preparing a livestock vaccine

Understanding the value of vaccines

Although vaccines have been used commercially for more than 70 years, the bulk of vaccines available on the market has not changed significantly. They are still mostly the products of either live or killed whole virus or bacterial culture. Research has yielded improvements to adjuvants (components that stimulate immunity), introduction of genetically engineered subunit and […] Read more

We also used to hang horse thieves and rustlers once upon a time

We also used to hang horse thieves and rustlers once upon a time

Vet Advice: The practice of hot-iron branding and concerns for animal welfare

Expectation and foresight is integral to progress. Indifference to small matters today yields tomorrow’s issues, the need for hot-iron branding among them. Although progress in the cattle industry is slow, progress is constant — typically a case of hesitancy and caution unnerved by pressure brought to bear by those who buy the food we produce […] Read more


horn flies on livestock

Fly control methods for spring grazing cattle

An important component of planning for spring grazing is fly control. What products to use, steps to monitor fly populations and timing of treatments are elements contributing to the control of pests that cost the North American industry nearly a billion dollars every year. Flies of economic importance on western Canadian range are horn flies […] Read more

BVD vaccination strategies and common-sense biosecurity are critical to any efforts to eradicate BVDV.

BVDV eradication still a North American pipe dream

On October 13 the scientific community clustered in Kansas City, Missouri, to tackle what has become a tired veterinary euphemism: “Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus Eradication: Reality or Myth?” Infections with bovine virus diarrhea virus (BVDV) are widespread throughout the world. Although the prevalence varies among surveys, BVDV infection is endemic in many populations, with a […] Read more