Reproductive efficiency and health are critical to profitability in all livestock operations but critically so to dairies. One contibutor to both reproductive and health issues is the presence of cattle persistently infected with BVD. Eliminating those animals from the herd can have very positive results for the bottom line.
Reproductive inefficiency eats at dairy producers' wallets
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Now that many producers are unable to utilize rBST, maximizing the dairy operation's reproductive efficiency is more critical than ever, said a Purdue University expert.
Allen Bridges, expert in reproductive management, said with the loss of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST) - which increased milk production by 10 percent to 15 percent, and, in some cases, was demonstrated to...(complete article here).
Showing posts with label animal health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animal health. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Thursday, December 20, 2007
New Plan for Animal Disease Traceability in the U.S.
It is inevitable that it will become mandatory. Given the fragmented nature of much of the livestock production in this country, it will be difficult.
USDA TAKES ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS ADVANCING ANIMAL DISEASE TRACEABILITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Fact sheet: The Facts About Traceability
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2007--The U.S. Department of Agriculture today released its draft of a Business Plan for Advancing Animal Disease Traceability. The business plan supports the 48-hour traceback long-term goal of the National Animal Identification System as well as provides benchmarks to guide the program as it moves towards optimum traceability. Animal diseases like tuberculosis, brucellosis or low pathogenic avian influenza are common threats to U.S. livestock and a reality for many producers. While disease events in...(complete news release here).
USDA TAKES ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS ADVANCING ANIMAL DISEASE TRACEABILITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Fact sheet: The Facts About Traceability
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2007--The U.S. Department of Agriculture today released its draft of a Business Plan for Advancing Animal Disease Traceability. The business plan supports the 48-hour traceback long-term goal of the National Animal Identification System as well as provides benchmarks to guide the program as it moves towards optimum traceability. Animal diseases like tuberculosis, brucellosis or low pathogenic avian influenza are common threats to U.S. livestock and a reality for many producers. While disease events in...(complete news release here).
Thursday, November 1, 2007
EID and Animal Disease Control
USDA PURCHASES ELECTRONIC ID TAGS TO ADVANCE ANIMAL DISEASE CONTROL CAPABILITY
WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2007--The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced contracts with three manufacturers to produce 1.5 million radio frequency identification ear tags that are compliant with National Animal Identification System standards. The combined cost of the contracts is $1.7 million. The ear tags will be used specifically for USDA state-federal cooperative disease control and eradication efforts, such as bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis and will be distributed in geographic areas which are determined to be of increased risk for disease outbreak or spread.
"Today's announcement marks another step...(complete article here).
I have previously posted about the NAIS here.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2007--The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced contracts with three manufacturers to produce 1.5 million radio frequency identification ear tags that are compliant with National Animal Identification System standards. The combined cost of the contracts is $1.7 million. The ear tags will be used specifically for USDA state-federal cooperative disease control and eradication efforts, such as bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis and will be distributed in geographic areas which are determined to be of increased risk for disease outbreak or spread.
"Today's announcement marks another step...(complete article here).
I have previously posted about the NAIS here.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
English Winter Fair Cancellation
This from BBC News:
Show cancelled over disease fears
An agricultural show in Stafford has been cancelled over concerns about foot-and-mouth disease and bluetongue.
The English Winter Fair, formerly the National Primestock Show, was going to be held on the weekend of 17 November.
Organisers have said they could not have done anything that may have put exhibitors at risk.
They said they would not have wanted exhibitors, particularly those with pedigree cattle, stranded at the show if the current situation had changed.
This cancellation gives a new slant to the disease fears facing the livestock sector. Would the National Western, or the Houston Livestock Show cancel for similar events in this country? Interesting.
Show cancelled over disease fears
An agricultural show in Stafford has been cancelled over concerns about foot-and-mouth disease and bluetongue.
The English Winter Fair, formerly the National Primestock Show, was going to be held on the weekend of 17 November.
Organisers have said they could not have done anything that may have put exhibitors at risk.
They said they would not have wanted exhibitors, particularly those with pedigree cattle, stranded at the show if the current situation had changed.
This cancellation gives a new slant to the disease fears facing the livestock sector. Would the National Western, or the Houston Livestock Show cancel for similar events in this country? Interesting.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
NAIS Plan
The National Animal Identification System is slowly becoming reality.
NAIS Business Plan is a template for moving forward with animal ID plan
By Doug Rich
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials presented their Business Plan for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) at the ID-Info Expo in Kansas City, Mo.
"We need to build on systems that already exist," Dr. Clifford Clark, USDA-Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinarian Services said. "This can be done by providing common data standards across all programs."
Individual animal identification is nothing new. USDA has been doing this for years with programs designed for specific animal disease such as scrapie, tuberculosis, and brucellosis. Dr. Clifford said that these programs are focused on a single disease and when that disease is eradicated the identification program stops. These programs have separate identification numbers and data collection procedures.
"An animal may be identified multiple times yet still not be fully traceable because separate programs use....(complete story here)
Various programs sponsored and administered by USDA have been able to track animals for years -- such as for brucellosis. The problem is that there has never been anything to tie all of the various databases together. One of the key components of the plan is such an ability.
The "rugged individualism" of livestock producers in general will tend to resist such a plan. That's why only a small percentage of cattle producers are currently enrolled in the "voluntary" program. However, from an animal disease standpoint, the program has merit. When there is a food scare, it will be useful to trace back to the origin of any disease related problem. Pork and poultry producers are far ahead of their beef counterparts.
NAIS Business Plan is a template for moving forward with animal ID plan
By Doug Rich
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials presented their Business Plan for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) at the ID-Info Expo in Kansas City, Mo.
"We need to build on systems that already exist," Dr. Clifford Clark, USDA-Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinarian Services said. "This can be done by providing common data standards across all programs."
Individual animal identification is nothing new. USDA has been doing this for years with programs designed for specific animal disease such as scrapie, tuberculosis, and brucellosis. Dr. Clifford said that these programs are focused on a single disease and when that disease is eradicated the identification program stops. These programs have separate identification numbers and data collection procedures.
"An animal may be identified multiple times yet still not be fully traceable because separate programs use....(complete story here)
Various programs sponsored and administered by USDA have been able to track animals for years -- such as for brucellosis. The problem is that there has never been anything to tie all of the various databases together. One of the key components of the plan is such an ability.
The "rugged individualism" of livestock producers in general will tend to resist such a plan. That's why only a small percentage of cattle producers are currently enrolled in the "voluntary" program. However, from an animal disease standpoint, the program has merit. When there is a food scare, it will be useful to trace back to the origin of any disease related problem. Pork and poultry producers are far ahead of their beef counterparts.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Bovine Respiratory Disease
Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) is the number one health issue in cattle. It is a function of the relationship between stressors, susceptibility, and pathogens in the herd. Each of these factors is important, but it is the relationship between them that determines whether an animal will be healthy or sick.
Stressors are those things that cause stress to the animal’s system. It includes things like shipping, weaning, moving, intermingling, drought, weather change, heat, cold, poor nutrition, processing, and on and on. It is all of those things that require energy to overcome.
Susceptibility refers to the animal’s immunity to a particular disease. There are many forms of immunity. Passive immunity is created by the transfer of antibodies from one individual to another such as through the placenta from the mother to the offspring or through the colostrum. Innate immunity is resistance to disease resulting from good general health. If the immune system is functioning properly it will often be able to fight off many diseases. Acquired immunity results from vaccination or from previous infection.
Pathogens are those infectious agents that cause disease or illness for its host. These infectious agents may be airborne, in the soil, or passed from animal to animal. They include bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, parasites, and some proteins (prions).
Sickness occurs when the pathogen load exceeds the animal’s ability to resist. Calves may be perfectly healthy at the ranch, but when weaned and taken to the auction, the stress may cause them to succumb to pathogens they may be exposed to at the auction barn. This can occur whether they have been vaccinated or not. If the animal’s threshold of resistance falls below the level at which it can overcome the pathogen load to which it is exposed, it will become sick.
Calves that have been weaned and pre-conditioned prior to shipment typically have a higher threshold of resistance than those which are shipped immediately after weaning. They are usually de-wormed and vaccinated against common pathogens in order to boost the antibody levels in their blood. They also have had time to overcome the stress of weaning. These calves will typically experience fewer problems in the stocker phase or at the feedlot.
Generally, unless exposed to extreme pathogen loads, pre-conditioned cattle perform well with little additional treatment. However, there continues to be risk of sickness even for those animals that have been handled properly. Recall that sickness occurs any time the threshold of resistance is lower than the pathogen load. This can occur because of a large number of stressors causing the resistance threshold to fall, or because the pathogen load is high. The more frequently cattle are handled, shipped, or co-mingled – exposed to stressors – the lower their threshold of resistance.
One of the primary sources of exposure to high pathogen load is cattle that are persistently infected with the bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVD-PI). These calves are carriers of the BVD virus which is one of the primary causes of BRD in cattle. BVD acts as a pathogen, but also acts as an immuno-suppressant, causing the immune system to fail to react properly to pathogens for a period of time. BVD-PI calves shed the BVD virus at an extremely high rate – approximately 1,000,000 to 10,000,000 viral particles daily throughout their life. Such high viral shed rates can overcome the immune system of healthy cattle that may be exposed to them.
Cattle health is important to the profitability of the operation. It is a function of many things, creating a complexity that often affords no simple solution. It is always recommended that the producer seek the advice of a qualified professional nutritionist and veterinarian to implement a program that will improve their chance of success.
Stressors are those things that cause stress to the animal’s system. It includes things like shipping, weaning, moving, intermingling, drought, weather change, heat, cold, poor nutrition, processing, and on and on. It is all of those things that require energy to overcome.
Susceptibility refers to the animal’s immunity to a particular disease. There are many forms of immunity. Passive immunity is created by the transfer of antibodies from one individual to another such as through the placenta from the mother to the offspring or through the colostrum. Innate immunity is resistance to disease resulting from good general health. If the immune system is functioning properly it will often be able to fight off many diseases. Acquired immunity results from vaccination or from previous infection.
Pathogens are those infectious agents that cause disease or illness for its host. These infectious agents may be airborne, in the soil, or passed from animal to animal. They include bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, parasites, and some proteins (prions).
Sickness occurs when the pathogen load exceeds the animal’s ability to resist. Calves may be perfectly healthy at the ranch, but when weaned and taken to the auction, the stress may cause them to succumb to pathogens they may be exposed to at the auction barn. This can occur whether they have been vaccinated or not. If the animal’s threshold of resistance falls below the level at which it can overcome the pathogen load to which it is exposed, it will become sick.
Calves that have been weaned and pre-conditioned prior to shipment typically have a higher threshold of resistance than those which are shipped immediately after weaning. They are usually de-wormed and vaccinated against common pathogens in order to boost the antibody levels in their blood. They also have had time to overcome the stress of weaning. These calves will typically experience fewer problems in the stocker phase or at the feedlot.
Generally, unless exposed to extreme pathogen loads, pre-conditioned cattle perform well with little additional treatment. However, there continues to be risk of sickness even for those animals that have been handled properly. Recall that sickness occurs any time the threshold of resistance is lower than the pathogen load. This can occur because of a large number of stressors causing the resistance threshold to fall, or because the pathogen load is high. The more frequently cattle are handled, shipped, or co-mingled – exposed to stressors – the lower their threshold of resistance.
One of the primary sources of exposure to high pathogen load is cattle that are persistently infected with the bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVD-PI). These calves are carriers of the BVD virus which is one of the primary causes of BRD in cattle. BVD acts as a pathogen, but also acts as an immuno-suppressant, causing the immune system to fail to react properly to pathogens for a period of time. BVD-PI calves shed the BVD virus at an extremely high rate – approximately 1,000,000 to 10,000,000 viral particles daily throughout their life. Such high viral shed rates can overcome the immune system of healthy cattle that may be exposed to them.
Cattle health is important to the profitability of the operation. It is a function of many things, creating a complexity that often affords no simple solution. It is always recommended that the producer seek the advice of a qualified professional nutritionist and veterinarian to implement a program that will improve their chance of success.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
