A warm summer day is often a most desirable time on the ranch, especially when a “leisure” trip to check the pastures and cow-calf pairs is on the day’s agenda. But this relaxing trip quickly turns stressful when the first calf we encounter is teary-eyed, followed by another and another.

Fly control in beef cattle continues to be an in-demand topic each year as the potential resistance to conventional fly tags and the introduction of garlic as a feed ingredient to mitigate flies becomes more prevalent. Fly control management is important to minimize the spread of disease and to minimize the negative impacts on livestock production.

Check out new products addressing animal health needs, calving and more.

Ensuring optimal calving care for newborns is a top priority for producers. However, the responsibility doesn’t end as the calves leave the farmyard. Special attention must also be given to their nutrition and overall well-being as they transition to spring pastures and continue to grow during the summer months.

When a lack of rainfall negatively affects the pastures that producers rely on, moving cow-calf herds into drylot settings tops the list of management options. While this change is a multifaceted challenge, it also brings some surprising benefits.

Pinkeye in cattle presents a significant challenge for producers, impacting animal performance and requiring costly and time-consuming treatments. Vaccination against pinkeye is crucial in a producer's prevention strategy, alongside effective fly, weed and dust control with appropriate trace mineral supplementation.

In order to have healthy animals, producers must understand the normal health attributes of livestock, routinely monitor their animals and make management changes when necessary.

Vaccine protocol discussions can be energetic and entertaining amongst calf raisers, consultants and veterinarians. It ultimately leads to comparing the current vaccine protocol to a large, well-established calf raiser in the region or even nationally. There can be value in this comparison, but the real value is understanding how these successful facilities arrived at their protocol.

Pinkeye is one of the most frustrating diseases we face, and it has a negative impact not just on the value of cattle but also on their production.

A vet shares her experiences creating and implementing an autogenous vaccine for pinkeye, along with tips for treatment and prevention.