EXCLUSIVE PRODUCER FOCUS REPORT SURVEY ADDS TO BRD … · ©2015 Bayer HealthCare LLC, Animal Health, Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66201 Zelnate™ ™ ® ® FOCUS REPORT Veterinarians

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FOCUS REPORT

Veterinarians Share PERSPECTIVE ON BRD

EXCLUSIVE PRODUCER SURVEY ADDS TO BRD INSIGHT

By Kindra Gordon

“BRD remains one of our largest health problems in the industry. By far it’s the most significant morbidity category…”

That assessment by veterinarian Tom Noffsinger of Benkelman, Neb., is a frustration shared by many in the beef production chain. Bovine respiratory disease (BRD), an infection of the lungs that causes pneumonia, impacts the stocker, feedlot and cow–calf sectors with an estimated $1 billion in production losses annually in the U.S.

Even more troubling, note many veterinarians and producers, is the fact that there are as many cattle dying from respiratory disease today as there were 30 years ago—despite advances in vaccines and technology.

To help advance management efforts in the battle against BRD, Drovers hosted a roundtable discussion on the topic with six leading veterinarians from across the country.

This special BRD Focus Report highlights their candid comments—from observed prevalence of BRD to dos and don’ts of suggested management protocols.

BRD insight from more than 500 producers across the country who responded to an exclusive survey conducted by Drovers is also featured inside.

For more BRD information and resources, including expanded articles from Drovers’ exclusive veterinarian roundtable discussion and producer survey, visit: www.BRDresources.com

What are producers seeing with regard to BRD within their own operations? Gaining that insight has been the goal of two exclusive producer surveys conducted by Drovers. An initial benchmark survey was conducted in August 2016 with 383 producers responding from across the country. A follow-up survey was conducted in January 2017 and garnered input from 528 producers.

THE TOP THREE CATTLE-HEALTH CONCERNS IDENTIFIED BY PRODUCERS were the same in the benchmark survey and the 2017 survey

Producers also indicated:• Commingling and dampness were the top stress factors they

attribute to influencing BRD development. Additionally, the 2017 survey responses indicated transportation as the third most important stressor.

• Regarding the profit impact of BRD-related challenges, producers responding to the 2017 survey assigned increased impact to “lost productivity from cattle being treated for clinical symptoms,” “mortality due to BRD” and “lost productivity from cattle that were never diagnosed with BRD” as compared to responses in the benchmark survey.

• The 2017 survey also revealed that producers were taking steps to reduce BRD risk among calves. More producers reported purchasing calves closer to home, purchasing more preconditioned or certified calves and purchasing from a single source. In 2017, producers indicated they also waited longer to treat calves for BRD upon arrival, with fewer treating within 24 hours and more treating within the first week of arrival. (This strategy of delayed processing is believed to reduce stress and allow vaccines to work more effectively when they are administered.)

• Additionally, producers in 2017 were more likely to say they’d contact their veterinarian as a first line of BRD defense upon an outbreak. They were less likely to say they’d try to handle the outbreak on their own.

• In the 2017 survey, a higher percentage of producers indicated awareness of antibiotic-free beef messages, and more producers said they have either reduced antibiotic use or would consider reducing use.

Nearly 90% of respondents identified BRD as the top health issue

Followed by pinkeye at 60%

And foot rot at 44% This increased to 54% in the 2017 survey

BRD

Pink Eye

Foot Rot






https://www.zelnate.com/

Veterinarians Weigh in on BRD

—involving all cattle-industry sectors—

these veterinarians concur.

A SYSTEMS APPROACHIS ESSENTIAL TO BEATING BRD,

WHAT IS AN IMMUNOSTIMULANT?An immunostimulant is a non-antibiotic product designed to help the animal’s own body fight off infections, especially at times when the immune system may otherwise be suppressed due to outside stressors. Immunostimulants activate an animal’s innate immune system, which is its internal line of defense in protecting against disease.

That was the premise of an exclusive, closed-door roundtable discussion among six veterinarians this past spring. The private discussion, which was hosted by Drovers and moderated by well-known veterinarian Dale Grotelueschen, took place in Dallas, Texas, in conjunction with the 2017 American Veterinary Consultants Conference. Participating veterinarians included:

• Max Irsik, Gainesville, Fla.• Phillip Kesterson, Bridgeport, Neb.• Tom Noffsinger, Benkelman, Neb.• Mark Quinn, Melissa, Texas• Casey Risinger, Terrell, Texas• Gerald Stokka, Fargo, N.D.

In total, these six veterinarians shared similar observations that BRD is a prevalent and frustrating disease, with disease incidence varying considerably— from 2% to more than 50%—by operation and season. As an example, Risinger shared, “We’ll run 5% morbidity for a while, and then run 40%, doing the same thing. It’s up and down.”

Adding to the frustration, these veterinarians concur that the causes of BRD are varied. Contributing factors include weaning stress, changing diet, commingling, lack of immunity, lack of vaccination at the source of origin, weather and transportation.

Acknowledging all of those variables, Stokka stated, “BRD in high-risk animals is a symptom of something that’s gone

wrong in the system.”

That said, this think tank knows the obstacles in minimizing BRD risk can—and are—being overcome, particularly among larger operations. Noffsinger noted, “The word ‘system’ is really important here.” He cited fetal programming, analysis of procurement methods and therapeutic pen space as examples of tools being added to the cattle management system and successfully minimizing BRD incidence.

As well, Noffsinger pointed to shipping calves from Hawaii to the mainland. Initially, he said, those calves “were an absolute disaster.” But today, he noted, “People created lots of interactive systems downstream in cow–calf, in stockmanship, in trace minerals, and now those animals are almost bulletproof…Florida is the same way. There’s a group of veterinarians there doing things to prepare cattle to come West and been highly, highly successful. What keeps amazing me is if we can ship a calf from Maui to Colby, Kan., why can’t we ship one from St. Joe to Colby? I think there’s a lot of potential there.”

Stokka added, “We’re doing some correct things in certain places and some things that need addressing in other places.”

PRODUCTIVEProtocolsTo that end, this group of veterinarians believes more emphasis should be placed on proper protocols–and communication–throughout the beef production chain to manage calves and minimize BRD risk.

Kesterson pointed out, “There are huge differences that I’ve seen in the success of programs as we get information flowing two ways between ranchers and the feedyards.”

Specifically regarding vaccination, Kesterson encouraged other veterinarians and producers to consider the following:• How is it handled?

• What is the cleanliness and the dedication of modified-live syringes and killed syringes within the cooler?

• How much do we mix up at a time?

• What are the factors around that vaccination event—cattle handling, temperature, stress in the calves, timing of administration to mixing?

Look at all those factors.

Likewise, this group had considerable discussion about the role of veterinarians to offer stocker and feedyard clients guidance in diagnosis of sick calves and following recommended treatment protocols.

Irsik shared that as stocker and feedyard operators learn more about diagnosis strategies from their veterinarian, they may be willing to adopt a pre-treatment evaluation period for sick calves, which may help better identify calves simply in need of nursing care versus those having respiratory disease. He also noted that often antibiotic treatment is viewed as a “panacea” and applied within stocker and feedlot settings without adequate diagnosis and evaluation.

Noffsinger added, “When you show a cowboy that overusing products is very, very detrimental to the organs of the calf—and your billfold—and it’s not going to change the outcome, that’s when you start making progress.”

In deciding upon treatment, Stokka encouraged asking three questions:

“Is it necessary? Will it work? Is it safe to use?”

Lastly, with regard to antibiotic use, Quinn noted that less antibiotic use is a protocol that everyone across the industry should strive for. He said, “Not only because of public perception but also just because of cost.” He recommended sick calves requiring antibiotics be given three treatments and then, if they have not responded or recovered, move them to a no-treatment pen.

The roundtable agreed, and Kesterson shared, with regard to antibiotic use, his approach with clients is to emphasize the perspective: “This is food…These animals are going to be part of the food chain.”

Weaning, handling for castration/dehorning, transport to a stocker or feedyard facility and commingling—it all adds up to a stressful time for calves which can compromise their immune system, resulting in higher rates of illness and death loss.

At the same time, although antibiotics have often been looked to as a treatment tool for sick calves, today’s society is imploring livestock producers to reduce antibiotic use in livestock production.

It has brought the livestock industry to a crossroads, prompting new technology and management to enhance animal health. Two emerging examples include the development of Zelnate® DNA Immunostimulant, a novel technology that jumpstarts a calf’s immune system before it is faced with pathogens, and delayed administration of modified-live vaccines upon arrival to allow high-risk cattle to overcome stress-induced immune issues and better respond to vaccination.

A clinical field study involving 5,179 crossbred heifer calves at a commercial feedlot in southwest Kansas was conducted to test the use of an immunostimulant and delayed processing. Calves had an average processing weight of 624 lb. and were randomly divided into four treatment groups, which included:

Group 1: administered a modified-live vaccine on arrival and again after 30 days on feed

Group 2: administered an immunostimulant on arrival along with a modified-live vaccine and administered a modified-live vaccine again after 30 days on feed

Group 3: administered a modified-live vaccine only after 30 days on feed

Group 4: administered an immunostimulant on arrival and administered a modified-live vaccine after 30 days on feed.

A total of 15 pen replicates per treatment group were created with about 86 head in each pen. Various performance parameters including mortality were measured at 60 days on feed, 116 days on feed and at close-out.

In this study, the RESEARCHERS OBSERVED:

Animals receiving the immunostimulant (Groups 2 and 4) had significantly reduced overall mortality (22%-31%) at each of the three measured timeframes.

The two groups receiving the immunostimulant had significantly reduced BRD mortality (24%-28%) at the three measured timeframes, regardless of on-arrival or delayed modified-live vaccination treatment.

Delaying the modified-live vaccine administration (Group 4) significantly reduced second BRD treatments at each of the three timeframes, while also significantly reducing BRD re-treatment risk at 116 days and close-out.

In reviewing this research study, several veterinarians have expressed excitement at the promise of new treatment protocols that may allow less reliance on antibiotics for the livestock industry. That said, veterinarians and researchers agree more research is needed to help the industry continue to learn more about recommended best practices for vaccinations and immunity protection of newly shipped calves.

NEW MANAGEMENT PRACTICES SHOW PROMISEEmerging research suggests inclusion of an immunostimulant and delayed processing may lower disease incidence.

If you could gather veterinarians together from across the country

and have them compare experiences and advice for managing BRD,

what takeaways could be gleaned— and applied to future cattle

management, specifically among stocker operations and feedlots— from that “think tank” session?

BIGGEST BRD FRUSTRATIONSAccording to veterinarians at the roundtable, the most frustrating aspects of BRD are the unexplainable scenarios that occur—a pen or load of cattle that has been handled the same as another but has higher than typical BRD morbidity and mortality, or an animal that is treated and fails to recover.

Terrell, Texas, veterinarian Casey Risinger related, “We do the same thing on every set, and then you have one set that falls apart.”As well, Nebraska veterinarian Tom Noffsinger said, “We have some animals that, it doesn’t matter when you treat him or what you treat him with, he fails to heal himself.…Trying to understand why his pen-mate, first of all, doesn’t get ill, but second of all, if he does get ill, he responds miraculously.”

In spite of these scenarios, Risinger emphasized that it is important to stay the course with the treatment protocols. He said, “My biggest frustration is trying to convince them [stockers and feeders] that they don’t have to change everything they do because one pen fell apart. It’s worked 95% of the time; it’s probably a good program, and I don’t know why this happened.”

The roundtable veterinarians LIST OF STRATEGIES include:

1

2

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Calves should be vaccinated prior to shipping.

Better handling, acclimation and hydration of calves upon arrival.

Veterinarians more clearly communicating with clients for accurate diagnosis and treatment.

FAP171474© 2017 Farm Journal Media. 1000C17X5















PRODUCTIVE ProtocolsTo that end, this group of veterinarians believes more emphasis should be placed on proper protocols–and communication–throughout the beef production chain to manage calves and minimize BRD risk.





































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www.baytril100.com



















Sponsored Content

FOCUS REPORT

Veterinarians Share PERSPECTIVE ON BRD

EXCLUSIVE PRODUCER SURVEY ADDS TO BRD INSIGHT

By Kindra Gordon

“BRD remains one of our largest health problems in the industry. By far it’s the most significant morbidity category…”

That assessment by veterinarian Tom Noffsinger of Benkelman, Neb., is a frustration shared by many in the beef production chain. Bovine respiratory disease (BRD), an infection of the lungs that causes pneumonia, impacts the stocker, feedlot and cow–calf sectors with an estimated $1 billion in production losses annually in the U.S.

Even more troubling, note many veterinarians and producers, is the fact that there are as many cattle dying from respiratory disease today as there were 30 years ago—despite advances in vaccines and technology.

To help advance management efforts in the battle against BRD, Drovers hosted a roundtable discussion on the topic with six leading veterinarians from across the country.

This special BRD Focus Report highlights their candid comments—from observed prevalence of BRD to dos and don’ts of suggested management protocols.

BRD insight from more than 500 producers across the country who responded to an exclusive survey conducted by Drovers is also featured inside.

For more BRD information and resources, including expanded articles from Drovers’ exclusive veterinarian roundtable discussion and producer survey, visit: www.BRDresources.com

What are producers seeing with regard to BRD within their own operations? Gaining that insight has been the goal of two exclusive producer surveys conducted by Drovers. An initial benchmark survey was conducted in August 2016 with 383 producers responding from across the country. A follow-up survey was conducted in January 2017 and garnered input from 528 producers.

THE TOP THREE CATTLE-HEALTH CONCERNS IDENTIFIED BY PRODUCERS were the same in the benchmark survey and the 2017 survey

Producers also indicated:• Commingling and dampness were the top stress factors they

attribute to influencing BRD development. Additionally, the 2017 survey responses indicated transportation as the third most important stressor.

• Regarding the profit impact of BRD-related challenges, producers responding to the 2017 survey assigned increased impact to “lost productivity from cattle being treated for clinical symptoms,” “mortality due to BRD” and “lost productivity from cattle that were never diagnosed with BRD” as compared to responses in the benchmark survey.

• The 2017 survey also revealed that producers were taking steps to reduce BRD risk among calves. More producers reported purchasing calves closer to home, purchasing more preconditioned or certified calves and purchasing from a single source. In 2017, producers indicated they also waited longer to treat calves for BRD upon arrival, with fewer treating within 24 hours and more treating within the first week of arrival. (This strategy of delayed processing is believed to reduce stress and allow vaccines to work more effectively when they are administered.)

• Additionally, producers in 2017 were more likely to say they’d contact their veterinarian as a first line of BRD defense upon an outbreak. They were less likely to say they’d try to handle the outbreak on their own.

• In the 2017 survey, a higher percentage of producers indicated awareness of antibiotic-free beef messages, and more producers said they have either reduced antibiotic use or would consider reducing use.

Nearly 90% of respondents identified BRD as the top health issue

Followed by pinkeye at 60%

And foot rot at 44% This increased to 54% in the 2017 survey

BRD

Pink Eye

Foot Rot

www.baytril100.com

Documents

EXCLUSIVE PRODUCER FOCUS REPORT SURVEY ADDS TO BRD … · ©2015 Bayer HealthCare LLC, Animal Health, Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66201 Zelnate™ ™ ® ® FOCUS REPORT Veterinarians