead one that’s in front of us,’” stresses Magstadt. “Focus on acutely affected, untreated and representative animals.”

For herd investigations, sample several animals within the same group or age class to capture variation. In some cases, sampling a few seemingly healthy herdmates could provide valuable comparison data. Sampling only the worst looking survivors or those already treated with antibiotics could mask the cause of disease or send you down the wrong diagnostic path.

Field tip: For mortality events, select the freshest animals possible for necropsy. Early submissions preserve tissue integrity and increase the odds of a meaningful result.

3. Take the Correct Sample Type and Handle It Properly

Even the perfect sample loses its value if it degrades before reaching the lab. The sample type, container and preservation method matter just as much as the collection itself. Each diagnostic test has its own validated sample requirements. Using the wrong media, failing to chill samples or letting tissues autolyze can render tests useless.

On an episode of “ DocTalk ,” Dan Thompson highlighted some considerations for sample collection: “Being able to take the size of the sample from the right spot so that you have healthy tissue next to diseased tissue for histology. Getting the proper sample so that if you’re going to isolate pathogens you can. Whether you [need] fixed or fresh tissue. You need to work with your veterinarian who will know exactly what [you] want to have.”

A few extra minutes of planning can save days of waiting for a “sample unsatisfactory” call.

Field tip: Check your diagnostic lab’s sampling guide before collection and label everything clearly (animal ID, tissue, date).

4. Record Good Clinical and Herd Information

Providing accurate clinical histories and observations helps diagnosticians interpret findings in context. Include information such as onset and duration of illness, number of animals affected, treatments used, feed changes and vaccination history. Consider including photos if applicable.

This kind of supporting information allows labs to match findings with disease patterns and may even prompt recommendations for additional or alternative testing.

The Beef Cattle Research Council has put together a great resource for anyone interested in leveling up their animal health record-keeping.

Field tip: Use your herd health software to standardize the process. The more detail you include, the better.

5. Sample Early and Sometimes More Than Once

Timing matters. By the time a sick animal has been treated, recovered or died, diagnostic clues may have vanished.

Magstadt stressed that it’s possible to get a negative diagnostic test in a positive animal based on when a sample was taken. You must take into account “the timing of disease, when we would expect large amounts of the pathogen to be there, when we wouldn’t, and the different pathogens [involved].”

Whenever possible, collect samples early in the course of disease — ideally before antimicrobial or anti-inflammatory treatment. For diseases with intermittent shedding, repeat sampling over several days increases detection odds. Also consider whether pooled or composite sampling might make sense for your diagnostic goals.

Field tip: Keep sampling supplies ready on-farm so you can act immediately when new cases appear. Rapid responses can mean the difference between inconclusive results and a valuable diagnosis.

Rural Voices, Federal Ears

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 20:55:25 GMT

USDA recently hosted the two listening sessions aimed at stakeholders interested in shaping the Rural Veterinary Action Plan, announced by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins late in August, which seeks to address long-standing shortages in rural food-animal practice and to strengthen the federal veterinary workforce. They hoped to gather input on the challenges facing the rural veterinary workforce that could be used to shape the next steps of the plan. These sessions provided an opportunity for producers, veterinarians, educators and professional organizations to share their perspectives directly.

USDA members first outlined the current rural veterinary landscape before opening the floor to stakeholders who were given a short time to present while USDA representatives listened.

The backdrop of these sessions is a well-documented and worsening shortage of veterinarians in rural areas, particularly those serving in food-animal and mixed practices. Certain regions of the country face critical gaps, leaving producers without timely access to veterinary care and threatening both animal health and food supply security. These shortages are shaped by economic factors along with geographic demands.

Overview of Top Concerns

Stakeholders spoke on a variety of concerns and priorities spanning financial, educational, regulatory and logistical themes.

There were several main issues that multiple stakeholders brought up during these sessions:

Lack of veterinary students from rural locations

There exists a difference in education quality in rural versus urban areas, including a lack of availability of AP classes. This compounds into poor preparation for university resulting in lower grades and a lowered chance for admittance into vet school. The lack of a uniform vet school application process was also highlighted, specifically whether an interview was required. Students with lower grades would benefit more from an in-person interview to show their passion and intent.

“There are simply not enough rural kids getting accepted to vet school,” said Dr. Tracy Walker of West Virginia. “I’ve sat with different acceptance committees. When you look at the calculations of how they’re scoring these kids, rural kids are at a complete disadvantage.”

Complicated grant application process

Federal grant applications can be cumbersome and time consuming. Stakeholders suggested streamlining and simplifying this process, along with being clear about what portions of these grants would be taxable.

“As a Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program recipient last year, my application was 80 pages long,” said Dr. E Sabo, the assistant state veterinarian for Utah. “If I were still in private practice where I used to be a dairy veterinarian, I would not have had the time and ability to fill out an application of that length. I started two months early and did not have the full application completed by the deadline.”

Overhead costs for starting a practice

Because of the sparse distribution of rural veterinary practices, most students would be opening their own business following graduation. This can be very daunting for graduates also managing student loans.

“If we want to set new veterinarians up for success in rural settings where revenue is often lower and practice costs are higher, we must match their passion with practical, long term support,” said Cheryl Day, executive vice president of the Ohio Pork Council. “We need federal tools that help veterinarians start and sustain practices in underserved counties including startup grants, low interest loans and a catalog of resources.”

Student debt

Compounding the costs of startup for a new graduate is the need to repay any student loans. There is a significant salary gap between rural food-animal practice and companion animal medicine. This disparity can make small animal practice appear more financially viable for new graduates carrying substantial financial burdens.

“Debt relief remains one of the most consistent ways of offsetting salary discrepancies between rural and urban practices,” said Fred Gingrich, executive director of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners.

Takeaways

These sessions showed USDA’s commitment to improving the situation for rural veterinarians. Whether the outcome is incremental change or significant investment, USDA is paying attention to a crisis that affects animal health, producer livelihoods and food security, and it is listening to the rural veterinary workforce to shape policy.

How Can We Improve Chuteside Diagnostics?

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:32:04 GMT

When a coughing steer steps into the chute, you might only have a few moments to decide if this animal is likely to recover with treatment or will further intervention be futile. The difference matters, not only for the animal’s welfare but for treatment costs, labor and antimicrobial stewardship.

Dr. Brad White of Kansas State University has been working on ways to make those chuteside decisions more accurate. His recent presentation at the 2025 American Association of Bovine Practitioners Annual Conference laid out new tools and technologies that could be incorporated into everyday feedlot medicine.

“[The] goal of chuteside testing is not just diagnostics, it’s which bucket can I put [the animal] in,” White says. “What if I could change the likelihood, or I had a diagnostic tool that would give me a better prognosis, and I had more chance of putting the ones that were going to live into this bucket and more chance of putting the ones that won’t live into the other bucket.”

White suggests thinking of chuteside decision-making using the Chuteside Ps:

Precision: How accurately can we distinguish specific disease syndromes that might display similar clinical signs?
Prescription: What treatment is appropriate based on the specific disease status?
Psychology: How do our own biases shape decisions under pressure?
Prioritization: Which cases should be segregated to provide additional therapeutic and management procedures to a smaller subset?
Prognosis: What is the animal’s likelihood of recovery?

Why this matters

Misclassification can have real economic consequences. In a study evaluating over 3,800 calves diagnosed with acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP) chuteside, 42% of treated animals finished the feeding phase and showed positive return, while 25% were culled and 33% died.

On average, estimated net returns were positive for cattle that finished with their cohort, even after multiple treatments ($98 for one treatment, $85 for two, and $46 for three). Animals that were culled after one to three treatments averaged negative $900 of net returns, meaning that in all cases, it would have been better to keep the calf then cull it.

While most veterinarians might consider AIP a death sentence diagnosis for cattle, this work demonstrates that is not always the case.

Clinician bias cannot be ignored when considering diagnosis. Under pressure, veterinarians and feedlot crews might over-diagnose or lean on familiar categories.

For example, AIP is most frequently diagnosed at 80 to 140 days on feed; however, necropsy evaluations have shown a more even distribution of cases throughout the feeding phase.

Chuteside technologies might be useful to incorporate in an effort to avoid inherent human biases.

Chuteside Tools

There are several tools under investigation that could be useful for chuteside antemortem cattle assessment. Three that have shown some promise are:

Cardiac troponin I: Elevated levels have been shown to be highly specific for poor outcomes in bovine respiratory disease cases, though sensitivity is limited. Animals testing positive have a much lower likelihood of successful recovery.

Mucous membrane assessment: Animals with abnormal mucous membranes have been found less likely to finish. However, this testing had low sensitivity and high specificity.

Targeted thoracic ultrasound: Can be used to reveal interstitial changes that are not apparent on a physical exam, helping differentiate acute from chronic respiratory conditions.

Along with these, predictive models using multiple diagnostic inputs have shown promise for determining case outcomes. However, these are hard to use quickly chuteside.

“There’s no single metric that’s going to get us there,” White advises. “Our thought process is that we’re likely going to have to combine [metrics]. Part of the trick is figuring out which places to apply them.”

Practical Challenges

Integrating new diagnostics is not without hurdles. Equipment cost, chuteside practicality and training all matter. Time pressures in the chute are real, and not every feedlot crew is ready to adopt ultrasound or biochemical assays into their routine.

Field validation is another concern. Tools that work in controlled research settings might not always translate seamlessly to the dusty, high-pressure environment of a feedlot. Veterinarians must balance the potential gains with the realities of implementation.

Looking Ahead

White hopes that each veterinarian and producer asks themselves these important questions:

“How can I be more precise with these cases, and how can I use prognosis to prioritize them based on my management decisions? We’ve got many of the same classes of treatments and therapies that we’ve had for years; how can we make sure that we’re using them at the right place and the right time?”

Healthy Minds, Healthy Farms: Putting People First During National Farm Safety and Health Week

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 18:58:32 GMT

Farm Health and Safety Week is a chance to focus on something agriculture often overlooks: the health of the people who make it all possible. Veterinarians and producers alike pour their energy into the care of livestock, but the demands of the job can take a toll on both body and mind. Protecting your health is not selfish, it’s the foundation for sustaining your animals, your business and your community.

The challenges of farming and veterinary work are not only physical. Stress, financial pressure, unpredictable weather, disease outbreaks and tough animal welfare decisions can all weigh heavily on the minds of both veterinarians and producers. Mental health is inseparable from physical health; stress increases fatigue, reduces immunity and makes injuries more likely.

Andi Davison, licensed veterinary technician and positive change agent with Flourish Veterinary Consulting, recognizes the importance of allowing yourself to focus on your own mental health

“We are very good at focusing on our patients and our clients and our communities and our farms and our agriculture because it matters, and it all depends on the veterinary professionals and producers that are out there in the field doing the things,” Davison says. “It’s really easy to forget how valuable we are as professionals to that equation. I really believe that starting with a mindset that gives us permission to see ourselves as a valuable contributor is critical.”

Veterinarian Isolation

One of the biggest mental challenges facing bovine veterinarians on a daily basis is isolation. Often you’re traveling alone from farm to farm without a co-worker to share the time with. It’s worth considering and checking in with yourself about what makes you feel best. Davison recommends using the drive between farms to employ some strategies for a mental reset. These strategies can differ based on your personality.

For an introvert, this could include inward reflection on your last visit, listening to a podcast, pulling over to meditate or jamming out to your favorite album; for an extrovert, this could include calling someone to chat.

“When you get to the next farm, you set that intention of: ‘Okay, I worked through that, I reflected on my first stop. I took that space in between, and now I’m going to show up at my next stop in a way that I want to,’” Davison suggests. “The great thing about it is that you can do it in between stops, in between calls, in between farms; fit it in where it works best for you as an individual.”

Let’s Talk About It

Breaking the stigma around mental health is essential. Open conversations help normalize seeking help, whether through a professional counselor, a trusted peer, or a community support group. Small steps also make a difference: staying connected socially, setting aside even short periods of time for rest or hobbies and recognizing when stress is becoming overwhelming.

Importantly, both veterinarians and producers are in a position to check in on each other. A simple question like “how are you holding up” can open the door to vital conversations.

“Something that allows food medicine to stand out a little bit from the other facets of veterinary medicine is that quite often, the producer and the veterinarian are on the same page because their goals are very similar,” Davison says. “Whether that relationship involves discussing mental health, I bet you it does in some and it doesn’t in others. But I would encourage that conversation because the goals are similar. They’re out there doing it day in and day out, just like the veterinarian is. I would imagine that is a critical conversation to be had.”

Making mental health a part of everyday farm and clinic conversations can go a long way.

A Culture of Health in Agriculture

It’s important to recognize that there are resources out there, there are communities you can join, and there are connections that can be made. Interaction with others can go a long way to improving your mental health.

Healthy people build healthy farms. By allowing yourself to care for your mental well-being, veterinarians and producers can create a more sustainable future for themselves and their communities. National Farm Safety and Health Week is not only a reminder of the risks of agricultural work, but also an opportunity to commit to better habits, stronger support systems, and a shared responsibility for health.

Your Next Read: Bulls, Gates and Risks: A Veterinarian’s Guide to Farm Safety

Keeping Livestock Shows Fair, Safe and Healthy

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 13:31:05 GMT

Big fairs, livestock shows and equine events are more than just exhibition grounds, they’re high-visibility stages where animal health, food safety, welfare and fair competition all come into focus. Veterinarians are often approached to serve as the veterinarian on record for such events, yet few have formal training in navigating the medical, regulatory and ethical responsibilities that come with the role.

Dr. Caitlin Dobecka, the current official vet for the State Fair of Texas, talks about her experience in the role, and how veterinarians can ensure everything behind the scenes is working, not just what the public sees. Dobecka hopes she can start a dialogue on working such events, as there are currently no official guidelines in place.

“I used to keep these kinds of jobs like my best kept secret and that was a huge mistake on my part,” Dobecka says. “I was younger in my career, and I was a little bit fearful of telling other veterinarians what my protocols were because, to be honest, I wasn’t very confident in them. I didn’t have a manual or a playbook to go by.”

She now embraces the value of sharing experiences, so that they can be collaborated on and built upon. While there might be a lot of variation across events, some key considerations should hold true.

Considerations for Veterinarians at Livestock Events

Clear Contract and Expectations

Before hooves hit the ground, a strong written contract is essential. This needs to detail exactly what the expectations are along with your ideal and non-negotiable items. Essential information includes:

What services will be provided and how much of your time do they need
What equipment and materials are required and what is provided
How much staff support is available
What paperwork is required (health certificates, proof of vaccination, licenses)
How compensation will be handled

Dobecka emphasizes: “Don’t forget that you are the expert when it comes to public health, veterinary medicine and animal welfare. So yes, they need to tell you what they need from you, but don’t be afraid to speak up and say: ‘Actually, based on this schedule and the number of animals, I think you need a lot more from me, or maybe less from me.’”

Biosecurity and Animal Health Protocols

Preventing disease is preferable to reacting to disease. Biosecurity starts before the animal leaves home with a thorough health inspection. Consider both what is required of incoming animals and how to best manage animal health on-site including certified veterinary inspections, arrival inspections, unloading procedures to catch issues early and securing isolation/quarantine areas for sick animals. Pre-event planning should solidify what to do with a sick animal

Event Rules and Regulations

Events are governed by state, federal and event-specific rules. Contract veterinarians need to be familiar with the event rules pertaining to animal health, welfare and exhibition rules. Further, they must have protocols in place and facilities ready for emergencies, mortalities, euthanasia or necropsy.

Drug Testing

Drug testing can be a major responsibility for event veterinarians to ensure fairness in competition. Be certain to have clear protocols for sample collection, chain of custody and who oversees testing. Ensure there are enough staff to separate emergency care from drug-testing duties to avoid conflict of interest and contamination

One other consideration is whether security is appropriate for your event.

“Professional security is recommended for high competition events,” Dobecka says. “When you’re focusing on the drug testing, you need someone else to be enforcing the rules. Sometimes, after a really long day of showing, there’s alcohol involved, there’s 45 people in the family, and some of them want to be the one to pull the blood … but just keep them out of the area.”

Facilities, Team and Logistics

Ensure the layout, staff, and available tools are appropriate for the tasks you need to perform. Have a separate veterinary space and an animal isolation area away from the public eye. Have a loose animal protocol in place to protect human and animal safety. To avoid fatigue, organize a capable team working in shifts with scheduled rest times.

Speaking on having animals inside show rings: “Event producers, exhibitors, stock contactors, organizers; everyone needs to be on board,” Dobecka says. “Anytime we have a rodeo, we have a preproduction meeting. … It gets really old, but it is really important. … We need to be on the same page about what’s going to happen if we have an animal emergency.”

Ethics, Public Relations and Communication

Along with medical care, veterinary staff at events are also stewards of public trust and animal welfare. Be transparent with exhibitors about what is or isn’t possible within the rules. Veterinarians are often pressured to work miracles for exhibitors, but the rules need to be prioritized. Establish beforehand who will communicate with the media about any questions, concerns or publicity; consider someone with specific media training.

Benefits and Challenges

Doing this type of veterinary work can be both demanding and rewarding. While you might face challenges related to taking time away from your regular practice, and potential emotional and physical stress with high-stakes events, the benefits are also very real. You take the credit for protecting animal welfare and maintaining public and exhibitor trust in the fairness of competition.

Livestock events are complex. The success of these events depends on advance planning, clear contracts and rules, appropriate infrastructure and staffing, rigorous biosecurity, and transparency. When all of that comes together and the show goes on, both animals and people come out better for it.

UDSA to Hold Listening Sessions Addressing the Rural Veterinary Shortage

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 17:26:29 GMT

Last month, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the Rural Veterinary Action Plan, which will enhance the support available for rural veterinarians across the US. The plan includes the following action items:

Improve Veterinary Grant Programs
Better Understand the Rural Veterinary Shortage
Recruit and Retain Veterinarians
Catalog Federal Resources Available to Veterinarians
Work with Stakeholders to Understand the Barriers to Entry and Increase Recruitment in Rural Areas

This plan aims to address the rural veterinary shortage due to the low percentage of veterinary school students that come from rural areas or express an interest in rural practice, along with the low number of recent grads entering production animal medicine.

As a part of the working with stakeholders action item, USDA will be hosting two virtual listening sessions for the veterinary workforce on Sept. 29 and 30. The following USDA agencies will be represented at these sessions:

National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Economic Research Service
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Rural Development

These sessions will begin with a short update on the current veterinary landscape followed by stakeholder comments for the remainder of the meeting. Interested parties are invited to participate and must register for these sessions in advance. Both sessions will cover the same topics.

Register for the September 29 Session

Register for the September 30 Session

Boehringer Ingelheim Launches New Continuing Education Portal

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 18:53:59 GMT

Boehringer Ingelheim has launched a new veterinary education portal: VetED Academy . This portal offers free RACE-accredited courses for veterinarians, veterinary technicians, practice managers, clinic staff and students to further their professional development.

VetED Academy aims to serve as a centralized location for streamlined access to continuing education (CE) for veterinary professionals.

“This portal represents our commitment to championing veterinary care and supporting the veterinary community with tools that are both clinically relevant, user friendly and reflect the way that many veterinary professionals wish to learn and develop,” said Daniel Watkins, leader of Pet Business at Boeringer in the United States.

Along with the CE courses, the new veterinary education portal will allow users to learn where they want, when they want with a mobile-friendly design. Based on the professional’s interests and completed courses, the portal will provide personalized course suggestions and allow sharing within your professional network via email or social media. The platform will also allow users to view their completed courses and earned CE credits all in one place.

“Continuing education is essential to veterinary practice, and we’re proud to offer a solution that makes it easier for professionals to stay current, earn CE credits, and deepen their expertise,” Watkins says.

Existing Boehringer customers can log in with their credentials, while new users can register quickly to start learning today.

Your next read: Keeping Current: New Continuing Education Opportunities for Food Animal Veterinarians

Communication, Trust and Teamwork: What Strengthens Vet-Producer Relationships

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 12:48:02 GMT

Both the beef and dairy industry continue to evolve under the pressure of rising costs, emerging disease threats and increasing public scrutiny of animal welfare. In this environment, the veterinarian’s role is shifting. No longer seen solely as an emergency responder, many producers view their veterinarians as strategic partners who help shape the long-term success of their operations.

During the American Association of Veterinary Practitioners meeting in Omaha, Neb., beef producer Lydia Grant spoke on what producers value most with their veterinary partners and what veterinarians can do to better meet expectations. Her information was based on a survey fielded to 20 producers.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lydia Grant (@lydiagrant_whiteoakfarms)

Communication as a Foundation

Producers consistently emphasize the importance of effective communication. They want veterinarians who are approachable, respond quickly and show genuine empathy for both cattle and the people who care for them.

“What does effective communication look like to your producer? Approachability,” Grant says. “We as producers want to feel comfortable asking questions — even the silly ones.”

A vet who listens carefully, adjusts their communication style to match the producer’s preferences and follows up after visits signals respect and builds confidence. Good communication isn’t just about delivering technical information, it’s about building a relationship of trust.

Building Trust Beyond Emergencies

Trust develops when veterinarians are present not only during crises, but also during the farm’s long-term planning. Producers want their vets to know their operation — its management style, constraints and goals — so advice is grounded in reality.

“In the survey, one producer mentioned the best thing their veterinarian ever did was take a tour of their operation to better understand their values and goals. This is taking those relationships to partnerships,” Grant says. “You’re setting aside time to look deeper into what your producer wants to focus on.”

Grant also emphasizes some producers may not know the extent to which their veterinarian can help.

“I remember the first time my vet reached out and asked to put together a yearly vaccine plan,” she recalls. “I didn’t know that was an option. I didn’t know they would be willing to sit down and write out a plan for every group of animals. Do your clients know you’re willing to do that?”

When vets are seen as partners, rather than service providers, producers are more likely to bring them into conversations early — before issues escalate.

Teaching as a Part of Service

Another consistent message from producers is the desire for veterinarians to teach. While producers value veterinary expertise, they also want to develop their own skills so they can handle smaller health concerns and recognize problems before they become major losses.

“Taking the time to help teach the basics to your producers helps with your time and our costs. Simple tasks, such as treating pink eye and draining and treating an abscess, are basic cattleman-type care,” Grant says.

Education doesn’t always require formal training; short conversations during herd checks, on-farm demonstrations or simple printed guides all strengthen the knowledge base of the operation and reduce long-term costs.

Be a Producer’s First Call

Grant highlights several concrete steps veterinarians could take to strengthen their relationships with producers and become the first call in any situation:

Know the operation and the people. Learn each farm’s unique goals, challenges and decision making processes. Make your advice personal.
Be available when it matters. Producers need reliability, not just in emergencies, but also for routine questions and decisions that prevent future problems.
Discuss economics openly. Frame recommendations in terms of cost, alternatives and return on investment to help producers balance herd health and profitability.
Offer preventative strategies. Go beyond treatment by helping producers establish proactive herd health plans, including vaccination, nutrition and biosecurity.
Listen first. Producers know their cattle. Respecting their observations and incorporating them into veterinary decision-making ensures practical solutions.

Strong vet-producer relationships improve herd health and profitability. When communication is open and veterinarians are seen as partners, problems are caught earlier and preventative strategies are more likely to be adopted.

Grant proposes these thought-provoking questions for bovine practitioners: “Are you the reactive veterinarian or the proactive? Planning, prevention and long term herd health are priorities. Are you building relationships? Are they turning into partnerships? Are you the emergency call or a valuable asset to the operation, a vital part of the team contributing to the overall success and sustainability of the herd?”

Successful collaboration doesn’t just improve outcomes for individual farms; it strengthens the resilience of the entire beef and dairy industries.

Your Next Read: Generic vs. Pioneer Drugs for Cattle: Should You Care?

Generic vs. Pioneer Drugs for Cattle: Should You Care?

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 13:58:12 GMT

Medication use is an essential part of maintaining health, productivity and welfare in dairy and beef cattle. From treating mastitis on a dairy to managing respiratory disease in a feedlot, veterinarians and producers rely on a range of pharmaceuticals to keep herds healthy. However, with many drugs available in both pioneer and generic forms, the question arises: Is there a meaningful difference between the two?

For veterinarians and producers, the decision involves more than just the label. Understanding the approval process, economics and practical considerations behind generic and pioneer drugs can help guide responsible choices that support animal health, food safety and economic sustainability.

What are Pioneer and Generic drugs?

Pioneer drugs are the original products developed by a pharmaceutical company that have an approved new animal drug application (NADA). They are protected by patents, which give the company exclusive marketing rights for a period of time. This exclusivity allowed the manufacturer to recoup the significant investment made in research, development and regulatory approval.

Generic drugs enter the market once those patents expire and have an approved abbreviated NADA (ANADA). A generic contains the same active ingredient, in the same dosage form and strength, and is administered through the same route as its brand name counterpart. In other words, a generic drug must deliver the same therapeutic effect as the brand name drug.

The key differences often lie in the inactive ingredients, such as stabilizers, preservatives or carriers, that can vary between products. These differences generally do not affect stability or efficacy, but may influence characteristics such as palatability or ease of administration.

Approval and Regulatory Oversight

Both pioneer and generic veterinary drugs are regulated by the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. However, the approval pathways differ:

Pioneer drug approval requires a company to submit an NADA. This includes extensive studies to prove the product’s safety for the target species, its effectiveness against the labeled condition, tolerance in the animal, food safety data (residue studies for milk and meat) and environmental impact. These studies often involve large clinical trials and can take years to complete.
Generic approval follows the ANADA process. Instead of repeating all of the brand name drug’s trials, the generic manufacturer must prove bioequivalence — that the drug behaves the same way in the animal’s body as the original product. Generics must also demonstrate consistent manufacturing practices and establish withdrawal times for milk and meat.

The result is that generics are held to rigorous standards of safety and efficacy. They are not weaker or inferior, they simply follow a more streamlined approval process as the groundwork has already been laid by the pioneer product.

Economics

One of the most notable differences between pioneer and generic drugs is cost. For producers, generic options can significantly reduce the cost of herd-level treatment, which is an important factor when treating dozens or hundreds of animals. For veterinarians, cost can influence prescribing practices and client satisfaction. Offering effective but more affordable treatment options might improve compliance and strengthen the veterinarian-producer relationship. In the long term, the availability of generics supports more sustainable herd health programs, particularly for common or recurring conditions.

Clinical and Practical Considerations

Does it work? vs. Did it work here?

When speaking on generic drugs, one of the key distinctions Dr. Nora Schrag, from Kansas State University, pointed out was the difference between whether a drug works and whether a drug worked in a specific production environment.

“‘Does the thing in the bottle work’ is a fundamentally very different question than ‘did it work,’ Schrag says. “‘Did it work’ includes the stuff in the bottle, but it also includes the people that are getting the stuff in the bottle into the critter, it includes the critters, it includes the weather, it includes everything else.”

Outcomes are influenced not just by the drug but also by management. Measuring whether a drug worked in a particular production setting requires keeping good records, monitoring success rates and comparing farm outcomes to peer benchmarks.

While generics and pioneer drugs are equivalent in active ingredient and expected efficacy, a few practical points deserve attention:

Perception: Some producers might be skeptical, perceiving pioneer products as more trustworthy. Veterinarians play a critical role in reassuring clients with evidence-based guidance.
Formulation differences: Rarely, a difference in inactive ingredients might influence animal tolerance or ease of use.
Compliance and stewardship: Regardless of whether pioneer or generic, observing label directions, withdrawal periods and judicious antimicrobial use principles remains essential.

Guidance for Decision-Making

The choice of what drug to use should be a collaborative effort between veterinarians and producers.

Veterinarians should evaluate both clinical needs and economic considerations. Recommending a generic is often appropriate, but being prepared to explain the science behind equivalency helps build producer confidence.
Producers should recognize withdrawal times and responsible use requirements apply equally to both drug types. Partnering with veterinarians ensures choices align with herd health goals and regulatory compliance.
Both parties must consider not only cost, but also judicious antimicrobial use, animal welfare and food safety when selecting products.

Both brand name and pioneer drugs are indispensable tools for managing cattle health. FDA’s rigorous approval process ensures generics are just as safe and effective as their pioneer counterparts. Generics offer producers significant cost savings that support sustainable operations. Working with their clients, veterinarians can help guide drug choices to ensure effective treatment while promoting stewardship and trust.

In the end, the decision is not about brand loyalty but using evidence-based judgment to balance animal health, food safety and economics. Together, these values benefit both the beef and dairy industry.