Management

Changes to Livestock Antibiotics Coming in 2023

Dr. Tim McDermott, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Franklin County

(Image Source: Drovers)

There are some changes coming to the availability of over the counter antibiotics that the livestock producer will want to familiarize themselves with soon in order to make sure they are properly prepared before the changes are implemented in 2023.

What is being implemented is the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) guidance for industry (GFI) #263 entitled “’Recommendations for Sponsors of Medically Important Antimicrobial Drugs Approved for Use in Animals to Voluntarily Bring Under Veterinary Oversight All Products That Continue to Be Available as Over-the-Counter.”

The reason for this change to make sure that Continue reading →

Nutritional Considerations for Flocks During Breeding Season

Jaelyn Quintana, South Dakota State University Extension Sheep Field Specialist
(Previously published online with South Dakota State University Extension: November 23, 2021)

Managing nutrition during breeding season is critical for improving lambing rates, but it can often be a challenge. When breeding for spring-born lambs, forages are declining in nutritional value while nutrient requirements for sheep are increasing. Fall lambing requires breeding when heat can challenge conception. Regardless of the time of year, it’s important to keep ewes and rams in mind before, during and after breeding season. Prior to and throughout breeding, many producers utilize flushing to increase ovulation rates. During the breeding season, rams are working hard to service ewes in heat while attempting to meet their own nutritional needs. Increasing the flock’s plane of nutrition continues to play an important role in ewes by reducing early embryonic death and helping rams recover after breeding.

Ewe Management
Success of breeding is largely dependent on nutrition. Simple management techniques, such as Continue reading →

Cammy Wilson and The Sheep Game

Dr. Brady Campbell, Assistant Professor, OSU State Small Ruminant Extension Specialist

Hello folks, it’s great to be back! Sorry for my absence here on the page as of late. I finally decided to step out of the office for a few weeks and unplugged from everything. While away, I had the opportunity to take a trip to England with a group of Lincoln sheep producers from the United States. The premise of the trip was to attend the Great Yorkshire Show to take in the sights of British agriculture, watch the Lincoln show, as well as tour the country side meeting with fellow Lincoln sheep producers on their home operations. There were many highlights to this trip, but one that I wanted to share with all of you was my opportunity to meet with Cammy Wilson. For those that don’t recognize his name, I encourage you to jump onto Youtube and search for ‘The Sheep Game’. Cammy, along with his wife Lizzy, are professional sheep shearers from Scotland. In his previous life, Cammy served his local community as a police officer but quickly found his passion in working with sheep. In addition to shearing, Cammy and his family also raise several breeds of sheep as well as dabbles in pregnancy ultrasounding on the side.

Although a bit unconventional for our regular postings, I wanted to bring light to the work Cammy is currently doing through social media to support the global sheep industry. During our quick 10 minute chat, Cammy and I discussed the woes of global wool prices, the similarities and differences between sheep breeds found in our respective countries, and of course the hardships and victories or raising sheep. Just like you and I, Cammy is a shepherd and shearer himself that appreciates science and learning something new each day. On his channel, Cammy brings viewers along with him in his daily life, sharing questions and answers as he learns along the way. Cammy has videos on ultrasounding, shearing, dystocia, lambing, selling sheep, and much more. For those interested in learning about sheep production in a different country, I encourage you to take a look at his page: The Sheep Game.

For your viewing pleasure, I’ve selected a few videos from his playlist and plugged them below that highlights his character and support of the industry. Enjoy! Continue reading →

The Heat is On and the Algae Loves It!

Richard Purdin, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Adams County

(Image Source: Ohio’s Country Journal)

July got off to a hot and dry start for much of Ohio and for livestock managers this brings on added chores on the to do list to keep livestock healthy and productive. Water is the source of life and I often preach on the importance and the critical role it plays in animal health. When livestock have clean fresh water to always drink, they will better consume feed and forage and absorb it nutrients more efficiently. More adequate water consumptions can equate to better rate of gain, increased fertility and reproductive performance, increased milk production and weaning weights, and much more benefits. When water is not available or the tainted in anyway livestock will avoid drinking or try to find water in other areas, this can have a detrimental effect on animal health and should be priority for managers to prevent. There can be multiple factors that lead to water be tainted or unpleasant for livestock consumption but one of the most common factors during the summer is the build up of algae growth in water tanks, troughs, or reservoirs.

Keeping algae out of the livestock drinking facilities can be Continue reading →

Small Ruminant Production: Are CIDRs Reusable?

Dr. Brady Campbell, Assistant Professor, OSU State Small Ruminant Extension Specialist
Tim Barnes, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Marion County
Dr. Alvaro Garcia-Guerra, Assistant Professor, OSU Reproductive Physiology

Whether it’s at the state fair or local livestock auction, a conversation that commonly occurs among producers revolves around the success rate of their breeding programs. In New Zealand during the late 1980s, a controlled internal drug release (CIDR) was developed and released for intravaginal release of progesterone (P4). Since then, estrous synchronization has improved on-farm production efficiencies that can assist in grouping lambing dates, breeding ewes out-of-season, or can serve as a crucial step in the implementation of artificial insemination.

Let’s Review the Basics Continue reading →

Wrangling More Days out of the Grazing Season for Sheep and Goats

As the weather in Ohio continues to not only challenge our agricultural operations but also the activities of our daily life, it reminds us that we must be prepared for anything that may come next. Additionally, with the continued increases in fuel and feed, considering options to help extend your grazing season may be the difference between making a profit, breaking even, or losing some cash this year. In this webinar, Mr. David Hartman from Penn State University discusses ways to improve the overall efficiency and utilization of forage systems for sheep and goats. Enjoy.

Ohio Coyote Ecology and Management Project

OSU Coyote Project,

Few animals elicit such strong, and opposing, emotions as the coyote. But love ‘em or hate ‘em, after decades of range expansion across the United States, coyotes are an established predator throughout Ohio. So, the question we can all agree on is: How do we minimize potential conflicts with coyotes in this state? And to answer that question, we need data.

Livestock production is a cultural and economic staple in Ohio but it differs in many ways from production in the western US, where most of the coyote research has been done. Although Ohio produces more sheep and lambs than any other state east of the Mississippi River, the average flock size is 36 head, which means the loss of even a single animal exacts a disproportionate financial toll from local operators. Additionally, ecosystems in the Midwest are vastly different than those in the west. For any management strategy to effectively protect against coyote predation in Ohio, we need to know more about Ohio coyotes. Continue reading →

Keeping your Vaccines Viable

Tracey Erickson, former South Dakota State University Extension Dairy Field Specialist
(Previously published online with South Dakota State University Extension: November 18, 2021)

Vaccines are a vital part of keeping all livestock healthy. Vaccines help in the prevention of disease, which results in less utilization of antibiotics due to fewer sick animals. Vaccines provide protective immunity approximately 21 days following the initial vaccination in the majority of livestock. Some vaccines may require a booster vaccination(s) to ensure immunity for the period designated by the manufacturer. There are multiple factors influencing immunity, including but not limited to, medical history, vaccine type, method of administration, age, and species being vaccinated. A valid Vet-Client-Patient relationship will help you as you select the vaccine of choice for your livestock health program.

Vaccine Types
You are probably utilizing one of two types of vaccines: inactivated (“killed”) vaccines, which contain bacteria or viruses that have been inactivated by heat or chemicals, or modified-live virus (MLV) vaccines, which contain whole viruses that have been altered in such a way that, while they are able to multiply within the body, their ability to cause disease has been taken away.

So how do vaccines become worthless? Continue reading →

Solar Grazing 101

Currently, Ohio is slated to have approximately 85,000 acres of land put into photovoltaic (solar) energy production over the next decade. As our society continues to investigate alternative energy solutions, the face of agriculture will too. Although some see this opportunity as a loss of land, sheep producers have saw the silver lining as it relates to increased animal and forage production. For those that are interested in pursuing opportunities related to solar grazing and power generation, please reach out to your team at The Ohio State University as we are currently working in this field of work.