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Herd Health

A beef specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach says producers should try to keep calving areas well drained.
Cow-Calf, Livestock, Scours, Vet advice

Fighting mud at calving season

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

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Muddy corrals in early spring are unacceptable for calving. Mud can be a sign of neglect or the unfortunate result of late spring snow storms severe enough to backfill crowded corrals to the point calves are trampled and smothered, or forced to live in the squalor of mud, cold and discomfort. Mud, if not managed […] Read more
Whether to use risk-based vaccines in your herd requires careful thought and at least a yearly discussion with your herd veterinarian.
Beef Cattle, Features, Livestock, Vaccine Management

Core vaccines recommended for western Canadian beef herds

When looking at vaccinating for diseases beyond the core vaccination recommendations, consider the disease risk, vaccine efficaciousness and the cost-benefit of each vaccine

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Just because there is a vaccine on the market to prevent or reduce disease risk, that doesn’t mean that you need to use it in your herd, unless it is a core vaccine and proven effective and safe. Base your vaccination decisions on sound, objective scientific data. Weigh the pros and cons of vaccination for […] Read more
Stress matters as it depresses a calf’s immune system and increases the risks of disease.
Animal Health, Bovine Respiratory Disease, Cow-Calf, Livestock, Research

Keeping calves healthy

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

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Cow-calf margins get tighter each time you feed a pregnant cow through the winter, only to have her calf die before weaning. Three leading causes of pre-weaning death loss are diarrhea, navel ill and bovine respiratory disease (BRD). Not all calf illness and death can be prevented, especially when the weather gets bad, but remembering […] Read more
Stock photo of Corriente cattle. Whether buying roping steers or breeding stock, basic biosecurity is a must. Photo: flariv/iStock/Getty Images Plus
Features, Livestock, Reproductive Diseases

Cheap steers bring more than bargained for

Veterinary Case Study: An effective biosecurity plan is essential to prevent infectious diseases from entering your herd

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Jim visited the office one morning and asked if we could talk. He looked worried, a bit like a child that had gotten into the Halloween candy early. Two years ago, Jim had started team roping with a local club. Good crops and strong cattle prices allowed Jim to build his own small arena. His […] Read more
Parasite control in the feedlot
Animal Health, Features, Finishers, Livestock, Parasites

Parasite control in the feedlot

Strategic deworming methods to maximize product efficacy and cattle productivity

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If there was a tool available for Canadian cattle feeders to improve both weight gain and disease resistance, what would it be worth to implement? What if that tool was as simple as deworming cattle on arrival?  As simple as deworming is, not every feedyard opts to do it. Whether the perception is that feedlot […] Read more
Pay attention to what the cows can tell you — they’re likely all carrying worms, but the ones that have a high body condition score probably aren’t carrying as many worms.
Beef Cattle, Comment/Columns, Parasites, Research

When the worms come marching in

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

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Gastrointestinal parasites are an unavoidable fact of life. Cattle often consume parasitic worm larvae along with the forage they graze. The larvae take up residence in different parts of the digestive system, develop into adults and lay eggs. The eggs are deposited in the feces, where they hatch and release larvae. These larvae eventually leave […] Read more
Lice may not be the only culprits causing itching. Environmental sensitivities, premature seasonal shedding and dry skin could also drive cattle to scratch.
Beef Cattle, Features, Livestock, Parasites

Itchy cattle? It may not be lice

Everything from nutritional deficiencies to mites can trigger scratching in cattle

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A spike in complaints about its product’s ineffectiveness against itchy cattle drove Solvet, a Canadian veterinary pharmaceutical firm, to investigate the potential causes and to look for relief. “This has become a bigger problem than it used to be,” says Dr. Denis Nagel, a consulting veterinarian with the company, as well as with Alberta Veterinary […] Read more
Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts taken from a human. Producers dealing with a crypto outbreak should keep in mind that the parasite can infect both cattle and people.
Cow-Calf, Features, Livestock, Scours

Introducing outside calves heightens crypto risk

Cryptosporidium parvum is a disease that’s easy to introduce and hard to manage in a beef herd

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In the cold, wet pastures of a gruelling Manitoba spring near Oakville, Man., Garth McCormick needed a calf to put on one of his cows who had lost her calf, but didn’t have any he could use on his own farm. His hired man brought a calf from his own place to McCormick’s. Immediately, the […] Read more
Leukotoxin and lipopolysaccharides combined, in the throes of acute infection, are the virulence factors described as “the lips that deliver the kiss of death.”
Bovine Respiratory Disease, Vet advice

Vet Advice: Fatal pneumonia in adult cows

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Shipping fever caused by Mannheimia haemolytica is the most important respiratory disease of cattle in North America, particularly in feedlot animals that have been through the stressful marketing and assembly processes (Pathological Basis of Veterinary Disease). M. haemolytica biotype A, serotype 1 is the etiologic agent most commonly responsible for severe pulmonary lesions. Some investigators […] Read more
Vaccination is far less costly than even a few more open cows or a few more abortions, and much less costly than a reproductive disaster.
Livestock, Reproductive Diseases, Research

Vaccines are cheap insurance — don’t let your premiums lapse

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

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After last summer’s pasture conditions and last winter’s feed costs, it’s safe to say that many cow-calf producers are facing the upcoming grazing season with some anxiety. Some are looking for new grazing arrangements, opportunities to trim input costs or both. No single solution can solve every challenge for every operation, but nearly all decisions […] Read more

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