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The mysterious foothill abortion disease in cattle was first seen in the foothill regions of coastal and central California – and recognized in the 1940s as different from brucellosis. It also occurs in southern Oregon and Nevada.
Costing an estimated $900 million to cattle producers each year, it’s no secret bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is one of the biggest threats to the profitability of feedlots in the U.S.
If bovine respiratory disease (BRD) prevention measures have failed and you need to treat BRD with an antibiotic, the price on the bottle is easy to see. You’re likely not excited to make this purchase, which costs a pretty penny.
Cattle producers obviously want to make money, but they must deal with bad markets that can be right around the corner, and they continue to be a drought or flood away from a financial crisis. So what is it that keeps them going? It must be in their blood. Why would they be in the business if they did not take pride in their cattle by wanting their cows to maintain body condition, their calves to grow, and all of the cattle having a healthy appearance?
Recently, I had a conversation with a vegetable farmer from the Upper Midwest. Somehow, we got on the topic of scales, and I explained to him that many cattle producers don’t have a scale. The farmer looked at me in pure shock.
With calving coming to a close for most producers, it is time to organize an efficient and safe branding and processing day before the cow-calf pairs are sent to pasture.
A strong herd health plan begins with a yearly production calendar that includes cattle nutrition, reproduction management, vaccination schedules and marketing, all of which are critical to sustainable beef cattle production. Management practices can be better matched with cattle needs by looking at the annual production cycle month by month.
It was the second dead cow that really got our attention.
Earlier that week, I had received a call from a rancher who had found one of his cows dead in a pasture.
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