Animal health
After a long winter, don’t think the spring and summer will be without challenges of their own. Here’s six impact areas you need to be ready for, as they might affect your profitability this year.
Selecting cattle for mild temperament can pay off in a number of ways. In addition to handler safety, more docile cattle might provide an advantage in reproduction.
The transition to high-energy rations, particularly those with high starch levels, can involve risk of acidosis, stress and compromised immunity in feeder calves.
As snow and frigid temperatures remind us that it’s still winter, it’s a good time to remind cattle producers that calves are especially vulnerable in these conditions.
Whichever way you look at it, increasing the opportunity for profit or decreasing the risk for loss, having an advanced genetic “scouting report” on feeders has value.
For cow-calf producers planning how to manage their calves through the stressful weaning period, deciding factors include available labor, facilities, weather, marketing goals and others.
With beef liver prices depressed at around $3 at the packer level, liver condemnations due to abscesses represent a relatively minor economic problem.
Pinkeye annually affects more than 10 million calves in the United States with an estimated economic loss of more than $150 million.
Omega-3 and Omega-6 Essential Fatty Acids are a simple and effective part of management strategies aimed to improve beef herd reproductive performance
Over the decades, cattle farmers learned to work around toxins in fescue grass in their pastures. “We called it ‘managing fescue,’” says Craig Roberts, extension forage specialist. “It shou
Is fat a bad word? Not necessarily. Simply put, fat is just the body’s storage form of energy. If an animal consumes more energy than it uses, the excess calories will be stored as fat - money in the bank to
Glenn Selk explains why passive immunity is important in the first 24 hours of a calf’s life.
You have heard the warning: “What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas!!!” Perhaps you have not heard: “What happens in the first 24 hours, impacts the rest of a calf’s life”! Veterin
Glenn Selk explains how newborn calves absorb antibodies in the first hours of their life.
Animal scientists and veterinarians agree that there are three important stages of any cow’s delivery of the baby calf. Understanding what to expect during the normal delivery can help to determine when a cow nee
Spring-Calving Cow Herd ‚Ä¢ Keep replacement heifer calves gaining enough to reach their “target” breeding weight (65% mature weight) by spring. ‚Ä¢ Start cows on the high magnesium mineral suppleme
Starting in 2017, livestock producers will need to obtain a written order from their veterinarian before buying certain antibiotics for their animals.
“Neonatal” calf diarrhea is defined as scours occurring within the first 3 weeks of a calf’s life. Bacteria, viruses and parasites can attack the lining of the calf’s intestine and cause diarrhea. The
Make sure you understand the causes of foot rot so you can treat, and even prevent it from happening.
Grazing fresh young alfalfa can induce bloat in cattle. Bloat can sometimes be fatal to cattle.
Better rumen function means more available energy, helping improve cattle productivity.
The technology, marketed as FerAppease in the U.S., can be used in beef and dairy animals. Economic analysis, depending on the production stage of use, offers an ROI of 20:1 to 30:1.