The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) plan for supporting veterinary antimicrobial stewardship will be fully implemented in 2023 when all remaining over-the-counter (OTC) antibiotics are switched to prescription-only status. The medically important antibiotics (used by humans and animals) becoming prescription only include injectable tylosin, injectable and intramammary penicillin, injectable and oral tetracycline, sulfadimethoxine and sulfamethazine, and cephapirin and cephapirin benzathine intramammary tubes.
Veterinarians are a great resource when establishing a vaccination plan on your farm. A heifer’s destination might lead to different immunity goals depending on if they become replacements or head to a feedlot.
Research has been done to investigate the influence that stockmanship has on disposition and animal performance and more is being done. Good stockmanship and low-stress handling methods include utilizing the animals’ natural tendencies to the handlers’ advantage while working or handling cattle.
Perennial pastures can benefit from incorporating annual forage into the management plan. Annual forages can be a tool to control weeds, improve overwintering damaged areas, and increase the length of the growing season.
There is no question that heat stress can negatively impact animal performance. For feedlot cattle heat stress reduces daily gains, negatively impacts feed efficiency and can lower dressing percent. Cow-calf producers could expect greater embryonic loss in the first few weeks after conception due to heat stress. High temperatures could also impact semen quality in […]
There are three stages to the birthing process, or parturition: dilation of the cervix, delivery of the calf, and delivery of the placenta. Knowing the normal birth process will help you decide whether or not to intervene.
During the dark and cold of winter, it can be uplifting to think about the new season just around the corner. Spring represents new growth and renewal. The same is true of calving season for our beef operations. While in practice our beef calving seasons vary greatly in timing from farm to farm, it’s always […]
As the seasons come and go, the production cycle of the beef herd also changes. Cows calve, calves grow, and replacement heifers are selected. Selecting replacement heifers using production records, herd goals, and available resources can ensure the correct females are staying in the production system.
Evaluating different rations and scenarios as prices and situations change to optimize profits using the resources the farm has available is time well spent. When doing so, it is critical to look at all costs impacted by any ration changes, not just ration cost per ton or feed cost per day, to assess costs and returns accurately.
It is common practice this time of year to evaluate our cows to make culling decisions, but this is also a good time to evaluate our bulls to determine which sires we are going to feed through the winter and which have come to the end of their genetic contribution to the operation. Bulls, much […]
