Have You Herd? AABP PodCasts

Latest Episodes:

Beef Cattle Backgrounding Systems Apr 19, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Bart Lardner from the University of Saskatchewan to discuss cattle backgrounding programs. Backgrounding is the time period from weaning the calf until they are sold for finishing in a feedyard. Backgrounding programs allow the animal to grow out slowly to build frame so that they can then be finished on the concentrate diet at the next production stage. Calves on these programs are fed a high forage:concentrate diet. Dr. Lardner suggests evaluating the feedstuffs that are available and then also consider feeding byproduct feeds such as dried distillers grains to ensure appropriate nutrient composition of the diet. Veterinarians should work with producers to determine the target rate of gain and evaluate the economic return of these programs to the producer. He also discusses breed influences on selection of a program and how weather or environment can interrupt a program. Veterinarians should be involved with developing appropriate vaccination and parasite control programs for calves and discuss the value of implants and other performance enhancing technologies to increase the economic return for the producer. Calves in backgrounding programs can have improved health and production once they arrive on the feedlot and Dr. Lardner encourages producers to appropriately market these calves to feedyards.

Relevant publications:

Kumar R, Lardner HA, McKinnon JJ, Christensen DA, Damiran D and Larson K. 2012. Comparison of alternative backgrounding systems on beef calf performance, feedlot finishing performance, carcass traits and system cost of gain. Professional Animal Scientist. 28:541-551.

Kelln BM, Lardner HA, Schoenau JJ and King T. 2012. Effects of beef cow winter feeding systems, pen manure and compost on soil nitrogen and phosphorous amounts and distribution, soil density and crop biomass. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems. 92:183-194.

Jungnitsch PF, Schoenau JJ, Lardner HA, Jefferson PG. 2011. Winter feeding beef cattle on the western Canadian prairies: Impacts on soil nitrogen and phosphorus cycling and forage growth. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 141: 143-152.

Stop chasing bugs! Apr 12, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, Dr. Mark Hilton suggests that veterinarians stop doing two things – stop chasing bugs and stop telling producers what to do! We discuss what it means to chase bugs, why veterinarians get trapped into doing this when working up herd disease outbreaks or production problems and how veterinarians are equipped with the expertise and knowledge to holistically evaluate a herd problem. Dr. Hilton suggests that you ask the producer what the problem is and then listen. Write down what they say and then offer suggestions. We walk through the steps to investigate calf scours and bovine respiratory disease outbreaks and some possible herd management solutions. We can often find the solution by focusing on the environment, calving area, management of the cows and heifers, and nutrition. We discuss how veterinarians can get involved in nutrition and utilizing the resources and networking of AABP to develop these skills. Dr. Hilton recommends finding a pilot herd and focus on that one herd to develop your consulting skills and charge for your service and expertise.

If you are not an AABP member, please join us at this link so that you can develop a network of experts and utilize our CE resources. You can find Dr. Hilton’s webinar and spreadsheets for beef cow-calf practice on the AABP Committee Resource page. Find the 2018 AABP Recent Graduate Conference proceedings paper from Dr. Dale Grotelueschen on designing management and prevention strategies for neonatal calf diarrhea in beef systems at this link. AABP members can listen to the presentation on the BCI CE portal by clicking the purple cow-head logo at the bottom of any AABP website page.

Ancillary Bovine Respiratory Disease Therapy Apr 05, 2021

Show notes

What are we trying to accomplish when we add something besides an antibiotic to our treatment regimen for bovine respiratory disease (BRD)? Is the anticipated outcome from this ancillary treatment positive, neutral or negative? In this episode, AABP Past President Dr. Mike Apley, discusses the current scientific literature on the addition of a variety of NSAID’s, steroids and Vitamin C to a BRD treatment protocol. Dr. Apley provides his view that an AABP proceedings paper from experts on a subject provide the busy private practitioner with the literature search and article interpretation that they may not have the time, resources or expertise to perform on their own. Dr. Apley’s draft proceedings paper from the 4th AABP Recent Graduate Conference can be found here. All AABP publications are now available open access through an online searchable database of high quality downloadable PDF documents that are indexed at the article level for keyword and author searches. Dr. Apley states that the goals for ancillary BRD therapy include improvement in the welfare of an animal, increased treatment response, or improved performance. His review of the published literature for flunixin demonstrates a reduction of fever but mixed results on other criteria for treatment response. He references an article from Christie et al. Bovine Practitioner 1977 Volume 12 demonstrates a negative impact from the use of corticosteroids for treatment of BRD. We also discuss how veterinarians can access and review Freedom of Information Act summaries submitted for drug approvals by going to this link.

Socially Housed Dairy Calves Mar 29, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, Dr. Whitney Knauer from the University of Minnesota discusses social housing of dairy calves. Group housing of calves is increasing. We discuss the different types of socially housed calves such as large groups of more than 15 calves, small groups of 3-8 calves and paired calf housing. She identifies some of the challenges of group housing such as disease detection, cross sucking and competition for milk. Dr. Knauer offers some tips for veterinarians to work with their producers to address these challenges and overcome them. We review some of the studies and her research on paired calf housing which demonstrate a benefit to the calf as well as the producer. Paired calves have better average daily gain, eat more starter grain before and after weaning, and there is a tendency for higher weaning weights. She also notes that paired housed calves are better socialized which results in decrease stress of weaning. Dr. Knauer states that paired housed calves vocalize less and lay down more after weaning when moved to group pens. A major benefit to paired housing is that it is easy to implement with current calf housing systems on most farms, therefore the financial input needed is minimized. The farm footprint devoted to calf facilities is not increased with paired housing and she states that pairing calves allows for 30% more calves to be raised utilizing the same footprint. She recommends that each calf have its own hutch and the square footage should be doubled if pairing or tripled if housing 3 calves together. In addition, each calf should have its own starter grain and water bucket. Calves can be paired at birth and she suggests no more than 7 days age difference in calves that are paired together. We can learn from the animals we care for and attempt to mimic their natural behavior with our housing and management systems to improve health, welfare and productivity. Dr. Knauer suggests that it is easy to setup an on-farm trial utilizing paired housing to see the benefits to the calf on your producer’s operations!

We encourage you to join AABP so that you can enjoy the many member benefits our organization provides, including providing up to date scientific CE and research updates! Click here to join today!

Relevant articles:

Knauer WA, Godden SM, Rendahl AK, Endres MI, Crooker BA. The effect of individual versus pair housing of dairy heifer calves during the preweaning period on measures of health, performance, and behavior up to 16 weeks of age. J Dairy Sci. 2020 Dec 23:S0022-0302(20)31077-8. doi: 10.3168/jds.2020-18928

Liu S, Ma J, Li J, Alugongo GM, Wu Z, Wang Y, Li S, Cao Z. Effects of Pair Versus Individual Housing on Performance, Health, and Behavior of Dairy Calves. Animals (Basel). 2019 Dec 25;10(1):50. doi: 10.3390/ani10010050.

Costa JH, Meagher RK, von Keyserlingk MA, Weary DM. Early pair housing increases solid feed intake and weight gains in dairy calves. J Dairy Sci. 2015 Sep;98(9):6381-6. doi: 10.3168/jds.2015-9395.

Ollivett TL, McGuirk SM. Comparing groups pens to individual pens for inside feeding of dairy calves – top 10 considerations. Proceedings of the 48th Annual Conference. American Association of Bovine Practitioners. 2015. Sep. https://doi.org/10.21423/aabppro20153527

Preconditioning Pays – Capturing Value in Preconditioning Programs Mar 22, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Catherine Maguire to discuss beef calf preconditioning programs. Dr. Maguire delivered a presentation at the AABP Recent Graduate Conference in St. Louis on preconditioning. Goals for preconditioning programs include increasing the value of calves marketed, decrease the incidence of disease, and enhance the producer’s reputation over time. Veterinarians can play a key role working with their producers in assisting them with verified health programs, age and source verification, and dehorning. Dr. Maguire reminds us that vaccination is what we do on our end and immunization is what the calf does on his end. We can enhance immunization by ensuring an appropriate preconditioning program. A major focus of these programs involves adequate nutrition. Dr. Maguire offers a great practice tip by suggesting veterinarians have producer meetings to discuss preconditioning topics such as appropriate nutrition, vaccine administration and handling, decrease stress at weaning, low stress cattle handling, and the overall benefits of preconditioning programs. Preconditioning programs can improve cattle health and welfare and veterinarians play a key role in ensuring their success by working with their producers.

A Conversation with AABP President Dr. Carie Telgen Mar 15, 2021

Show notes

Dr. Carie Telgen is the fourth female president of AABP, the youngest AABP president and the first Amstutz Scholarship winner to become president of AABP. After listening to this podcast, this will likely not surprise you because Dr. Telgen is an energetic, thoughtful, and passionate advocate for AABP. She describes growing up on a dairy farm and always has wanted to be a cattle veterinarian, other than a brief interest in pathology when the family dog died! Dr. Telgen talks about how she become involved with AABP in the Membership Committee and task force, being elected to serve in District 1 as the board member and then being elected to Vice President in 2018. She wants to encourage younger members, and particularly women members, to become involved with AABP. She discusses some of the challenges she has faced during her career, including mental health struggles and how she found online therapy useful. We discuss sharing our struggles on the Humans of AABP Facebook page so that we can support one another and normalize the conversation around mental health to encourage those of us who are struggling to reach out for help. If you have a story to share, you can email it to fred@aabp.org or ehbrock27@gmail.com. Your story can be shared anonymously. Dr. Telgen discusses the challenges AABP has faced in the past year and also the new initiatives the organization has supported during her service on the Executive Committee. Finally, she asks that all cattle veterinarians join AABP to support our work, increase our ability to provide member resources, and improve our ability to advocated on behalf of the entire bovine veterinary medical profession. You can join AABP or renew your dues by going to this link.

BRD Diagnostics and Lung Ultrasound Mar 08, 2021

Show notes

Dr. Terri Ollivett joins us to discuss how to develop pathogen profiles for herd based and individual animal diagnostics. She provides recommendations on selecting which calves to test. Physical exams and respiratory scoring are not as accurate as utilizing lung ultrasound to find calves to test for BRD pathogens. Dr. Ollivett provides some tips for learning lung ultrasound including viewing her presentations on the AABP BCI CE portal (click on the purple cow-head logo at the bottom of any AABP page) or viewing training videos on The Dairyland Initiative #weanclean website. Dr. Ollivett recommends incorporating lung ultrasound into “herd health visits for calves” and not just reproductive exams. Diagnostic testing can also be used to assess producers case definitions as a part of antimicrobial stewardship monitoring. She walks us through tips for performing a bronchoalveolar lavage, the suggested test for an individual calf, and deep pharyngeal swab, the recommended test for herd based pathogen profiling.

Dr. Ollivett received an AABP Foundation research grant in 2015 and the publication from this research can be found in the Journal of Dairy Science at this link. This is an example of the clinically relevant research the AABP Foundation funds that is directly applicable to bovine practice. Please support the AABP Foundation in funding future projects by going to this link and donate today! A $50 donation from every podcast listener would fund an entire project! AABP Foundation research projects funded can be found on the AABP Foundation website.

Unique Veterinary Practice Models and Consulting Opportunities Mar 01, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we are joined by AABP member Dr. Greg Goodell and AABP Past Presidents Dr. Mark Thomas and Dr. Calvin Booker. Dr. Thomas and Dr. Booker are involved with Dairy Health Management and Feedlot Health Management, a consulting-based practice with clients in the US, Canada, Mexico, and China. Dr. Goodell discusses his career start as a staff veterinarian for a large dairy and how he started his practice, The Dairy Authority which provides a wide range of services with a large focus on laboratory work. We discuss fee structures for consulting and how to get paid for your expertise as a beef or dairy consultant. These members also discuss how AABP and their mentors influenced them and provided them the resources to provide consulting services.

Find out more about these practices by going to their practice websites using the links below:

Dr. Calvin Booker – Feedlot Health Management Services

Dr. Greg Goodell – The Dairy Authority

Dr. Mark Thomas – Dairy Health Management Services

Dr. Virginia Fajt Discusses the CLSI VET09 Document Feb 22, 2021

Show notes

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Virginia Fajt, a clinical pharmacologist from Texas A&M University. Dr. Fajt served as the chair of the VET09 subcommittee of the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) which created this resource. VET09 assists veterinarians with instituting one of the core principals of antimicrobial stewardship which is judicious use of antimicrobials. We review some basic pharmacologic terms that are defined in the document as well as factors that might influence the veterinarians decision process in selecting an antimicrobial. Dr. Fajt discusses some of the nuances of antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) and interpretation. Veterinarians should consider regulatory factors as well as if the pathogen has a breakpoint established for that body system. For example, there are no breakpoints for enteric pathogens in cattle, therefore AST results for enteric pathogens should be interpreted with caution. We also discuss interpretation of AST results for mastitis pathogens and the limitation of applying sensitivity testing to pathogens in the udder. Finally, Dr. Fajt discusses the fact that there are no breakpoints for antimicrobials administered in the feed or water and therefore applying results to those routes of administration might be erroneous.

Relevant documents:

We encourage you to purchase the VET09 document as part of your reference library. Cost for non-CLSI members is only $50 and can be purchased here.

A recorded presentation on the VET09 document can be viewed at no charge by going to this link.

AABP Antimicrobial Stewardship Guidelines.

AVMA Core Principals of Antimicrobial Stewardship.

AVMA Definitions of Antimicrobial Use for Treatment, Control and Prevention.

Combating Racism in Veterinary Medicine Feb 15, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Allen Cannedy who is the Director of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs at North Carolina State University. Dr. Cannedy is a graduate of Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine and has is the owner of Small Ruminant and Camelid Mobile Veterinary Practice. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, veterinary medicine is the least diverse of the health care professions with minorities representing only 10% of the profession. Dr. Cannedy discusses some of the unique challenges and obstacles that minority students face in pursuing veterinary medicine, as well as ways to remove those challenges to improve minority representation in colleges of veterinary medicine. We discuss that over the past 10 years, according to the 2020 AAVMC report, there has been improvement in the number of students with minority backgrounds at veterinary medical schools, however Dr. Cannedy states “we have a lot of catching up to do”! We discuss myths and their origins for why minority students are under-representing in veterinary medicine as well as the origins of racist phrases that might be used even today, sometimes unknowingly. Dr. Cannedy also explains some examples of racist behavior as well as racist things we should never think, do or say. He challenges all of us to understand the perspective of others who might be different from you and try to comprehend the obstacles they might have that you do not experience. He asks us to be an ally and voice for minorities and encourage them to extern with your practice and join veterinary medicine and specifically large animal practice.

AABP Mission Statement:

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.

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