As summer fades to a close, take steps to help prevent the costly effects of bovine respiratory disease (BRD). Changing weather conditions can create respiratory challenges for calves. Cooling temperatures in fall and big temperature swings between day and night can lead to stress on calves’ immune systems. Colder weather requires closing windows and doors of calf housing, creating an environment at more risk for improper ventilation, minimized air exchange and, potentially, a buildup of BRD-causing pathogens – all contributing to a utopia for BRD infections.

It was a hot sunny day in southern California when I received a phone call to do a field postmortem. I immediately said yes – I like to do those farm visits because they give me a chance to see the surrounding area and to meet local producers and veterinarians.

“For years and years, we’ve all known the very best thing for a sick cow is to receive healthy rumen fluid,” says Bernie Mulder, founder of Drench-Mate. Yet, until now, there hasn’t been an easy way to obtain that fluid.

The differences between environmental and contagious mastitis are now largely understood among researchers and dairy producers alike. But it took a great many studies over a number of years to make that distinction. One project in particular that helped to point out the need for new mastitis control methods was developed in the 1960s by The National Institute for Research in Dairying in Britain in cooperation with Cornell University.