Have You Herd? AABP PodCasts

Latest Episodes:

Preparing your beef cows for a successful calving season Mar 07, 2022

Show notes

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Sara Linneen, a beef cattle technical consultant from Elanco Animal Health at the 5th AABP Recent Graduate Conference in new Orleans, La. Linneen received her PhD in ruminant nutrition from Oklahoma State University and discusses tips for veterinarians to work with cow-calf producers to ensure we have a successful calving season. We start off by discussing the calving environment and suggest that veterinarians talk about making sure the calving area is clean and producers have the facilities to assist cows that are experiencing a dystocia. Linneen suggests that veterinarians assist producers by preparing a nutrition program for cows that supports healthy cows to ensure lactational performance which will improve calf weaning weights as well as improve reproductive efficiency when cows are ready to be bred back. Calves that are born to nutritionally deficient cows gain an average of 0.2 pounds per day less which can lower weaning weights by 20 pounds per calf! Precision is important and forage testing is an important part of a beef cow nutrition program. She recommends body condition scoring cows just before calving and again in the summer. We also discuss the important of a precise mineral program for cows based on your geographic area and the important role of monensin for cow and calf health as well as productivity. Monensin will improve the environment for calves by decreasing coccidiosis as well as improving feed efficiency by 5-10%. Veterinarians play a critical role in preventing disease as well as improving production efficiencies for their cow-calf clients.

Find beef nutrition resources, including a Rumensin ® calculator on the Beef Health Management Committee resources page.

AABP DEI Task Force Feb 28, 2022

Show notes

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by two members of the AABP Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force, Dr. Emma Bratton and Dr. Whitney Knauer. The DEI Task Force was created in 2021 by the AABP Board of Directors to provide education to our members on DEI and develop resources to assist our members in their area of bovine medicine. We discuss that at the 2021 AABP Annual Conference, several members of the task force and AABP leadership wore buttons that said “Ask me about DEI”, and the one thing we learned is that many members do not know what the acronym “DEI” means. AABP wants EVERYONE to feel welcome in our organization, feel comfortable being a member and understanding that they are important to our organization as a bovine veterinarian. Having a growth mindset and welcoming everyone to have a seat at the table is an important aspect of advancing DEI. We discuss the definition of an ally and why allies are important supporters of under-represented groups in veterinary medicine. Each of us also discuss the challenges of having “difficult conversations.” Having the courage to speak out in support of a colleague, while not alienating the person who has made an insensitive or inappropriate comment, is important to learn. Each of us also needs to be able to welcome constructive conversations so that we can grow and be more inclusive. Our guests recommend that listeners take the AVMA Brave Space Certificate Program, available free to AVMA members on the AVMA Axon CE portal at this link. AVMA’s Brave Space Certificate Program is a self-paced learning curriculum that teaches participants how to gain deeper understandings of the people around us and create healthier, safer, more inclusive veterinary teams, practices and organizations.

The program is comprised of seven modules that can be taken individually or completed as a unit. To begin, participants must complete the first module – “Combating unconscious bias and marginalization.” The remaining modules can be completed in any order. Earn 1 CE credit for each module completed. When all seven modules are completed, participants will receive an AVMA Brave Space certificate of completion.

In collaboration with founding educational partner, Pride Veterinary Medical Community (PrideVMC), the AVMA Brave Space Certificate Program is made possible by an educational grant from Royal Canin.

Access the AABP DEI Task Force resources on this page.

Selective Dry Cow Therapy Feb 21, 2022

Show notes

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by current AABP Vice President Dr. Michael Capel at the 5th AABP Recent Graduate Conference in New Orleans to discuss implementation of selective dry cow therapy on dairy farms. Capel states that nationally, mastitis treatment and prevention accounts for about 60% of antibiotic use on dairy farms and of this, about two-thirds of this use is attributable to dry cow therapy. Dry cow therapy has been one of the most successful interventions performed on dairy farms to control and prevent infections around the dry period. Capel points out that udder health and production management practices have improved significantly since the introduction of blanket dry cow therapy. Selective dry cow therapy is a program that identifies cows or quarters that are subclinically infected or at risk of infection at the time of dry off. The metrics typically evaluated to select at-risk cows include somatic cell count and clinical mastitis data. Capel mentions that farm-level risk factors may be more important than cow-level risk factors in deciding which dairies could implement selective dry cow therapy. He suggests that veterinarians should evaluate dry off technique, cleanliness of the cows, conditions of the dry pen, infection status of the herd, quality of clinical mastitis recording, and pathogen profile of the herd through culturing. The economic impact of a selective dry cow therapy program is estimated at $8 per cow, and the decreased use of antimicrobials and incorporation of improved antimicrobial stewardship on farms is a great incentive for veterinarians to discuss these programs with their producers. Capel suggests eliminating risk factors prior to incorporating a selective dry cow therapy program to improve success and to monitor the success of the program through records evaluation on a regular basis.

Have You Herd? of human to cattle tuberculosis transmission? Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich discusses an old disease with some new research, bovine tuberculosis (TB). Our guest is Dr. Jason Lombard, an AABP member and veterinary epidemiologist with USDA’s field epidemiologic investigation services. The findings and conclusions in this podcast are Lombard’s and should not be construed as USDA or government opinion or policy.

At the beginning of the 1900s, TB was the leading cause of death in the U.S., and it was estimated that 10% of people with TB had bovine TB, likely due to consumption of unpasteurized milk. This began the U.S. state-federal bovine TB eradication program that many veterinarians are familiar with in working with cattle operations. In 1917, approximately 5% of the cattle population (3.2 million head) were estimated to be infected with TB and in 1949, less than 0.5% were infected. In 2021, 61 head of cattle were found to be infected with TB which is 0.00006%, representing a 99.9% decrease since the eradication program began in 1917. The primary method of surveillance in the U.S. is now slaughter surveillance. In 2019, it was estimated that 4% of the U.S. population (13 million people) have latent or clinical TB. Of those clinical with TB, 1.9% were determined to be M. bovis. This strain of TB results in extrapulmonary disease in humans which can have implications for methods of transmission from humans to cattle, such as via the urinary system.

Lombard reviews three cases in the U.S. where it was documented that humans had transmitted M. bovis to cattle (human to animal transmission). These cases occurred on dairy farms in North Dakota and Wisconsin and a third case on a Texas heifer ranch. Given these cases, Dr. Lombard discusses how veterinarians can become more involved in TB prevention on beef and dairy operations. Biosecurity remains the primary method of prevention since TB usually enters a herd through contact with infected livestock, wildlife or humans. In addition, veterinarians can discuss with producers evaluating the risk of TB to humans and cattle on their farms. Some farms have implemented TB testing protocols of employees to promote a healthy workforce and ensure animal health. Veterinarians can also stress the importance of animal disease traceability. Use of official animal ID and accurate record keeping can assist state and federal animal health officials to conduct thorough and efficient trace investigations.
Relevant publications:

Dean GS, Rhodes SG, Coad M, Whelan AO, Cockle PJ, Clifford DJ, Hewinson RG, Vordermeier HM. Minimum infective dose of Mycobacterium bovis in cattle. Infect Immun. 2005 Oct;73(10):6467-71.

Lombard JE, Patton EA, Gibbons-Burgener SN, Klos RF, Tans-Kersten JL, Carlson BW, Keller SJ, Pritschet DJ, Rollo S, Dutcher TV, Young CA, Hench WC, Thacker TC, Perea C, Lehmkuhl AD, Robbe-Austerman S. Human-to-Cattle Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Transmission in the United States. Front Vet Sci. 2021 Jul 12;8:691192.

McCluskey B, Lombard J, Strunk S, Nelson D, Robbe-Austerman S, Naugle A, Edmondson A. Mycobacterium bovis in California dairies: a case series of 2002-2013 outbreaks. Prev Vet Med. 2014 Aug 1;115(3-4):205-16.

Olmstead, A.L., and Rhode, P.W. (2004). An Impossible Undertaking: The Eradication of Bovine Tuberculosis in the United States. The Journal of Economic History 64, 734-772.

AABP Student Externship Grants - Beef Experiences Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
Benjamin Franklin

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by two student AABP members who received externship grants and visited beef practices in the U.S. and Canada. Hannah Jarvis, a 4th year student at The Ohio State University, and Tatie High, a 2nd year student at The Ohio State University, discuss the importance of this funding for student externships and the experiences they had at AABP member practices. The AABP Foundation provides $40,000 per year for student externship grants to offset the financial barriers of participating in externships. Both Hannah and Tatie discuss where they went on their beef externships and what they learned while they were at those practices. They discuss that externships help them to apply boots on the ground experiences with the educational foundation they have been provided in veterinary school. Both students express that they want hands-on learning at their externships and learning through repetition. Hannah and Katie recommend that students be honest with veterinarians about what they want out of the externship and to confront the uncomfortable and not be afraid to try while on your externship. Tips for veterinarians include being willing to teach and engage students, make use of the “windshield time”, give advice, provide practical tips, and encourage students to try while offering support.
AABP student members can apply for externships at this link under the Student Menu of the AABP website. AABP encourages members to list their externship opportunities on the AABP website so that students can find opportunities by going to this page.

Please support the AABP Foundation which provides externship and education grants as well as clinically relevant cattle research and welfare grants. If you would like to restrict your donation to externship grants, please contact fred@aabp.org for information. You can donate to the AABP Foundation at this link.

If you have a suggestion for a future podcast, email haveyouherd@aabp.org.

Intranasal vaccines administered on arrival to the feedyard - do they impact health, productivity and the incidence of Histophilus somni associated BRD? Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich discusses recent research with Dr. John Richeson, associate professor of Animal Science at West Texas A&M University. Richeson recently completed a trial which was started due to practicing veterinarians reporting a higher increase in Histophilus somni-associated bovine respiratory disease (BRD) morbidity and mortality after administration of BRSV intranasal vaccine. The immunomodulatory effects of BRSV on H. somni have been previously studied by Gershwin et. al. and the objective of this study by Richeson was to assess the safety, efficacy and BRSV and H. somni nasal shedding in intranasal and parenteral vaccinated high risk beef calves.The study was comprised of three treatment groups, a negative control (no respiratory vaccinations), an intranasal vaccine group, and a positive control (pentavalent parenteral respiratory vaccine). The investigators measured production data, clinical health data, and serology and pathology data for BRSV and H. somni. Richeson walks us through the results of the study as well as the challenges of finding statistical differences for low frequency events. The study results demonstrated that there was no statistical difference in morbidity, mortality, and average daily gain between the treatment groups. They found that the calves who received the intranasal vaccine were statistically twice as likely to have H. somni PCR-positive tests than the positive or negative control groups. These data indicate modified live virus (MLV) vaccination of high-risk calves, either parenterally or intranasally, had little effect on health or growth during the feedlot receiving period. However, intranasal vaccination increased the prevalence of H. somni in the naris. We also discuss comparing the efficacy of antimicrobial metaphylaxis versus on-arrival MLV vaccination to high-risk beef calves. Richeson also discussed the importance of having a negative control group (no vaccination) when performing field trials on vaccine safety and efficacy and his thoughts on the USDA approval process for biologics.

Relevant papers:

1. Veronica I. Munoz, Kendall L. Samuelson, Dexter J. Tomczak, Hannah A. Seiver, Taylor M. Smock, John T. Richeson, Comparative efficacy of metaphylaxis with tulathromycin and pentavalent modified-live virus vaccination in high-risk, newly received feedlot cattle, Applied Animal Science, Volume 36, Issue 6, 2020, Pages 799-807, ISSN 2590-2865, https://doi.org/10.15232/aas.2020-02054.

2. Gershwin, L. (2007). Bovine respiratory syncytial virus infection: Immunopathogenic mechanisms. Animal Health Research Reviews, 8(2), 207-213. doi:10.1017/S1466252307001405

U.S. Cattle Trace – Traceability at the speed of commerce Jan 24, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Callahan Grund. Callahan serves as the Executive Director of U.S. Cattle Trace, a not-for-profit organization with a goal of developing a national infrastructure for disease traceability and encourage private industry’s use of the infrastructure for individualized management practices. U.S. Cattle Trace securely maintains and manages the data collected for disease traceability. The organization’s board of directors includes representation from the cow-calf, livestock market and feedyard sectors.

Traceability is the ability to track an item at any point in time. Animal health officials can perform disease traceability, however the goal of improving our disease traceability efforts involves the use of technology, such a RFID tags, to improve the efficiency and speed of disease traceback. The United States and India are the only countries of the top 10 beef exporting countries in the world to not have a national animal disease traceability program. Callahan discusses the different types of RFID tags, the advantages of ultra-high frequency tags, and the challenges of implementing animal disease traceability on a national scale. We also discuss opportunities for producers implementing traceability program to improve production and disease management in the beef industry

We discuss the efforts of the U.S. Cattle Trace Pilot Project and the goals of building the infrastructure for a hands-free system, evaluate if the technology worked and consider the economics of an animal disease traceability system. Callahan discusses the roadblocks of implementing this technology at each phase of the beef production phase and suggest that veterinarians can assist, especially cow-calf clients, in educating them on the importance of RFID’s and disease traceability to their operations and the U.S. beef industry.

Visit https://www.uscattletrace.org/ for more information about disease traceability and membership options for cow-calf, dairy producers, feedyards and auction markets.

AABP Student Externship Grants - Dairy Experiences Jan 17, 2022

Show notes

“We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by two student AABP members who received externship grants and went to western U.S. dairy practices for their experiences. Phusita Nakphairat Davidovich, a 3rd year student at The Ohio State University, and Gabrielle Brewster, a 4th year student at Cornell University, discuss the importance of this funding for student externships. The AABP Foundation provides $40,000 per year for student externship grants to offset the financial barriers of participating in externships. Both Phusita and Gabrielle discuss where they went on their dairy externships and what they learned while they were at those practices. They also offer tips to students who want to go on externships such as applying for funding through the AABP Foundation, make a list of goals to share with the practice, looking for something different than you experience at your veterinary school, being open minded and willing to learn, and appreciating the time practices spend in mentoring students during their externship. Phusita and Gabrielle also provide suggestions for veterinarians to improve the student’s externship experience which include asking the student what they want to accomplish and experience, providing a schedule so they can see what they will see and do, giving them options based on what they are interested in learning, providing as much hands-on activity as possible, and providing meaningful discussion during “windshield time” in the truck.

AABP student members can apply for externships at this link under the Student Menu of the AABP website. AABP encourages members to list their externship opportunities on the AABP website so that students can find opportunities by going to this page.

If you have a suggestion for a future podcast, email haveyouherd@aabp.org.

A Conversation with AABP President Dr. Pat Gorden Jan 10, 2022

Show notes

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich talks with current AABP President Dr. Pat Gorden today. We learn about when Gorden decided to become a veterinarian, his past private dairy practice experience and his current professional role at Iowa State University. Gorden talks about his early volunteer work on the AABP Milk Quality and Udder Health Committee and Committee on Pharmaceutical and Biologic Issues. He suggests that members contact us if you want to get involved with AABP by telling us about your interests. AABP members can join committees by going to the AABP website and review the committees listed under the committee and task force menus. We review the role of each officer while they rotate through the Executive Committee and the commitment of these volunteers working for our organization. Gorden wants to continue to develop AABP’s broad reach to cattle veterinarians through continuing education, advocacy, mentorship and networking.

AABP welcomes all cattle veterinarians and veterinary students to join our organization. Find out about AABP member benefits at this link. You can join AABP by going to this page. The American Association of Bovine Practitioners is an international association of veterinarians serving society as leaders in cattle health, welfare, and productivity. We welcome and support any veterinarian or veterinary student, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, sexual orientation or any other demographic, to participate in all opportunities that our organization provides. As leaders in the cattle industry, we encourage all veterinarians with an interest in cattle to join us and participate in our organization.

Do you have a suggestion or feedback for our podcast? Email haveyouherd@aabp.org.

Veterinary Medicine Impacts on COVID-19 and Lessons Learned for the Future Jan 03, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by AABP member Dr. Chris Chase to discuss corona viruses in humans and animals. Chase is a veterinary immunologist from South Dakota State University. During our discussion, we touch on the similarities of COVID-19 in humans and what we have previously used in bovine veterinary medicine and other areas of the veterinary industry. We discuss the role of body condition on the immune system and why obesity in cattle or humans can negatively impact the response to viruses. Chase discusses some of the unique characteristics of corona viruses such as a single spike protein that is the dominant antigen and how they use this spike protein to gain entrance into the cell. He states that the job of the immune system is not to defend, but to maintain health and homeostasis. When we have immune-malfunction, either due to an exaggerated immune response or immune suppression, we lose this homeostasis and it can affect multiple body systems. He describes the causes and the results of a cytokine storm and how both non-steroidal and steroidal anti-inflammatories can be used in cattle and people.

Chase describes how monoclonal antibodies are produced in a different manner today which has resulted in more widespread production of this important tool. He describes how the first monoclonal antibody was developed for use in calves to prevent K-99 colibacillosis. We also discuss the various platform vaccine technologies and the first nucleic acid vaccine was developed for veterinary medicine. He describes the safety and efficacy of mRNA vaccines and their potential role in veterinary medicine. We wrap up our discussion by reviewing the role probiotics can play in prevention of disease as well as the use of ivermectin for viral diseases.

Veterinary medicine plays a critical role in the research and development of biotechnologies that can be used in both human and animal medicine. Veterinarians are an important part of the One Health concept, both in understanding population medicine, the role of disease prevention and the management of zoonotic disease.

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