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Vet advice

When anthrax spores get inside the body, they are “activated.” Bacteria rapidly multiply and produce powerful toxins resulting in vascular collapse and death.
Livestock, Vet advice

Anthrax: A disease of antiquity spread by ancient human migration

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

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Historians think anthrax originated in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Biblical scholars suggest that during Moses’ time and through the 10 plagues of Egypt, anthrax may have caused the fifth plague, captured in ancient script as a sickness affecting horses, cattle, sheep, camels and oxen. Homer described a plague that many believe to be anthrax in The […] Read more
Sweet clover is high in coumarin, which converts to dicoumarol – a potent vitamin K antagonist and anticoagulant– if the plant is spoiled or damaged.
Livestock, Vet advice

Vet Advice: Avoiding sweet clover poisoning

A variety of bacteria and moulds can grow in sweet clover once baled or put up as silage

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Preparing forages and getting them stored in perfect condition seldom happens. Spoilage is often linked to the production of moulds and a broad spectrum of mycotoxins in grains. Syndromes in domestic livestock following consumption of feed containing mycotoxins varies depending on the species of animal involved, the stage of the production cycle when it is […] Read more
According to the report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a half-billion people already live in places turning to desert, and soil is being lost between 10 and 100 times faster than it is being produced.
Livestock, Vet advice

Reading the U.N. report on climate change and food supply

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

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Everyone involved with livestock industries should be aware of what the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published in their latest report. First, it’s important to recognize the existence of this enormous and noteworthy group of international scientists, experts, advisors, authors, editors and reviewers. Then, more importantly, to understand the message incorporated in […] Read more
digital dermatitis
Vet advice

Vet Advice: Digital dermatitis not just a dairy problem

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Acute active digital dermatitis lesions can cause pain and lameness in cattle. It can become a significant production problem and a serious animal welfare issue in both beef and dairy herds. Digital dermatitis (DD) — also known as hairy heel warts, strawberry foot rot, raspberry heel, foot wart and hairy heel wart — first appeared […] Read more
foot rot in cattle
Vet advice

Vet Advice: Spot and treat foot rot early

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Foot rot is an acute and highly infectious disease of cattle characterized by swelling and lameness. The condition is extremely painful. If not treated promptly, the infection invades other structures in the foot including bones, joints and tendons, complicating treatment and delaying recovery. Foot rot originates between the claws of the hoof. It is more […] Read more
The Animal Health Emergency Management project aims to prepare the livestock industry, from producers to vets to industry associations, for a serious disease outbreak.
Livestock, Vet advice

Telling a story

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

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Our job as scientists is to find the truth. But we must also be storytellers. Science can’t exist without telling a story. The question is not whether we should use it, but how we should use it best, writes Nick Enfield in The Guardian. Scientists often struggle to communicate the findings of research. The subject […] Read more
This winter caught many cattle producers by surprise, with the deep freeze and snow depleting feed supplies quicker than anticipated.
Livestock, Vet advice, Weather

Dealing with uncertain times

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

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[UPDATED: June 13, 2019] Cattle producers across Western Canada grow weary of the relentless 2018-19 winter. For those of us living on the eastern slopes of the Rockies, it started with a record snowfall in October followed by record cold temperatures that extended across the central and northern Prairies. From mid-December to the end of […] Read more
The majority of deaths due to bovine respiratory disease (BRD) occur shortly after arrival to the feedlot or within the first 45 days.
Beef Cattle, Vet advice

Chute-side diagnostics for bovine respiratory disease remain elusive

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

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Speakers at the 2019 Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners addressed bovine respiratory disease (BRD) from several perspectives, including emergence of changing patterns of respiratory disease, economics of BRD, prudent use of antimicrobials in prevention and treatment of BRD, and diagnostics. BRD accounts for approximately 75 per cent of feedlot morbidity and 50 to 70 […] Read more
Proper planning is always a part of getting through calving season successfully.
Cow-Calf, Vet advice

Why calving season is different this year

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

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The first major event facing cattle producers in 2019 is planning for calving season. This year there is a new wrinkle in managing animal health programs on the ranch: establishing a veterinary-client patient relationship with a veterinarian. This provides an avenue to access medically important antimicrobials through a prescription as needed. There are few ranches […] Read more
Climate change’s impact on managing animal health
Livestock, Vet advice

Climate change’s impact on managing animal health

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

By
I’m losing more arguments with grandchildren that our climate hasn’t changed significantly, prompted by signals that have only grown more evident through the last half of my lifetime. At one point, I convinced myself that climatic changes were part of a natural phenomenon — one of those things history would look upon and call an […] Read more

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