During a portion of the third session of the 2022 Virtual Beef School held on Monday, March 21st Dr. Justin Kieffer, Clinical Veterinarian for the Department of Animal Sciences at Ohio State University, offered the explanation embedded below on why pinkeye can be so frustrating to prevent in beef cattle, and the special effort that goes into preventing and/or treating it in the beef herds at OSU. You will find Dr. Kieffer’s presentation from that evening on whole herd health in its entirety here: https://youtu.be/rrxabT5ksiI?si=y_PscWXbbrd96aET
Health
Keep Cool in the Shade
– Dr. Jeff Lehmkulher, PhD, PAS, Extension Professor University of Kentucky
Temperature and humidity both contribute to heat stress.
As the summer weather has hit full stride, take some time to focus on factors that impact animal performance during these months. Stocker calf performance reflects changes in the environment, plane of nutrition, and overall health of calves. Be mindful of the how summer weather can impact these three overarching factors and consider what you might alter or maintain to minimize the impact of these elements.
Heat stress is the first environmental factor that will impact animal performance during the summer months. The effect of heat stress is exacerbated by the alkaloids produced by the wild endophyte in Kentucky 31 tall fescue. Animals compensate during heat stress with increased respiration rate, increased skin vaporization (sweating), increased peripheral blood flow, decreased appetite to reduce metabolic heat production, and more time seeking relief by standing in the shade, congregating in water or grouped up in areas where urine and feces create a wallow. Increased respiration rate leads to greater energy expended for contraction and relaxation of the diaphragm. This doesn’t Continue reading Keep Cool in the Shade
Animal Disease Traceability Rule: Infrequently Asked Questions
– Dr. Michelle Arnold, DVM- Ruminant Extension Veterinarian (UKVDL)
Figure 1: Homepage of the APHIS Animal Disease Traceability Website.
In a press release issued on April 26, 2024, it was announced that a new rule, entitled “Use of Electronic Identification (EID) Eartags as Official Identification in Cattle and Bison” was finalized. This final rule is an amendment to the animal disease traceability regulations already in place as of January 2013. The new rule requires eartags to be both visually and electronically readable to be recognized as official eartags for interstate travel for cattle and bison covered under the regulations. In addition, the amendment revised the definition of dairy cattle, clarified certain record keeping requirements, and revised requirements for cattle moving to slaughter. This final rule is specifically focused on improving the ability to trace LIVE animals accurately and rapidly to contain disease outbreaks before they can do substantial damage to the cattle industry. The rule will be published in the Federal Register in the coming weeks and will take effect 180 days after its publication. APHIS maintains an Animal Disease Traceability webpage (Figure 1) with direct access to the Final Rule, FAQs, how to obtain free electronic ID tags, and other resources at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/traceability . This article will attempt to address some of the less frequently asked questions about important aspects of the new rule. For reference, page numbers are included where these questions are addressed in the final rule.
Has anything changed with this new rule regarding which cattle are required to have “official identification” when moving interstate?
No, the final rule does not Continue reading Animal Disease Traceability Rule: Infrequently Asked Questions
Managing Heat Stress of Beef Animals
– John Yost, OSU Extension Educator, AgNR, Wayne County
We are accustomed to hearing the weatherman talk about the “actual” air temperature versus the “feels like” temperature. While we each have a “feels like” temperature where we are most comfortable, we can’t translate our comfort to the physiologic and welfare comfort of our ruminant livestock. Heat generated by the fermentation process in the rumen allows cattle to tolerate much colder temperatures than humans. Conversely, they can begin to experience heat stress at temperatures we would consider mild.
The Thermal Heat Index (THI) considers the air temperature and relative humidity to identify combinations where livestock can begin to experience heat stress (Figure 1). Critical THI values will vary depending on the type of livestock and how they are housed. Generally, cattle can begin to Continue reading Managing Heat Stress of Beef Animals
Record Keeping for a Healthy Herd
– Dr. Michelle Arnold, UK Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
Individual identification is critical for success of a record keeping system.
Keeping written farm records is like participating in a regular exercise program, easy to talk about but often hard to put into practice. Without good records, evaluating individual cow performance and the financial success of the beef cattle enterprise is a “guesstimation” (guess + estimation) at best. Even with handwritten records, taking that data and placing it in a system that allows for analysis is a step that is easily overlooked or forgotten. Computers have made this task easier, especially with the advent of programs designed for cow-calf producers. It is easy to see the value of knowing performance but what about health records? How important are records to maintaining a healthy herd?
Production records are invaluable to allow the beef producer not only to look at what is currently taking place within the cow herd but, more importantly, to look at how management changes impact the performance of the herd. Through analysis over the long-term, records can help to pinpoint weak areas in the management program and in identifying individual animals that fail to perform at profitable levels. With health data, it is possible to conduct a herd-specific risk assessment for a certain portion of the production cycle such as “calving season”. This “assessment” begins with a “risk analysis” which is identifying the “hazards” in your operation that contribute to sickness and death loss. For example, hazards during the calving season may be dystocia (difficult births), weak calves, scours, and environmental hazards such as Continue reading Record Keeping for a Healthy Herd
Start your scouting and preparation for tick and fly season now
– Tim McDermott DVM, OSU Extension Educator, Franklin County (originally published in Farm and Dairy)
Visit go.osu.edu/BITE, your guide to ticks, mosquitoes, and other biting pests. Photo: Anna Pasternak, UK entomology graduate student
As I write this article, it is ninety degrees outside in the first week of May! It is time to start thinking about how we can keep our grazing animals safe from the various arthropods that can cause medical problems, production losses, and economic impact. We have always made plans for fly control over the summer, but it is time we consider adding tick control into our prevention and treatment plans as well. I wrote an update on Longhorned ticks and Theileria in the March 7th All About Grazing section, “What to watch for with Longhorned Ticks and Theileria in Ohio in 2024” but here is a quick refresher.
As of the beginning of 2024 we had positively identified ALHT in 11 counties in Ohio including Franklin, Delaware, Ross, Gallia, Vinton, Jackson, Athens, Morgan, Monroe, Belmont, and Guernsey county. We anticipate finding more positive counties in 2024 as this tick likes to feed on many different species of wildlife and therefore can move on wildlife while they are feeding over a 7–10-day period. To learn more about ALHT check Continue reading Start your scouting and preparation for tick and fly season now
Understanding and Managing Flies
– John Yost, OSU Extension Educator, AgNR, Wayne County
Horn flies are considered the greatest pest of pastured cattle.
The increase in temperatures is also bring with it an increase in flies. Flies, if left unmanaged, can present a significant challenge to the welfare and production of all our livestock species. Fly control is not a one-and-done treatment strategy. They require season long management, that may require a variety of approaches to seasonally address. The three main types of flies that we are concerned about are face, horn, and stable flies. The species have similarities but also some subtle differences that you need to take into account when selecting potential control options.
Horn flies are the most economically damaging species for livestock. Research has shown that calf weights can be reduced by 4 to 15% and replacement heifer weights of up to 18% when populations reach a threshold of 200 flies/animal. Milk production, for dairy cattle, can be decreased by up to 15%. Horn flies are blood feeders and will consume about 30 meals per day. They spend the majority of their time on the animal and will Continue reading Understanding and Managing Flies
Kill Poison Hemlock Now!
– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension
While hemlock may still be vegetative today, it will soon look like this.
Poison hemlock has already emerged in a vegetative state around Noble County and beyond. Soon it will be bolting and blooming on stalks 6-10 feet tall. All parts of the plant are toxic to all classes of livestock if consumed and is prevalent along roadsides, ditches, and crop field borders.
It is a biennial weed that does not flower in the first year of growth but flowers in the second year. The earlier you can address poison hemlock with mowing and/or herbicide application, the Continue reading Kill Poison Hemlock Now!
Bovine Coccidiosis-Frequently Asked Questions
– Dr. Michelle Arnold, DVM – Ruminant Extension Veterinarian (UKVDL)
What is “coccidiosis”?
Coccidiosis, also known as “cocci”, is a disease of calves due primarily to two species of protozoan parasite, Eimeria bovis and Eimeria zurnii. In the clinical or observable form of the disease, calves have diarrhea, often bloody, that can lead to death from damage to the intestinal tract, specifically in the lower small intestine, cecum, and colon. “Subclinical” infection without noticeable diarrhea can still cause gut damage resulting in depressed appetite, decreased feed efficiency, and poor weight gain. How “sick” animals get depends on which species of Eimeria is involved, the level of exposure, and any associated stressors such as weaning, transport, poor nutrition or weather extremes occurring at the time of infection. Coccidiosis can be seen in calves as early as 3 weeks of age, but it is diagnosed most frequently at stressful times such as weaning or at entry to a backgrounding operation or feedlot. Cattle generally develop immunity to disease by 1 year of age, meaning they continue to harbor and shed coccidia without the ill effects. Healthy older animals can spread the organism to younger, vulnerable stock.
How is the organism transmitted?
All bovine Eimeria have a “fecal-oral transmission cycle”, in which the infective form of the organism (the “oocyst”) is passed in the feces of infected cattle and consumed by calves in contaminated feed or water. Coccidia are “host-specific”; the Eimeria species that infect cattle do not infect any other species of animal and vice-versa. Calves infected for the first time shed the greatest number of the infective “oocysts” and quickly contaminated their environment. The life cycle of Eimeria is completed in a calf within 2-4 weeks and millions of oocysts may be produced in that time. Once the oocysts leave the calf in the feces, the oocysts “sporulate” and can survive weeks to months outside in the right conditions of moderate temperature and high moisture. Buildup is most common in areas where animals congregate or are crowded together, especially around watering and feeding facilities. However, direct exposure to sunlight and drying will kill the organism.
Figure 1: From “Coccidiosis in Large and Small Ruminants”, Veterinary Clinics of North America, Food Animal Practice (2018), 34, p.202.
What does a calf with coccidiosis look like?
After a calf swallows sporulated oocysts, the organism begins a very complex reproductive cycle, both asexual and sexual, within the cells that line the calf’s intestinal tract (see Figure 1 for a complete review of the life cycle). When the reproductive cycle is finished and the newly formed oocysts are mature, they break open the intestinal cells and are released into the gut and passed in the feces. The damage to the gut caused by this rupture of intestinal cells is what causes the disease symptoms. The most common sign Continue reading Bovine Coccidiosis-Frequently Asked Questions
Yellow Flowers of Concern
– Christine Gelley, Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Noble County, Ohio State University Extension
This plant can cause livestock poisonings in harvested or grazed forages.
Fields along the floodplain have been turning yellow over the past couple weeks as cressleaf groundsel is bolting and flowering. From a distance, a haze of yellow floats above the field. Upon closer inspection, you will find collections of daisy-like flowers on slender stems waving their sunny faces in the breeze. While it sounds sort of dreamy and whimsical, this plant (also known as butterweed) can cause livestock poisonings in harvested or grazed forages. All parts of the plant are considered toxic in both fresh and dried states.
Cressleaf groundsel is a member of the aster family and displays yellow daisy-like blooms in the springtime on upright hollow stems that have a purple hue. These plants are winter annuals, meaning the seed germinates in the fall producing vegetative growth and then flowers in the springtime. If allowed to set seed, the plants will appear again in greater numbers the year following. The plants typically go unnoticed in the fall, which is the best Continue reading Yellow Flowers of Concern