HoofPrint_June_2020

Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Branch of the New Zealand Veterinary Association

HoofPrint Volume 38 | Number 2 | June 2020 | ISSN 1172-580X Dairy Cattle Vets newsletter of the New Zealand Veterinary Association Fodder beet toxicity in cattle

Calf age and bovine viral diarrhoea virus test outcomes

New animal welfare regulations delayed

HoofPrint NZ | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020 | i

PLASMA CALCIUM

The only ACVM authorised intra-ruminal calcium bolus for the prevention and treatment of subclinical hypocalcaemia and as an aid in the prevention and treatment of clinical hypocalcaemia (Milk Fever) in cows.

Backed by NZ peer-reviewed trial*.

1 x Calpro Bolus (At Calving)

1 x Calpro Bolus (12-15 hours after 1st Bolus)

KEEP ON TOP OF THE DROP. Treat Subclinical Hypocalcaemia • Fast Action • Sustained Release • Targeted Individual Treatment

Chart adapted from Kimura K, Reinhardt TA, Goff JP. Parturition and hypocalcemia blunts calcium signals in immune cells of dairy cattle. J Dairy Sci 2006;89:2588–95

*KI Roberts, J Bennison & S McDougall (2018): Effect of treatment with oral Ca boluses following calving on concentrations of Ca in serum in pasture-based dairy cows, New Zealand Veterinary Journal, DOI: 10.1080/00480169.2018.1520654 Calpro Bolus is a registered trade mark of the Bayer Group.

Calpro® Bolus is registered under the ACVM Act 1997.

Bayer New Zealand Limited, 3 Argus Place, Hillcrest, Auckland 0627, New Zealand. www.bayeranimal.co.nz Customer info Line: 0800 446 121

CONTENTS Executive 3 Editorial Ali Cullum 4 President’s report Stephen Hopkinson 6 Veterinary Manager (Large Animal) Report Ash Keown Up front 8 New NZVA-accredited course for vets, techs and farmers 9 Vet tech course in limbo

Samantha Tennant DairyNZ 10 Altering the perspective of animal care

during winter Helen Thoday Wellbeing 13 Farmer winter wellbeing

Ash Keown

IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Antibiotic classification 14 Misconceptions about the NZVA traffic

light antibiotic classification system

Ash Keown Case Study 16 Fodder beet toxicity in cattle Rowan Skentelbery Research study 22 Does calf age effect bovine viral

diarrhoea virus test outcomes Scott McDougall Animal welfare 26 New animal welfare regulations delayed

Ash Keown Final word 28 Drought recovery advice fund

View from the office

HoofPrint NZ | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020 | 1

EDITORIAL

VOLUME 38 | NO. 2 June 2020

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President

Stephen Hopkinson E: stephenh@taranaki-vets.co.nz M: 027 309 5923

Vice President

Steve Cranefield E: steve@agrihealth.co.nz

Treasurer

Kate Gloyn E: kateg@tepukevets.co.nz

Committee

Tennielle Ellingham E: TEllingham@anexa.co.nz Duncan Crosbie E: duncan@vetlife.co.nz Greg Lindsay E: glindsay@fvs.co.nz Caleb King E: caleb.king@norbrook.co.nz

Veterinary Manager (Large Animal) Ash Keown NZVA Office, Wellington E: ashley.keown@vets.org.nz P: 04 471 0484

Generic Contact Email dcv@vets.org.nz

Newsletter Editor

Ali Cullum E: acullum@anexa.co.nz

Design

Amanda Trayes E: amanda@sugarbag.co.nz

Advertising

Tony Leggett M: 027 4746 093 E: tony.leggett@nzfarmlife.co.nz

Next newsletter September 2020

On the cover...

Cows break grazing fodderbeet ISTOCKPHOTO.COM

Disclaimer

Published by the Society of Dairy Cattle Veterinarians of The New Zealand Veterinary Association. Ideas expressed in this Newsletter are not necessarily those of the Society as a whole, or that of the editor. They represent freedom of expression by the contributors. Editor, Ali Cullum, Anexa Veterinary Services. © Copyright 2020 Dairy Cattle Veterinarians of New Zealand Association.

Welcome to the June edition of HoofPrint. I hope you are all geared up for the start of calving?

I HAD TO “fish” my calving box from the back of the ute canopy (where I had naively stowed it away after the end of autumn calving!) last week for two early spring calvings. Both animals were 6-7 month gestation slips, but the calves, although small, were still challenging to remove! The first one was beautifully rotten and ensured the contents of my vehicle (along with me) smelt wonderful for several days!

Thank you to Dr Suzannah Partridge of Dargaville Veterinary Centre for answering “What is wrong with me”. The correct answer is a swelling of the retropharyngeal lymph node of the head. This was a hard swelling with no soft spots and was an actinobacillosis infection which responded to parenteral streptomycin(5 days) and non steroidals (3 days) combined with oral potassium iodide (10 days). Differentials would include lumpy jaw or an actinomycosis infection, lymphoma, foreign body in retropharyngeal area.

There is a good summary of actinobacillosis in cattle in Veterinary Medicine, including rationale and dose rates for different treatments. https:// www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-andpharmaceutical-science/actinobacillosis.

We have some great articles in this month’s magazine. I particularly found the case study on Fodder Beet Toxicity by Rowan Skentelbery and the research study on BVD detection in calves by Scott McDougall valuable for clinical practice.

If anyone would like the job of being editor for HoofPrint, my term as editor reaches 3 years with the December 2020 edition. I think it would be a good time to hand over the reins to another editor. Please email me if you are interested acullum@anexa.co.nz.

Have a great spring, Ali IMAGE: SUPPLIED

HoofPrint NZ | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020 | 3

STEPHEN HOPKINSON

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Hi Everyone, WE ARE IN Level 3 when I write this, so who knows what situation we will be in when you read this – best case scenario you will be on a beach in a Pacific Island sipping cocktails and so couldn’t care less anyway!!

Distance prescribing, multiple prescriptions per farm from different practices, distance dispensing etc have been highlighted

by DCV as one of the major concerns to dairy veterinary industry.

This will be a brief report as it’s quite obvious that Covid-19 dominated all aspects of our lives since late March. It may have seemed that communications from the DCV were pretty non-existent through this period, but this was intentional. We certainly participated in helping with the NZVA recommendations and advice, but it was definitely better that all communications be centralised direct from the NZVA to ensure accuracy and consistency.

Digital HoofPrint We launched our first digital HoofPrint edition during Level 4 lockdown and to date have received zero feedback! Based on a long standing cultural tradition of the New Zealand veterinary profession to quickly point out faults and deficiencies, we are taking this as a resounding success so will be continuing with the digital format.

It is also easy to sit back, read an issue and then be disappointed with the content. I remind you all that we are a member organisation and this is a member magazine. It will only continue to exist and thrive if members contribute to the content.

All vets working in dairy practice can and should contribute. Anything will be considered such as: Ð In-clinic trials – this isn’t the Vet Journal so even if you can’t say Boolean Statistical Regression Analysis 3 times without stuttering, or you’ve never heard of the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient, send it in! Ð Interesting cases – we all love reading these and its surprising how often they trigger a memory of a similar case that you had no idea about several years ago! These, also, don’t all have to be written to a standard acceptable for the Vet Journal. I get sick of reading jargon loaded articles full of words ending in –itis or similar.

There is nothing wrong with saying “blinking a lot” instead of “blespharospasm”! I wouldn’t like to think that some really good articles aren’t

sent in because of fear of judgement because you didn’t use all the big words. Ð Student case reports – if you are mentoring a student and they write up a report for Massey on one of your cases, it should be compulsory to send in to HoofPrint for publishing.

Even though HoofPrint is largely technical based the committee are considering other options to keep it varied and interesting. These might include Ð Regular spots for our industry partners, eg DairyNZ, Fonterra, MPI etc Ð Opinion pieces Ð Anecdotal stories, e.g. international experience, something that happened that is just plain funny etc Please, help keep HoofPrint alive and healthy!

Teat Sealant Insertion We have spent quite a lot of work on a standardised training programme for teat seal insertion (and other intramammary products) after feedback from VPIS abut the sort of claims that have been made against veterinary practices in 2018 and 2019 from both famer and technician inserted product.

This was almost at the completed stage when Covid-19 struck and so has not quite been finished ready for release in time for this year’s drying off period.

The purpose of the programme is so that if farmers and their staff and our own technicians and are trained and signed off to this programme then:

1.

The products, particularly teat sealants will be administered in the correct hygienic manner with very low risk of adverse events

2.

VPIS will ​be confident in providing insurance cover ​to a vet practice should the unlikely adverse event occur

As a follow up to the teat sealant claims, VPIS now recommends that practices get a waiver signed

4 | HoofPrint NZ: Official newsletter of the Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Branch of the NZVA | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Wouldn’t it be so much better if veterinary authorisations only had a single legislative code to adhere to instead of 3 different ones that don’t always agree with each other!

Looking Ahead Pretty hard to see what is going to happen after Covid-19. The dairy industry will get through this first 3-6 months of it okay with the 2019-20 season payout, but there are conflicting comments about the next season dairy payout. At $6.50, confidence will be okay, but If it falls below $6.00 (or down to $5.50 as per one prediction) then there will be pressure back on the dairy industry which could affect our veterinary businesses.

by the farmer prior to the use of any teat sealant or dry therapy product. You should have already received notice of this recommendation and DCV supports and encourages this.

NZCP1 Requirements

Dry lot Jersey farming (unhoused) in the high desert of Idaho, USA.

Distance prescribing, multiple prescriptions per farm from different practices, distance dispensing etc have been highlighted by DCV as one of the major concerns to dairy veterinary industry.

We are going through a period where phone call authorisation of dry cow therapy and annual supply of RVMs has been a requirement due to government decrees around face-to-face business, and there are serious concerns that this may legitimise distance prescribing.

We will be strongly recommending that the NZVA take action on this with other suitable bodies such as VCNZ and MPI to emphasise it is the vet-tofarm relationship that is the key criteria.

Cheers Hoppy

We have been working alongside Fonterra and DCANZ to get consistent clarification of requirements under NZCP1 (Code of Practice for Design and Operation of Farm Dairies) for the use of RVMs with particular reference to concurrent use and authorisation expiry dates. These discussions have also involved MPI, ACVM, VCNZ and a couple of other acronyms.

The progress has ben slower than ideal in getting agreement between everybody and it doesn’t help that the sections in NZCP1 we are discussing are badly worded. However we are hoping very soon before calving starts this year to have recommendations to you all so that RVM authorisations satisfy our ACVM, VCNZ and NZCP1 requirements.

IMAGERY: SUPPLIED

HoofPrint NZ | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020 | 5

ASH KEWON

VETERINARY MANAGER’S (LARGE ANIMALS) REPORT

Hello DCV members!

IT GOES WITHOUT saying that the world has changed quite a bit since I last wrote my report for HoofPrint.

I expect many of you will be sick to death of hearing about COVID now, but here at the NZVA it‘s been pretty much all we’ve been living and breathing for the past 7 weeks!

Thankfully (at the time of writing) most of our members seem to be adjusting well to Alert Level 3, and we’ve certainly noticed a reduction in the number of queries and other pandemicrelated tasks coming our way. We sent our last COVID-specific member email this week, and I’ve been enjoying returning to a few of the tasks which we had to drop.

I hope you are enjoying the new-look digital HoofPrint – which actually came at a great time, considering many of you have been working from home – and would’ve missed out on some quality reading if a hard-copy magazine had been locked in the clinic! As always, if you have feedback please email us your thoughts – we’d love to hear any suggestions you might have for content you’d like to see included in HoofPrint, or feedback on whether the interactive digital style is working for you.

You’ll remember dry-off was one of my big projects in the early part of the year – unfortunately the lockdown restrictions really affected how much veterinarians were able to engage with their farmers during milk quality consult time, and particularly affected training of both farm and clinic staff!

This meant we made the tough choice to delay the release of our intramammary administration competency standard guidance. While this was disappointing, it does mean we’re able to further refine it, and bring you something even better for dry-off 2021! We hope you found our new dry-off page useful, and found it easy to share the new resources with your clients digitally.

We’ve also been working to refresh Leptosure – as announced at the DCV conference and roadshow last year. It ended up being a little behind schedule, but we’ve now got the new webpage live – and you’ll notice some really exciting changes.

We’ve refreshed and refined the resources available – a printable booklet for farmers; a presentation to guide the consultation (which will be updated regularly with the latest research findings); and a new printable poster to go on the wall of the farm office – this replaces the static gateplate at the end of the driveway, and shifts the commitment to reduce risk into the everyday consciousness of the farm staff. And the biggest change of all – Leptosure is now free for all NZVA members!

We’re hoping this means more of you will use the resources to help your clients create a leptospirosis risk management plan for their farm, every year.

Many of you will be pleased to hear we’re working with the dairy industry and our regulators to navigate the issues which keep coming up during shed inspections. It’s a difficult area to navigate – being regulated under both the ACVM and Animal Products Acts, and balancing the need to have documents to an audible standards while keeping their value as a source of information for farmers!

I’m feeling really positive after our last meeting, and think we’ll be on-track to align the understanding held by both vets and shed inspectors in June…watch this space!

Clearly the cancellation of WVAC was a disappointment for many of you. But I hope you’ve taken up the opportunity to engage with the online WVAC offerings instead! I’ve had a couple of queries from members about other contactless CPD options, and for those of you looking to upskill while working remotely, check out these ideas: Ð Bovine imaging resources from imv imaging Ð B_LNZ knowledge hub – including some great podcasts from our veterinary colleagues! Ð Videos from the World Buiatric Congress held in 2016 and 2018 Ð DairyNZ publications – Inside Dairy and Technical Series Ð Several of the animal health companies have some great online resources for vets Ð Our very own NZVA website – I bet many of you have never delved right into the depth of the member resource centre! Ð Don’t forget about SciQuest – you can even read past editions of HoofPrint!!

Until next time, Ash

As per usual, feel free to get in touch with us here at the (home) office any time – call 04 471 0484, or email ash.keown@vets.org.nz

6 | HoofPrint NZ: Official newsletter of the Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Branch of the NZVA | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020

Virtual Congress Catch up on what you missed with an online subscription!

Access to virtual presentations available until the end of September 2020!

The New Zealand Veterinary Association and World Veterinary Association have partnered with The Webinar Vet to deliver 100+ hours of continuing professional development direct to your computer!

A subscription to the virtual congress gives you access to recorded lectures from over 54 speakers until the end of September for you to watch and learn at your own pace.

The Congress is a valuable learning investment for all veterinary professionals with topics relevant for veterinarians, veterinary nurses, large animal veterinary technicians, practice managers and other veterinary staff.

1 hour of webinars will equate to 1 point of CVE in New Zealand.

Get your subscription now at wvac2020.thewebinarvet.com HoofPrint NZ | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020 | 7

UP FRONT

New NZVA-accredited course for vets, techs 1. and farmers

To get the EduBit badge, learners must provide evidence that they can: Analyse the roles of intramammary therapies and select the appropriate administration techniques in optimising mastitis management.

New micro-credential option available to assist farmers to achieve ‘best practice’ intramammary administration for dairy cattle WANT TO KEEP yourself or your clinic team fully trained on administering intramammary treatments?

Pondering how you can upskill your farmers so they can administer intramammary therapies to best practice standards and get the full value out of their dry cow therapy?

Zoetis and Otago Polytechnic have collaborated to make a micro-credential (or mini certification) on intramammary administration called the “Best Practice Intramammary Administration for Dairy Cattle EduBit”. The EduBit was set up to establish a standard way of providing training and certification in best practice intramammary administration. It has been accredited by the NZVA CPD team.

EduBits are small bite-sized courses, in which the learner demonstrates a specific skill or expertise.

Learners who successfully demonstrate the skill receive a digital certificate which they can display on their CV, email signature, online resume or blog.

Anybody can take the EduBit, there are no prerequisites. Farmers and milking staff can take the EduBit without leaving their farm or needing anybody from outside to come onto their farm.

EduBits are designed to be truly flexible. Seasonal teat sealers, technicians and veterinarians can collect their evidence in their own time before the busy season and submit when they are ready.

While the EduBit is designed to certify people to safely and effectively administer intramammary therapies to dairy cows, it does not simply train people to robotically perform best practice administration. They must also demonstrate background knowledge in mastitis and intramammary treatments and show they can prepare for a successful drying off event.

2.

Analyse factors contributing to, and select appropriate management techniques for, planning successful herd treatment with intramammary therapies.

3.

Administer intramammary therapies and provide aftercare using industry recommended practice and techniques to maximise udder health of dairy animals You can either jump straight to the assessment or take the online training first. Learners are given access to freely available online Zoetis and SmartSAMM learning materials.

Assessment consists of two written sections, which are completed online and uploading some short videos of you performing best practice administration. The assessment and training are both taken at your own pace in your own time and there is no time limit, so you can do a little bit, save your work, and come back later to finish it. If you decide to do the training, we recommend you allow about 4-6 hours if you need to up or reskill by reviewing the learning resources. Once you’ve practiced a few times and feel confident enough to do the assessment, answering the questions and gathering your video evidence for the EduBit assessment should take you another 4-6 hours.

The EduBit costs $99 + GST per person, which is paid once you have uploaded all your assessment evidence and are ready for it to be assessed.

Edubits is Otago Polytechnic’s microcredentialing platform. Micro-credentials are small bite-sized credentials which use evidence to verify a learner’s skill or expertise. Otago Polytechnic is the leading provider in New Zealand and has developed over 100 Edubits for a diverse range of people and skill types, including builders, retail staff, managers and so on. Students who successfully demonstrate the skill receive a digital certificate which they can display on their CV, email signature, online resume or blog.

Every EduBit undergoes a specific planning and approval process with academic quality to ensure it is a rigorous and robust assessment.

8 | HoofPrint NZ: Official newsletter of the Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Branch of the NZVA | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020

UP FRONT

By Samantha Tennant

Vet tech course in limbo Scores of students have been left in limbo after Massey University temporarily closed enrolments in the 2020 veterinary technology degree course.

THE COUNTRY ALREADY faces a veterinarian shortage and veterinary technologists were beginning to lessen some of that burden though there is a shortage of them too.

Massey says the degree is not viable in its current form. From its inception it has been on the same government funding rate as science courses, compared to the higher rate Massey receives for veterinary science students. It is yet to apply for a funding category change to address the funding issues.

In an email sent to course students while they prepare for endof-year exams Massey’s vet school head Professor Jon Huxley explained the extent of the resources required.

rural sectors. They also are trained in companion animals, including equine, large animals, wildlife and gain an extensive science background.

Many are in educational and support roles in the sector and some work on farms.

There is a different level of understanding a vet technologist can provide compared with other qualifications and many courses would be required to cover the same components as the BVetTech. Graduates obtain critical thinking skills and are equipped to help farmers and veterinarians with both routine work and investigating deeper problems.

Veterinary technologist Hayley Squance was the driving force in establishing the programme in NZ. She got her qualification at Queensland University.

“Graduates from the BVetTech are highly valued in New Zealand’s animal health and veterinary industries, in part because of the substantial component of clinical training they receive in the school’s veterinary teaching hospital.

“The core of the veterinary technology programme is crucial,” Squance says.

“However, delivering hospital-based practical training requires considerable resources in terms of staff time and use of hospital space and equipment.”

“Foundational science underpins the knowledge required to understand the pathophysiology of the diseases and the pharmacology of medicines to understand how this will affect patients. It is learning about the diagnostic process and putting it into practice.”

The programme was launched in 2009 and is the only veterinary technologist course available in NZ. About 100 students a year enrol in the pre-selection semester and have to compete for one of 48 places in the degree. The programme has a low attrition rate and a high employment rate among graduates.

Vet technologists are working at senior levels in veterinary practices with multiple species. They have roles in biosecurity, food safety, animal welfare and research with various employers such as AssureQuality, DairyNZ and the Ministry for Primary Industries.

Veterinary practices have been developing roles specifically for graduates. Vet technologists gain sound technical knowledge, practical skills and an in-depth knowledge the veterinary and

IMAGERY: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Alternative study programmes are different to the BVetTech.

There is no direct alternative offered in NZ. She says as the value of veterinary technologists is becoming more understood it is gaining momentum internationally.

“NZ has been world leading with their BVetTech programme and the uncertainty for its future imposes significant risk to many parts of the sector,” she says.

“This closure will impact our agricultural sector and the closure poses a significant risk to animal welfare, biosecurity, food safety and rural communities.”

This article first appeared in Dairy Farmer December 2019 and is printed with permission

HoofPrint NZ | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020 | 9

DAIRYNZ

By Helen Thoday, DairyNZ, animal care team leader and member of the winter action group

Altering the perspective of animal care during winter Finding meaningful metrics for dairy cattle wellbeing to alleviate onerous auditing for farmers, and improve animal care.

LAST YEAR, PHOTOS taken of wintering practices highlighted to the Agricultural Minister the conditions some animals were experiencing. This prompted the Minister to form a Wintering Task Force to provide recommendations for improving animal care in intensive winter grazing situations.

The Task Force’s final report presented the supply chain with recommendations, including some nonnegotiables around animal care during winter. Some things that should never happen and action must be taken immediately to prevent them (the following bullet points are extracted straight from the report, full report can be found here: https://www.agriculture. govt.nz/dmsdocument/38210/direct. Ð Animals giving birth on mud

Equally, there are some things that should always happen, and action must be taken immediately to ensure they do happen: Ð Provision for animals to lie comfortably for as long as they want to Ð Ability to readily move animals to shelter/dry land in adverse weather before harm occurs Ð Continuous convenient access to fresh, clean water Ð Access to an adequately balanced diet, including appropriate supplementary feeding for animals on fodder beet and other crops, that keeps animals warm and does not cause acute or chronic malnutrition and metabolic problems.

Ð Avoidable deaths in adverse weather events Ð Mass mortality events on winter grazing systems

10 | HoofPrint NZ: Official newsletter of the Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Branch of the NZVA | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020

DAIRYNZ

I spent time with dairy farmers and vets in Southland and South Otago talking through these non-negotiables and seeing which they felt were a priority for the dairy sector, and how challenging they would be to achieve.

I asked each farmer I visited to categorise the non-negotiables in to whether they were always, sometime, or never implemented on farm. The two that came up most regularly as sometimes or never being executed were the provision of comfortable lying (all winter) and avoiding calving in mud. Two years ago, vets in Canterbury raised their concerns about cows dying on crop. Based on this concern, avoiding deaths on crop is also a priority for the dairy sector.

DairyNZ has been concentrating on looking at adoption of these priorities at pace and scale prior to winter 2020 and carrying out reflective work looking at change over the next two to three years.

Adoption of animal care priorities for Winter 2020

IMAGERY: SUPPLIED

Information Activities have included a webinar jointly delivered

by Beef and Lamb NZ and DairyNZ which, over two South Island sessions, had 350 participants.

We have mail delivered 1200 updated break-fed wintering resources which include a new animal care section. An animal care video talking with farmers who deliver strategies to improve lying is also available. All these can be found here: https://www.dairynz.co.nz/feed/crops/ wintering-cows-on-crops/.

Support We have been partnering with regional organisations to identify farmers who are at risk of performing poorly over winter and offering some pre-winter support. The support is either an on farm visit (if possible) or helping shape a wintering plan remotely.

We have also offered all farms the opportunity to talk through their wintering plan and check it is in line with up to date practices and also review of wintering policies to include Wintering Task Force non-negotiables. The group who do this are both literate in animal care and environmental good management. In addition, a response service, akin to our Early Response Service (ERS), will be available during winter. This service would be triggered by a mud referral, and like our ERS delivered as a partnership with the dairy company to develop an action plan that ensures better animal care and environmental outcomes.

Working Together At my last count, prior to the COVID adverse event response, there were nine groups focusing on improving winter practices.. The supply chain is a busy space, which is a positive as there is motivation to drive change.

Vets are a crucial part of providing consistency of message and support, identifying at risk farmers, and providing technical input to the range of working groups.

Long term adoption of animal care practices over winter There is some apathy around reaching Good Management Practice (GMP) on farm, even after many years of messaging. Therefore, as a rural professional it is easy to think, “We need to be continued

HoofPrint NZ | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020 | 11

continued

more direct or more pointed with our messages”, as instinctively humans think, “They didn’t hear me so I must tell them more loudly”. A better approach has shown to be reframing the required action into a question. E.g. what benefits does healthy soil bring to your farming business? Or how much time does the team spend managing cows that calve away from the milking platform? Or my favourite “what do you think your cows would ask for over winter?

When I raised this approach in a working group, I was told “Farmers are not children, they need telling straight”. Although I fundamentally agree with that response, farmers, like any of us are hard wired to see direct communication as a challenge via our anti-persuasion radar. We have an excellent built in anti-persuasion radar, we either ignore the message or find elaborate ways to counter argue why we do not need to carry that directive out. I expect you can provide your own examples of what farmers say when you suggest changes for improved outcomes such as using dry cow therapy or calling you out sooner to a difficult calving.

In a recent study on the barriers to implementing Good Management Practice (in line with the Winter Grazing Task Force recommendation 3) in Southland and South Otago we heard from farmers that thought GMP was great for the wider farming community but it won’t work on their farm, and they proceeded to outline the reasons. This reasoning was skilfully led by their anti-persuasion radar .

There is a long list of requirements when it comes to environmental and animal GMP, which is why prioritising a list of seven animal care non-negotiables was still necessary. Maybe a farm concentrating on just one is enough to start with if you want real

change. As rural professionals ignoring the other issues, to get change in just one, is very challenging.

Kurt Lewin’s force-field analysis change model looks at the failures that come with only adopting a motivational strategy toward the party you wish to change. The force field analysis shows that putting effort into removing barriers is a far more effective way to progress change. Once barriers are removed, only a small amount of motivation can achieve high levels of change. Over the next 12-18 months DairyNZ will be working with stakeholders to look at identifying barriers and what approaches can be developed to over come them e.g. using timed pregnancy diagnosis dates over winter.

As a key partner in adoption of good wintering practices on farm we would like to work with vets to: Ð Identify barriers of practice change Ð Continue our work together on a national and regional working groups Ð Ensure the identification of at-risk farms and utilise our confidential wintering intervention service ensuring the practices listed above are avoided. Ð Encourage farmers to adopt animal care strategies in their wintering policies and advise on the procedures. Ð Become comfortable with environmental GMP conversations, the future is a hybrid communicator.

helen.thoday@dairynz.co.nz or katie.saunders@dairynz.co.nz

12 | HoofPrint NZ: Official newsletter of the Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Branch of the NZVA | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020

IMAGERY: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

WELLBEING

Ash Keown, Veterinary Manager (Large Animals)

Winter wellbeing NZVA Veterinary Manager (Large Animals), Ash Keown, reiterates the importance of keeping in regular contact with your famers this winter.

I HOPE YOU can forgive me harping on about this for the past several weeks! The primary sector has been extremely concerned about meat processing delays across the country for several weeks now, and while capacity is almost back to 100% for cattle, there is still uncertainty about how far into winter the effects will be felt by farmers – particularly in the lower South Island.

As people who regularly interact with farmers, veterinarians can play a significant role in supporting (or at least watching out for) farmer wellbeing.

Although meat processors have been prioritising cull cattle, some dairy farmers have still experienced a 5-6 week wait get processing space.

In addition, farmers were not able to offload all their culls at once – instead, having to send several consignments over a few weeks.

Not only has this impacted the dairy sector, but many beef farmers have also experienced delays in processing of their prime cattle – which has resulted in some graziers cancelling winter grazing agreements.

All of this has meant more stock left on-farm, chewing through pasture cover and supplementary feed which is needed through winter. This unfortunately coincides with already significantly reduced winter feed stocks – in the North Island as a result of the summer drought, and in the South Island it appears fewer hectares have been planted with winter crop, and of course crop yields in Southland are down (15-20% on some farms!), largely due to summer flood damage and subsequent poor growth.

We’ve been bleating all autumn about getting in touch with farmers to ask questions such as: Ð Do they have a comprehensive feed budget which takes them right through until spring? Ð Do they have a signed grazing contact? (not just a verbal agreement!)

Now that winter is here, we can’t afford to take our eyes off this one – if anything it will be even MORE important for you to keep in regular with contact with your clients this winter.

Questions to keep asking your clients through winter include: Ð Is someone regularly monitoring herd body condition score? Ð Have they been able to buy in their usual supplements? Ð Is the feed budget still accurate, or does it need review? Ð Have they contacted their usual stock agent/ processor about bobby calves? Ð Are they OK? Farmers have been under enormous pressure for last 12 months (and longer!).

As people who regularly interact with farmers, veterinarians can play a significant role in supporting (or at least watching out for) farmer wellbeing.

If you see any clients struggling, do what you can to help in your role as a veterinarian (the most trusted and important advisor livestock farmers have!), but don’t forget there are also a number of dedicated farmer-support options available: > Rural Support Trust’s Feed Planning Service > DairyNZ (0800 4 324 7969) > Beef+LambNZ (0800 233 352)

Ð Are they regularly contacting their usual stock agent?

> AgFirst (0508 243 477)

Ð Do they have a contingency plan ready in case they can’t get stock off as planned?

> DairyNZ’s Early Response Service

> MPI adverse event resources

HoofPrint NZ | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020 | 13

ANTIBIOTIC CLASSIFICATION

Ash Keown, Veterinary Manager (Large Animals)

Should you always go on a green light?

Ash Keown, Veterinary Manager (Large Animals) explains some of the common misconceptions about the NZVA traffic light antibiotic classification system.

NEARLY EVERY VETERINARIAN I speak to knows about the NZVA traffic light system for classifying antibiotics, but with the recent release of MPI’s reclassification of veterinary penicillins as ‘highly important’, I’ve noticed there are a couple of common misconceptions in how our traffic light is understood.

– therefore they will remain ‘green’ for the foreseeable future.

1.

We hope that the NZVA system speaks the language clinical veterinarians are most used to – and helps you to think about what the most appropriate antibiotic might be when you’re standing in front of the animal.

The traffic light is about clinical application

When the MPI reclassification was first announced, several of you called me to ask whether penicillin was now going to be shifted into the ‘orange’ category in the traffic light system.

It’s certainly confusing that there are so many different classification systems around the world – and very few of them seem to say the same thing!

First there’s the WHO classification – which focusses on the importance of various actives used in human medicine. Then we have the OIE classification – which brings the focus to the importance of various actives used in veterinary medicine.

Now we have some classification from MPI – which narrows the focus to the importance of various actives used in veterinary medicine in New Zealand.

And finally we have the NZVA traffic light, which isn’t really about the importance of the active at all – but rather how appropriate its use is in a clinical setting.

So whilst MPI now classifies all veterinary penicillins as ‘highly important’, in the clinical setting they remain an appropriate ‘first choice’ to treat many animal diseases in New Zealand

Although there are a several different classification systems out there, it should be remembered that they all speak a slightly different language!

2.

Sometimes a ‘red’ product is the correct first choice

While the traffic light does indicate the order of preferred clinical use, that doesn’t mean we should be reaching for a ‘green’ product first time, every time.

The traffic light system is not a series of gates through which a person must pass in order to reach the end – if the most appropriate choice is a ‘red’ product, then please do choose that one first!

For the animal-disease-causing bacteria we encounter most frequently in New Zealand, we tend to get good clinical cures in most cases where we use products from the ‘green’ category.

However, we occasionally encounter bacteria for which we know a ‘green’ active is unlikely to be effective – either because of known characteristics of that pathogen (e.g. gram negative bacteria being non-responsive to actives which inhibit cell wall synthesis), or because we have sensitivity data which indicates resistance.

I like to think of it as if I were serving customers (bacteria) at the bar:

14 | HoofPrint NZ: Official newsletter of the Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Branch of the NZVA | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020

The traffic light system is not a series of gates through which a person must pass in order to reach the end – if the most appropriate choice is a ‘red’ product, then please do choose that one first!

ANTIBIOTIC CLASSIFICATION

The traffic light antimicrobial principle in veterinary medicine is designed to:

1. promote judicious and effective veterinary antimicrobial use 2. limit potential selection for key mechanisms of resistance 3. acknowledge that efficacy of antimicrobials for human therapy is prioritised The traffic light system ranks antimicrobials according to an amalgam of both OIE and WHO guidelines.

Green antimicrobials 1. Procaine penicillin 2. Penethamate hydriodide 3. Tetracyclines

Green does not mean an antimicrobial is ‘safer’ nor that it is not important in human medicine.

Where possible, green antimicrobials are recommended against known susceptible organisms. Green light antimicrobials should not be used in situations where efficacy is in doubt – in this instance, an orange or red choice is appropriate.

Orange antimicrobials 1. Aminoglycosides 2. Semi-synthetic penicillins (ampicillin/clavulanic acid, cloxacillin) 3. 1st and 2nd generation cephalosporins 4. Lincosamides

Orange refers to antimicrobials that are either of a different class or have specialised features, such as beta lactamase inhibition, that make them of more critical relevance to human therapy. Orange light antimicrobials should not be used where efficacy is in doubt.

5. Potentiated sulphonamides

Red antimicrobials Treatment of refractory conditions (human and veterinary). Veterinary diagnosis and evidence indicates need; efficacy of other classes is limited.

1. 3rd and 4th generation cephalosporins 2. Fluoroquinolones 3. Macrolides

The bottles on the ‘bottom shelf’ are the staples – kept within easy reach to serve the needs of the average customers.

Although there are a several different The ‘middle shelf’ is a little bit higher, a little bit classification harder to reach – the bottles here are for the more systems out discerning customer for whom the bottom shelf there, it should really won’t cut it! be remembered that they all The ‘top shelf’ is where the really high-end bottles speak a slightly are kept – you’ll need to go and get a stepladder to different antimicrobials retrieve these. Top shelf bottles are reserved for Green language! the most exclusive customers – the ones who sit 1. in Procaine penicillin the VIP lounge, and would be offended if served a2. Penethamate hydriodide lesser product.

3. Tetracyclines If you haven’t already read the full judicious use guidelines for dairy, I’d highly recommend you check it out – the antibiotic recommendations near

Orange antimicrobials

Red light antimicrobials are antimicrobial classes used in veterinary medicine that are deemed of highest importance in human therapy.

If a “red light” antimicrobial is deemed the most appropriate (culture and sensitivity testing may be required) then it should be used in preference to a green or orange antimicrobial that has limited efficacy.

the end are helpful to illustrate clinical application – you’ll see ‘red’ and ‘orange’ actives pop up as ‘first choice’ fairly often!

Round-up: Despite my odd analogies, I hope that might help some of you to better understand the NZVA traffic light system.

I’m really pleased to see so many veterinarians committed to using antibiotics appropriately, and I know there are some reallylight creative The traffic antimicrobial principle in vete ways you’ve been bringing your to: clients along designed for the ride.

1. promote judicious and effective veterinary 2. limit potential selection for key mechanism We would love to share your approaches 3. acknowledge that efficacy of antimicrobial to client education (on antibiotic use, and therapy is prioritised

anything else!) in HoofPrint – so please send in The traffic light system ranks antimicrobials a any anecdotes and images from your practice. amalgam of both OIE and WHO guidelines.

You never know who you might inspire!!

1. Aminoglycosides 2. Semi-synthetic penicillins (ampicillin/clavulanic acid, cloxacillin) st

nd

Green does not mean an antimicrobial is ‘safe important in human medicine. Where possibl antimicrobials are recommended against kno HoofPrint NZ | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020 | 15 organisms. Green light antimicrobials should situations where efficacy is in doubt – in this i orange or red choice is appropriate.

CASE STUDY

Rowan Skentelbery

Fodder beet toxicity in cattle Fodder beet has become a popular winter feed due to its high energy and low cost per kg dry matter; however, its associated health problems need to be understood by users and avoided with a combination of good education and diligent practice.

Introduction Over the last 10 years there has been an exponential growth in the amount of fodder beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris L.) grown and fed to production animals in New Zealand (Gibbs and Saldias, 2014), especially within the dairy industry. Fodder beet is now widely grown in New Zealand, particularly in the South Island, where its high energy and low cost per kg dry matter (DM) make it an ideal winter feed; however, there can be associated health problems which farmers need to understand. While it is generally safe to feed to cattle, with good palatability and high yields, it must be done correctly. Fodder beet is high in energy, with adequate protein, however, it is low in fibre, phosphorus and calcium (Gibbs & Hughs 2016).

Therefore, supplementation of these deficient feed constituents must always be considered. A 14-day transition period is also vital to ensure that the rumen and the microbial population therein can alter and adapt to the high carbohydrate intake.

Rumen acidosis is the most common sequel to poor management during fodder beet transitioning. If an increase of >2kg DM per day is consumed relative to the previous day, the sudden increase in carbohydrates exceeds the absorption capabilities of the rumen papillae. It takes a minimum of 4 weeks for the rumen to adapt to increased carbohydrate intakes (and therefore the short chain fatty acids (SCFA) being absorbed). In the interim, some buffering capacity is

16 | HoofPrint NZ: Official newsletter of the Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Branch of the NZVA | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020

CASE STUDY

The treatment options for acute rumen acidosis are discussed later in this report, but if an affected cow is not standing within eight hours, the prognosis is grave (Gibbs 2019).

provided by bicarbonate and phosphate rich saliva, which helps minimise pH changes. However, this requires salivary production during rumination, which is stimulated by fibre; a dietary constituent that is low in fodder beet. In addition, a small amount of SCFA are also removed via the omasal orifice and by the fermentation of microbes (Gibbs 2019). These buffering capacities are overwhelmed when a steep increase in carbohydrate intake occurs, resulting in acidosis. When the rumen is adapted, SCFA are moved efficiently across the rumen mucosa via epithelial transportation into the blood.

The fall in rumen pH is the initial insult, giving this syndrome its name; however, it quickly reaches a point where the progression of the disorder is independent of rumen pH (Gibbs 2019). Once the pH drops below 5.5, the resultant rumen changes can be hard to reverse as they set up a self-perpetuating downwards spiralling cycle. The SCFA accumulation also drives increased osmolarity, causing gut stasis,

Table 1: TPR values for the three worst Cow #326

Cow #120

Cow #92

Heart rate

92bpm

110bpm

96bpm

Respiratory rate

40bpm

52bpm

48bpm

Temperature

40.0 degrees Celsius

39.8 degrees Celsius

40.0 degrees Celsius

decreased blood flow (Gibbs 2019) and systemic dehydration (Parkinson et al. 2009). The lowered pH disrupts the rumen flora, selecting for acid resistant, lactogenic bacteria (Russel and Hino, 1985), which minimise acid transport across the stratified epithelium of the rumen wall. The high production of lactate, by the lactogenic bacteria, then drives the pH even lower, resulting in further cellular damage to the rumen. A progressive hypocalcaemia also develops, which generally manifests clinically as the first symptom of the underlying issues in the rumen.

Onset of clinical signs is rapid after excessive fodder beet consumption and include anorexia, ataxia, decreased or absent rumen contractility, dehydration, diarrhoea, increased vital signs (temperature and respiratory rate may drop as the disease progresses), colic, teeth grinding, and weakness, progressing to recumbency and death (Parkinson et al. 2009).

The treatment options for acute rumen acidosis are discussed later in this report, but if an affected cow is not standing within eight hours, the prognosis is grave (Gibbs 2019). Poor prognostic indicators

IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

include heart rates >120bpm, prolonged recumbency, anuria and severe dehydration (Credille & Synder 2017). Post recovery, cows are at increased risk of developing metabolic disorders, liver abscesses, fatty liver, laminitis, abomasal displacement (Humer et al. 2018), posterior vena cava syndrome, mycotic rumenitis, rumen ulceration, polioencephalomalacia and peritonitis (Parkinson et al. 2009). Many of the conditions carry a grave or hopeless prognosis so avoiding cases should be the priority when feeding fodder beet. Rumen acidosis should no longer be a significant risk once cows have been correctly transitioned onto the crop (Gibbs and Saldias 2014); it is only during the 14-day transition period that serious health conditions are of major concern.

Clinical findings History In April, fourteen cows were reported to be acutely recumbent after breaking through the hotwire controlling access to the mornings fodder beet allowance. A further eighteen cows were reported to be wobbly and lethargic.

Found several hours post-milking, the farmer immediately moved the rest of the herd off the fodder beet crop but had not administered any therapy to affected animals.

Herd information: There were 420 Holstein-Friesian cows in the spring calving herd; run on a twice daily milking regime. They were at day seven of the transition onto fodder beet for winter feeding and were being fed 4kg DM per day.

Silage and hay were fed out two hours before the herd were put onto the crop. In addition 50g of Dicalcium Phosphate/cow/day was being supplemented via pasture dusting, to combat the relatively low calcium and phosphate in fodder beet crop.

The farmer had fed fodder beet in previous years and had always successfully transitioned cows without health issues; this incident was related to the cows breaking out rather than management failure.

Initial clinical exam On arrival nine of the initial fourteen recumbent cows were still down, the other five previously recumbent cows were now standing, but still moderately ataxic.

Brief physical exams were conducted on three of the worst affected recumbent animals for prognostic indicators.

Eight out of nine recumbent cows made no efforts to stand when approached, and 7/9 had distinct ‘S’ bend of their necks and could be heard grinding their teeth. continued

HoofPrint NZ | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020 | 17

CASE STUDY

continued

Moderate dehydration (~8%) and dull mentation was noted in all recumbent animals and decreased, or absent gut sounds were also noted on auscultation.

All 14 initially presented animals had profuse, green, watery diarrhoea.

There was clear evidence in the paddock of the herd breaking through the hotwire, with approximately half of the next day’s break (4kg DM/Cow) having been partly consumed. It was also noted that the previous day’s allowance had been fully utilised, and that the break allocation appeared adequate.

These results appear to be even more outstanding since no rumen alkalising drenches were used, the widely advocated treatment for rumen acidosis.

Diagnosis Based on history and clinical examations, acidosis secondary to excess fodder beet ingestion was the top differential for this case.

Other differentials briefly considered, but quickly discounted, included: Ð Hypocalcaemia – this plays an important role in rumen acidosis but was unlikely to be the primary cause of clinical signs due to the stage of lactation and calcium supplementation. Ð Toxic mastitis or metritis Ð Diffuse peritonitis Ð Vagal indigestion Ð Intestinal obstruction

was shot the following day on welfare grounds and due to poor prognosis.

The rest of the herd recovered well, and fodder beet feeding was continued with no further issues until they reached ad-libitum intake.

Discussion This case progressed well; anecdotal evidence would suggest that losing only 1/14 severely affected cattle from acidosis was an excellent result. These results appear to be even more outstanding since no rumen alkalising drenches were used, the widely advocated treatment for rumen acidosis. Instead the attending veterinarian focused on treating the hypocalcaemia, which was successfully resolved with calcium borogluconate treatment.

The severe dehydration that is associated with rumen acidosis often leads to hypotension. This is worsened by the acidic conditions driving Allisonellla histaminiformans overgrowth in the rumen. The histamine released by these bacteria results in vasodilation, removing the body’s ability to compensate for hypotension, and risking cardiovascular collapse. Due to the cardiotoxic effects of calcium borogluconate (Parkinson et al. 2009), there are distinct risks involved with giving this IV in such a compromised system. While issues were not seen in this case, it is generally recommended to give calcium subcutaneously.

Ð Listeriosis

Outcome

Another aspect to consider with this case was potential administration of antibiotics. Due to rumen epithelial damage, there is high risk of bacterial translocation following rumen acidosis. Hepatic abscesses are a known risk, which may justify its use (Parkinson et al. 2009). The main bacteria involved are Fusobacterium necrophorum and Arcanobacterium pyogenes, therefore procaine penicillin is the treatment of choice (Parkinson et al. 2009). Antibiotic therapies are controversial as they may impair repopulation of gut microbiome (Credille & Synder 2017), so it becomes a balancing act regarding which is most likely to have the greater negative effects. The severity of the case will direct this decision; a more severe acidosis will result in increased epithelial damage, and therefore greater risk of bacterial translocation; whereas a milder case may retain its rumen epithelial defences. In this case, clinical exams did not demonstrate parameters exceeding crisis level, leading to the decision to exclude antibiotics from the treatment protocol.

Six of the nine recumbent cows responded to the first treatment and were standing, with mild ataxia, four hours later, and a further two responded to the second treatment given at the 4-hour mark. The remaining cow never stood and

Another ancillary treatment to consider is the use of NSAIDs to reduce inflammation and pain associated with the ruminitis, and for their antiendotoxic affects. Their use may encourage a more rapid

Ð Lead poisoning

Treatment and response to treatment One bag (500ml) of calcium borogluconate (Calpro® 375; Bayer NZ Ltd) was administered to all 9 recumbent cows by slow intravenous injection (IV) using the jugular vein.

No other treatments were given, however sufficient 500ml calcium bags were left with the farmer so that treatment could be repeated, by subcutaneous injection, for any animal not standing after 4-6hrs. A poor prognosis was given to any animal not standing within 24hrs. Hay and water were made readily available to recumbent animals. The rest of the herd were not treated. The farmer was advised to continue the transitioning program but to decrease the ration to 75% of the previous days DM intake, then continue as normal.

18 | HoofPrint NZ: Official newsletter of the Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Branch of the NZVA | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020

CASE STUDY

Fodder beet intake >2kgDM h per day

^

CHO

i Acelate, h Butyrate, Proprionate

ii pH

Strep. Bovis proliferation

Allisonella histaminiformans proliferation

h Lactate production

i Rumen epithelial transport Histamine release

iii pH

Uncompensated metabolic acidosis

Severe rumenitis and acidosis

i Myofilament contractility and change cell surface receptors, leading to i vasconstrictor responses.

h Osmotic Pressure

Tissue fluid drawn into rumen

i Rumen epithelial blood flow

Rumen hypomotility/ stasis

Diarrhoea Vasodilation

Anorexia

Systemic dehydration

Hypotension

iPerfusion

hHR

Figure 1: Model for pathogenesis of fodder beet toxicity in cattle Under the Gibb’s hypothesis, the traditional treatment approach, using large amounts of alkalising agents is not only counterproductive but likely to exacerbate the condition, as the buffering agent will significantly increase the rumen osmolarity (Gibbs 2019). For example; 500g of magnesium oxide in 10 litres of water could raise the osmolarity of a 100L rumen by 40mOsm/L (Anonymous, 2017). The increase in osmolarity could be even greater, since the decreasing rumen pH increases magnesium oxide solubility, and could be up to 150mOsm/L (J. Gibbs pers. comm.). Since it is this increased osmolarity that results in rumen stasis, decreased blood flow and systemic dehydration, it is essential that this factor be controlled rather than worsened, particularly as our oath states “first do no harm”. Oral alkalisers may contribute to the death of acidotic cows. continued HoofPrint NZ | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020 | 19

CASE STUDY

continued

return to normal feed intakes and milk production, therefore reducing production checks associated with rumen acidosis.

Treating rumen pH: The major driving force for acidosis is the fall in rumen pH to below 5.5. Traditionally in mild to moderate cases of acidosis, treatment was directed at correcting the acidosis by using up to 1g/kg body weight (BW) of magnesium hydroxide or magnesium oxide, diluted in 5-10L of warm water, and given by stomach tube (Parkinson et al. 2009). As stated, this treatment was aimed at rectifying rumen pH, preventing further epithelial damage and allowing rumen flora to recover. In addition, kneading the rumen and getting the animal moving was thought to facilitate rumen emptying. Free access to grass and hay were also given to encourage saliva production. Other than the water used to suspend the alkalising agent, no further water was given for 18 hours to prevent over engorgement and fluid dilation of the gut. The alkalising agents could be repeated every 12 hours at 0.25-0.5g/kg BW if required (Parkinson et al. 2009).

For many years oral alkalisers have been the benchmark of acidosis treatment, however, a recent article challenges these recommendations, finding instead that medically correcting pH is ineffective or even counterproductive (Gibbs 2019). Gibbs (2019) states that by focusing only on treating the acidosis, practitioners are ignoring the increased osmolarity which is responsible for the rumen stasis, decreased blood supply and redox changes. Instead the focus of our treatment should be on correcting the osmolarity, since the pH will autocorrect without treatment.

Furthermore, due to the decreased gut flow and rumen stasis, anything put into the rumen will be held in suspension there. So oral alkalising remedies may have a mild, transient effect on the rumen pH, but will not treat the systemic acidosis, nor will they hold the rumen pH within normal ranges for any appreciable amount of time (Gibbs 2019). Therefore, for mild to moderate cases, Gibbs recommends ‘waiting it out’ and allowing the rumen pH to normalise through the course of the disease (Gibbs 2019). The associated inappetence will minimise further beet consumption until the rumen is recovered. Calcium may be given to those that are ataxic or acutely recumbent. Any animals that do not respond to ‘waiting it out’ and calcium treatment are likely to have severe epithelial damage and are beyond saving (Gibbs 2019).

and on farms with good facilities. Indications for surgery include rumen pH<5.0, dehydration >8%, heart rate >100bpm and marked rumen distension (Parkinson et al. 2009). Rumenotomy is the main line of treatment in these cases; physically emptying the bulk of the material, followed by lavage to remove the lactic acid build-up. In these cases, it has been recommended to treat the metabolic acidosis with 5-7L of 5% sodium bicarbonate solution over ~30min, followed by 1.3% isotonic sodium bicarbonate at a rate of 150ml/kg over 6-12 hours as intravenous fluids (Parkinson et al. 2009). Any animal that undergoes surgery should receive rumen-transfaunations from healthy donor animals to replenish normal bacterial flora (Credille & Synder 2017). This is especially important as these cases will generally receive antibiotics. While this method of treatment is effective, and sometimes vital for cow survival, the indicators for surgery also indicate severe disease, which increases the inherent risk of the surgery itself.

It cannot always be ascertained how each animal will respond to surgery, so the farmer must be aware that losses may still occur. If surgery is to be done, it must be done immediately for the best outcome. Another option for removal of beet from the rumen is lavage through a wide bore tube (Dacharme 1990). However due to the large size of the fodder beet pieces, this method is generally not successful.

As attending veterinarians our choices for treating acute rumen acidosis simply distil down to “wait it out” or “cut it out” (Gibbs, 2019).

The wider significance of this disease comes with the increasing use of fodder beet as a winter crop in New Zealand. This is evidenced by the 150-fold increase in hectares planted with fodder beet between 2006 and 2014(Gibbs & Saldias 2014). Prevention of fodder beet toxicity is purely a management issue, and with good education and diligent practice, can be avoided. Toxicity is generally only seen in management breakdowns as in this case, or due to inherent naivety in first time uses.

Acknowledgements Many thanks to Kevin Lawrence for his mentorship on the preparation of this case report. The help of Jim Gibbs is also gratefully acknowledged who was approached by Kevin Lawrence on behalf of Rowan Skentelbery.

For acute severe cases, surgery is required to remove the ingested fodder beet from the rumen. This may however only be an option for highly valuable animals

20 | HoofPrint NZ: Official newsletter of the Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Branch of the NZVA | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020

REFERENCES: Anonymous. Osmolarity Calculator – Extremely Powerful Tool. https://globalrph.com/ medcalcs/osmolarity-calculatorextremely-powerful-tool/ (Accessed 04/10/2019), Global RPH 2017.

Credille B, Synder E. Diagnosis and Treatment of Clinical Rumen Acidosis.

Veterinary Clinics of North America Food Animal Practice 33 (3), 451-461, 2017.

Dacharme NG. Surgery of the Bovine Forestomach Compartments. Veterinary Clinics of North America Food Animal Practice 6 (2), 371-397, 1990.

Gibbs J. Treating Cattle with Fodder-Beet Farmer Management Disorder (Rumen Acidosis). Vetscript 32 (7), 2629, 2019.

Gibbs SJ, Saldias B. Fodder Beet in the New Zealand Dairy Industry. Proceedings of the South Island Dairy Event Annual Conference. Lincoln University Press 6, 2014.

Gibbs J, Hughs T. Using Fodder Beet in Lactation. New Zealand Dairy Exporter 91 (8), 46-47, 2016.

Hummer E, Petri RM, Aschenbach JR, Bradford BJ, Penner GB, Tafaj M, Sudekum KH, Zebeli Q. Invited Review: Practical Feeding Management Recommendations to Mitigate the Risk of Subacute Ruminal Acidosis in Dairy Cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 101 (2), 872888, 2018.

Parkinson TJ, Vermunt JJ, Malmo J. Diseases of Cattle in Australasia. 1st ed. pp.80-84. Wellington, New Zealand Veterinary Association Foundation. 2009.

Russel JB, Hino T. Regulation of Lactate Production in Streptococcus Bovis: A Spiralling Effect that Contributes to Rumen Acidosis.

Journal of Dairy Science 68 (7), 1712-1721, 1985.

CASE STUDY

Dairy NZ

Fodder beet research reinforces portion control is key New research into fodder beet shows the crop can be a key part of dairy farm systems – but should make up no more than 30 percent of lactating cows’ diet and 60 percent for non-lactating cows.

THE SUSTAINABLE USE of Fodder Beet research project looks at nutrient and mineral interactions, and impacts on long-term animal health and welfare. A literature review undertaken as part of the project has confirmed the crop’s benefits and challenges.

“Fodder beet will continue to be a key part of New Zealand dairy systems – but it should not be seen as a complete diet,” says DairyNZ senior scientist, Dawn Dalley.

“Fodder beet is widely used on South Island dairy farms and is a versatile, high energy, high yield crop which allows cows to put on body condition quickly, if transitioned correctly. This makes it an attractive option for farmers. But because of the high sugar content, careful transitioning onto the crop is critical.”

Fodder beet use has increased over the past decade and today around 55,000ha is estimated to be planted annually in New Zealand.

Most fodder beet is grown in the South Island – with the project survey showing 79 percent of Canterbury/ North Otago farms and 58 percent of South Otago/Southland dairy farms feed cows the crop.

In recent years, some farmers have become concerned about potential

IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

health effects on herds. Cows can develop ruminal acidosis, milk fever or nutrient deficiencies if fodder beet is grazed for long periods without appropriate alternative feed and mineral supplementation.

Recent research and nutritional modelling has reinforced current recommendations that - for consistent herd performance and to minimise nutrient deficiencies - fodder beet should make up no more than 30 percent of the diet for lactating cows and 60 percent for non-lactating cows.

Dr Dalley says many farmers are successfully combining fodder beet with other feeds to provide cows with a diet that meets nutritional requirements and is cost-effective.

“By using feed testing which includes mineral composition analysis of fodder beet and other feed, farmers can tailor cow diets to address any nutrient deficiencies. Using this approach, fodder beet can be a valuable feed option which contributes to a productive dairy system.”

Fodder beet is a hardy autumn and winter crop with environmental benefits. The beet’s low nitrogen content results in reduced urine nitrogen concentrations, leading to less nitrate leaching from animals grazing the crop, compared to kale. It is

also an important break crop in winter rotations which use kale and swedes, and allows farmers to successfully crop areas affected by brassica disease.

Dr Dalley says that regular communication and good planning is needed between dairy farmers and graziers to develop winter feeding plans that are affordable, easy to implement and meet environmental and animal welfare regulations.

Steve Penno, Director of Investment Programmes at the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), which is providing $565,000 towards this million-dollar project, says this research offers an important insight into the use of fodder beet on-farm.

“Animal health and welfare is a key priority for MPI and this research will help farmers ensure their cows are eating a healthy proportion of this crop.”

The cross-sector project on the Sustainable Use of Fodder Beet on New Zealand Dairy Farms is funded by MPI’s Sustainable Farming Fund (now superseded by Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures) and from DairyNZ’s levy, and it involves PGG Wrightson Seeds, AgResearch, Plant and Food Research, farmers and vets. It is currently one year into a three-year research programme.

HoofPrint NZ | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020 | 21

RESEARCH STUDY

Scott McDougall Cognosco, Anexa Veterinary Services, PO Box 21, Morrinsville

Does calf age effect bovine viral diarrhoea virus test outcomes?

Introduction Bovine virual diarrhoea (BVD) causes significant economic loss in dairy cattle. Infection in the first trimester, before the fetus becomes immunocompetent, may result in calves becoming persistently infected (PI). These animals excrete virus continuously in large amounts in all body fluids. These PI animals act as a source of infection for naïve animals, and if they survive to adult hood and conceive they will in turn produce a PI calf. Thus, detecting and removing PI animals is an important control measure for BVD.

So the take-home messages are: “Early detection and removal of persistently infected calves is an important part of BVD control as it minimises calf to calf transmission and economic losses associated with that, and reduces risk of transmission to pregnant animals.

This study has demonstrated that testing of calves for BVD using an antigen ELISA on ear notch tissue samples accurately detected PI calves, irrespective of the age at which testing was undertaken”

22 | HoofPrint NZ: Official newsletter of the Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Branch of the NZVA | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020

RESEARCH STUDY

Figure 2: Receiver operator characteristic

.25

.5

.75

TRUE-POSITIVE RATE (ROC)

0

Maternal antibodies against BVD have been reported to have a half-life of 21 days and to persist for up to 30 weeks after birth. This may result in a “diagnostic gap” where PI calves test negative soon after birth and the current recommendation in New Zealand is that testing is not done before 35 days of age. For example, calves born to dams challenged with BVD virus, were test positive prior to colostrum intake, but when blood sampled at 7 days of age and following colostrum feeding, 21 of 25 calves were virus-negative, 15 of the 25 were antigen ELISA-negative, while all 25 animals remained PCR-positive (Zimmer et al. 2004). Similarly, in colostrum-fed PI calves, antigen was undetectable in serum for 1 to 2 weeks after colostrum feeding (Fux and Wolf 2012). However, use of tissue samples (e.g. by ear notching) reduces the likelihood of maternal antibody interference (Kuhne et al. 2005; Hill et al. 2007). In one study, 11 PI calves tested negative using an Erns-antigen ELISA on serum samples 1 and 2 days after colostrum intake, 7 of 11 were negative at 4 days, and all were positive by 35 days after colostrum intake. However all were positive at all times using an Erns-antigen ELISA on ear tissue samples (Kuhne et al. 2005). In colostrum-fed PI calves, titres for the Erns antigen dropped by between 10

1

curve for detecting PI calves using the Ag Plus ELISA on ear notch samples collected at days 3, 10, 24 and 38 after birth.

0

.25

.5

.75

1

FALSE-POSITIVE RATE

and 100 fold in skin biopsies, but were detectable in all samples at all times (Fux and Wolf 2012).

In the same study, the BVD virus NS3 antigen was not detected in biopsy samples following colostrum feeding (Fux and Wolf 2012).

We report here a study designed to assess the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of ear notch samples analysed using antigen ELISA and PCR testing at 4 time points after birth for detecting calves subsequently definitively defined as PI with BVD virus.

Figure 1: Mean (±95% confidence intervals) sample to negative control

Materials and Methods

ratio (S/N) results for the Ag Plus ELISA for calves defined as transiently infected (TI; n = 20) or persistently infected (PI; n = 5), for ear notch samples collected at 3, 10, 24 and 38 days after birth (D3, D10, D24 and D38). Columns with different superscripts differ at P < 0.05.

Calves (n=1,030) were enrolled from 11 dairy herds from which BVD virus had been detected in bulk tank milk (n = 8) and/or that had individual animals confirmed as BVD virus antigen-positive (n = 3 herds). All herds had evidence of multiple years of exposure to BVD associated with high or very high antibody titres in bulk tank milk (i.e. a sample to positive control ratio (S/P) >0.75).

3

TI

PI

A

B

A

B

All replacement calves had ear notch samples collected at approximately 3, 10, 24, and 38 days of age (Days 3, 10, 24 and 38, respectively). The Day 38 ear notch samples were submitted for PCR (IDEXX RealPCR BVDV, IDEXX Laboratories) and antigen ELISA (BVDV Ag/Serum Plus ELISA, IDEXX Laboratories) testing, and if positive all previous samples (i.e. Days 3, 10 and 24) were also tested by antigen ELISA and PCR.

S/N

2

1

0

C

C D3

IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

E

D D10

D24

D38

continued

HoofPrint NZ | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020 | 23

RESEARCH STUDY

Figure 3: Mean (±95% confidence intervals) cycle threshold (Ct) results for PCR for calves defined as transiently infected (TI; n = 20) or persistently infected (PI; n = 5), for ear notch samples collected at 3, 10, 24 and 38 days after birth (D3, D10, D24 and D38). Columns with different superscripts differ at P < 0.05.

45

40

TI

PI

Results

A

A

Failure of passive transfer was found in 30.3% of calves but the within-herd prevalence varied from 13 to 53%.

A

B

35

Ct

C

C

C

30

C

25

20

D3

The prevalence of failure of passive transfer (FPT) was assessed by blood sampling 10 to 15 calves in each herd for serum Immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration assessment. Calves with serum IgG <10 g/L were defined as having FPT.

D10

D24

D38

continued

Calves that tested positive by antigen ELISA or by PCR at Day 38 had a blood sample collected at an average of 102 (SD 13, range 76 to 127) days of age (Day 100), for determination of antibodies to BVD virus and BVD virus antigen.

Results were reported as test positive or negative based on the manufacturers cutpoints, and the raw cycle threshold (Ct) and sample to negative control (S/N) values were also available for analysis.

Calves were defined as PI if they were antigen test positive at Day 38 on either ELISA or PCR and tested positive for antigen in serum at Day 100 on ELISA. Animals were defined as transiently infected (TI) if they tested antigen-positive at Day 38 and tested antigen-negative at Day 100.

Animals that tested negative at Day 38 using both ELISA and PCR assay were defined as not infected.

The test characteristics of the antigen ELISA and PCR with PI status or not (TI and not infected (NI) calves were combined for this analysis) as the categorical variable, were determined using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves. Changes over time in the S/N and Ct values of the antigen ELISA and PCR were modelled using a generalised linear mixed models with calf status (PI or TI), time points (Days 3, 10, 24 or 38), and the first order interaction of status by time as fixed effects.

Of the 1,030 calves with test results on Day 38, 26 (2.5%) were positive for BVD virus by PCR (Table 5). However only 5/1,030 (0.5%) were PI. For the PI calves all ear notch samples at all time points tested positive on both the ELISA and PCR. One calf was subject to euthanasia on-farm prior to final sampling with symptoms consistent with BVD. Amongst the other 4 PI calves, all tested positive for serum antigen on Day 100, and 3 of the 4 also tested positive for antibody by ELISA at this time. Thus, for the PI calves, all the ear notch tests (whether PCR assay or ELISA) had a Se of 100% (exact binomial 95% CI = 48 to 100%) at each sampling time.

Ag Plus ELISA test characteristics

Failure of passive transfer was found in 30.3% of calves but the withinherd prevalence varied from 13 to 53%.

The S/N was lower for TI (0.04 (SE = 0.02) than PI (2.20 (SE = 0.17)) calves (p<0.001; Fig. 1).

The ROC curve for the Ag ELISA is shown in Fig 1. Using the laboratory-defined positive cut-point of S/N >0.3, this ELISA had a Se and Sp of 100%, that is, at this cut-point there was complete separation and test results between PI and TI calves.

PCR assay test characteristics The mean Ct values were higher for TI (38.0 (SE = 0.4) than PI (27.5 (SE = 0.8)) calves (p < 0.001) (Fig. 3). The mean Ct for the PI animals did not differ between the 4 sampling times (Fig. 3). The ROC curve for predicting whether animals were PI or not is shown in Fig 4. The area under the curve was 0.999 (95% CI 0.997 to 1.000). Using a positive cut-point of Ct ≤33.6, the PCR assay had a Se of 96.7% and Sp of 100%. When a cut-point of Ct ≤32.8 was used it had a Se of 100% and Sp of 95%. The Se and Sp were <100% because one PI animal and one TI animal had a Ct value of 32.8.

Discussion Sensitivity for detection of PI calves was consistently high in the current study, irrespective of the age of the calves when tested. There was no evidence that the age of the calf at testing affected

24 | HoofPrint NZ: Official newsletter of the Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Branch of the NZVA | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020

RESEARCH STUDY

Figure 4: Receiver operator characteristic curve for detecting PI calves using PCR on ear notch samples collected at days 3, 10, 24 and 38 after birth.

.75

TRUE-POSITIVE RATE (ROC)

1

More than 80% of calves that tested positive on PCR testing at Day 38 were subsequently defined as TI, following further testing. Thus, with the cut-point of Ct ≤40 used to screen calves at Day 38 in the current study, PCR was more sensitive to presence of virus (whether PI or TI) than the antigen ELISA.

0

.25

.5

Conversely none of the TI animals tested positive upon ELISA. If the goal of testing is to identify PI, rather than TI calves, then the antigen ELISA may be the better test as it achieved 100% Se and Sp for detection of PI, irrespective of the age of the calf when tested. The biological and economic effect of testing for and removing only PI animals compared with removing all TI and PI animals on the success of a BVD control program, and on animal productivity, remains to be determined.

0

.25

.5

.75

1

FALSE-POSITIVE RATE

the test results either for the antigen ELISA or the PCR assay. However, previous studies have found a “diagnostic gap” when calves were tested soon after birth. The diagnostic gap may occur where serum rather than ear notch samples are used, and where an ELISA targets NS3, rather than Erns (Fux and Wolf 2012).

A limitation of the current study is that the IgG concentration was not determined for every calf.

However, sampling of a subset of calves in the study found 70% of calves had received effective amounts of colostrum (i.e. ≥10 g/L), but the proportion with adequate colostrum intake varied widely between herds. Hence the effect of maternal antibodies on BVD testing will likely vary both within and between herds. However, for the small number of PI calves detected in the current study, there was no evidence of a consistent change in the S/N or Ct values with increasing age of calves at sampling. The PI calves were first sampled at 2, 2, 3, and 7 days of age (one calf did not have an accurately recorded calving date but was < 8 days old at initial sampling). Therefore, testing of calves with higher intake of colostral BVDV antibodies, and/or sampling within 24 hours of colostrum intake, might result in a lower test Se than was observed in the current study. Were Se to be less than 100% when testing calves at a young age, the benefits of earlier removal of PI calves may outweigh the low risk at population level of missing a PI calf. It should be noted that while testing calves is central to BVD control programmes, it is only one of a series of control measures.

The positive predictive value of a single PCR test at Day 38 is relatively low due to the presence of TI animals. There may be a positive cost-benefit of an additional blood sample 2 or more weeks after the initial ear notch sampling to enable retention of TI animals, on the assumption that they will be viraemic for <2 weeks (Evans et al. 2019), and will have minimal impact on the other calves.

REFERENCES: Evans CA, Pinior B, Larska M, Graham D, Schweizer M, Guidarini C, Decaro N, Ridpath J, Gates MC. Global knowledge gaps in the prevention and control of bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) virus. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 66, 640-52, doi:10.1111/tbed.13068, 2019 Fux R, Wolf G. Transient elimination of circulating bovine viral diarrhoea virus by colostral antibodies in persistently infected calves: a pitfall for BVDV-eradication programs?

Veterinary Microbiology 161, 13-9, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j. vetmic.2012.07.001, 2012

Acknowledgements The cooperation of herd owners and staff for the multiple sampling time points of this study is greatly appreciated. The technician team of Cognosco (Elizabeth Blythe, Bev Brownlie, Cathy Yanez) did a great job of ensuring sampling was timely, samples were handled appropriately, and data was entered correctly and in a timely fashion. The laboratory team of IDEXX Palmerston North are thanked for their attention to detail and timeliness of reporting. IDEXX funded this study.

This study was conducted with approval from the Ruakura Animal Ethics Committee

Hill FI, Reichel MP, McCoy RJ, Tisdall DJ. Evaluation of two commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for detection of bovine viral diarrhoea virus in serum and skin biopsies of cattle. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 55, 45-8, doi:10.1080/004 80169.2007.36734, 2007 Kuhne S, Schroeder C, Holmquist G, Wolf G, Horner S, Brem G, Ballagi A. Detection of Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus infected cattle – Testing tissue samples derived from ear tagging using an Erns capture ELISA. Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series B 52, 272-7, doi:10.1111/j.1439-0450.2005.00861.x, 2005 Zimmer GM, Van Maanen C, De Goey I, Brinkhof J, Wentink GH. The effect of maternal antibodies on the detection of bovine virus diarrhoea virus in peripheral blood samples. Veterinary Microbiology 100, 145-9, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j. vetmic.2004.03.008, 2004

HoofPrint NZ | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020 | 25

ANIMAL WELFARE

Ash Keown, Veterinary Manager (Large Animals)

New animal welfare regulations delayed Veterinary Manager (Large Animals) Ash Keown summarises the recent law change which delays the highly anticipated significant surgical procedure regulations.

IT IS WITH a mixture of both sadness and relief with which I’m writing this!

While disappointing to see the delay, it does come as a relief for us too – as it gives us more time to communicate with you about the changes, and introduce the new regulations

May 9 this year was meant to be the day we welcomed in several changes to the Animal Welfare Act (from the 2015 Amendment Act). The most highly anticipated change for us as veterinarians is the replacement of Section 16 - new criteria to ‘define’ significant surgical procedures.

This change will see any procedure meeting the new criteria become a veterinarian-only task. Which is great news for the welfare of animals in New Zealand, and great news for veterinarians!

However, you’ll notice that the criteria set would also capture a number of ‘routine’ animals management procedures – particularly those undertaken on-farm like tail docking of lambs, removing extra teats, and bearing replacement. To allow non-veterinarians to continue to do these significant surgical procedures, regulations have been created to specify who else (besides veterinarians) is permitted to undertake these procedures. You might remember the NZVA consulted members on these regulations in December 2019/January 2020.

While we haven’t yet seen the final legal wording of these regulations, we did get a glimpse into what they will look like earlier this year.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has been unable to conduct their usual communication with affected communities (such as workshops and roadshows

for farmers and veterinarians). As a result, MPI wished to delay the commencement of the law change to allow more time for communication – which we agree is a sensible choice!

Parliament has passed a law (COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Other Regulatory Urgent Measures) Act) to allow for several urgent regulatory changes, and has used this law to change the commencement date for section 16 (the significant surgical procedures criteria) to 9 May 2021.

While disappointing to see the delay, it does come as a relief for us too – as it gives us more time to communicate with you about the changes, and introduce the new regulations (when we’ve got them!) with more time to digest what changes we might need to make as veterinarians in practice.

The new criteria for significant surgical procedures will now come into effect on 9 May 2021 at the latest. The Ministry for Primary Industries has announced they work to introduce the new criteria and supporting regulations as soon as it is practical to do so – which might be sooner than May 2021 in some cases.

This is news hot off the press for us too (it was announced the same day I was supposed to write this article – which was going to be somewhat different!). We will be keeping members informed as soon as we have any news about when the regulations are going to be implemented. Keep an eye on your inbox, on our website, and on the NZVA member Facebook group.

26 | HoofPrint NZ: Official newsletter of the Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Branch of the NZVA | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020

IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

PRODUCTION ANIMAL VETERINARIANS ONLINE | WORKSHOP | CPD PATHWAY | nzva.org.nz/event/20consult

On-farm consultancy skills Improve your ability to engage with farmers to improve their farm businesses.

Successful consulting requires more than technical skills and knowledge sharing. This course is a unique opportunity for veterinarians and other rural professionals working in any animal production environment to strengthen their capability to engage with farmer clients.

By completing this course, you’ll gain valuable perspectives and techniques to better understand, more effectively communicate with, and serve your clientele using a consultative approach. You will be equipped to aid the learning that clients need to implement enhanced farm management practices, and the products or tools that you recommend or provide.

Above all, this course aims to allow you to support the necessary operational and behavioural changes within farming enterprises and as a result, build a more successful consulting practice.

COURSE DETAILS

Online: Starting 29 June Workshop: Due to COVID-19 workshop dates will be set at a later date.

TUTORS

Lab Wilson BVSc, MANZVS, Cert.

Designing & Facilitating Training Graeme Dixon BVSc, MAppFin, MBA

TOPICS • Core consulting concepts • Communication and collaboration • Identifying client needs • Enabling client learning • Follow through • Establishing and growing a consulting practice

PRICE

Learning outcomes » Conduct more productive interactions » Support clients to identify and solve common business issues » Understand the techniques required to influence client decision making » Identify the enablers to manage operational change » Create value as a consultant to farming enterprises » Become a valued member of your client’s support team » Employ techniques to deal with conflict and disagreement » Construct a consulting business plan » Manage and grow your consulting business

Online course only NZVA member: $460 Non-member: $920 Prices are quoted in NZD and include 15% GST.

Full course (online + workshop) Pricing will be set at a later date.

CPD HOURS

The full course is worth up to 50 hours of CPD. NZVA members get access to the MyCPD record.

CPD PATHWAY

RMPP have partnered with NZVA in the development of this course.

Awaiting final review for 5 Massey University credits. To gain credits, the workshop must be attended.

Provided by NZVA . For more educational resources and courses go to nzva.org.nz/educationhub

FINAL WORD

Drought Recovery Advice Fund – veterinary advice included Many of your farmers will now be aware of the Government’s 2020 Drought Recovery Advice Fund which will pay farmers up to $5,000 (excl. GST) to access professional advice which assists them to recover from the drought. Farmers who access this funding can decide what type of drought-related advice they need.

VETERINARIANS PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL advice which can be claimed for – through our role as farm system advisors, and our role in giving technical advice on animal care and production.

If you are in the North Island, or droughtaffected areas of the South Island (red on this map) we would encourage you to contact your famers and encourage them to apply for recovery advice funding – and remind them veterinary advice is included!

To be eligible for this fund: > the farm must be in a 2020 drought-affected region or district > the farming business must have been negatively affected by the 2020 drought > at least 50% of the farmer's income, in a normal year, must be earned from the farming business.

Applications will be accepted until 5pm on 12 June 2020.

Head to the MPI website to access the fund application form, and to read more about the drought recovery fund and drought support generally.

View from the office Frosty Waipa morning.

Having grown up in the Waikato, the crunch of frozen grass under my feet has been a winter staple since childhood.

Ash Keown

We’d love you to share your views with us, send your pics to: amanda@sugarbag.co.nz

28 | HoofPrint NZ: Official newsletter of the Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Branch of the NZVA | Volume 38 No. 2 June 2020

Wellbeing for our veterinarians nzva.org.nz/wellbeing Just as veterinarians encourage clients to seek their help early, the New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA) encourages veterinarians to do the same when it comes to emotional/ mental health. Three ways in which the NZVA can help you:

Wellbeing Hub We recognise that a veterinary career can be stressful and demanding at times and there are periods when veterinarians may feel particularly vulnerable.

It is very important for the NZVA to provide members with wellbeing support. The Wellbeing Hub is a new member benefit initiative and will continue to be updated as more useful resources become available.

It will provide access to valuable resources to help veterinarians remain healthy and well, as well as providing support to those who are struggling with stress, anxiety or burnout.

www.nzva.org.nz/ edhub-wellbeing

Vitae: Free counselling for veterinarians All veterinarians in New Zealand can get free, confidential counselling (up to three fully funded face-to-face sessions with a trained psychologist) and a 24-hour phone service that’s open seven days a week.

This is offered through Vitae and is funded by the NZVA and the Veterinary Council of New Zealand.

Appointments can be made via the 24-hour free phone service. Phone 0508 664 981 or complete the self-referral counselling form, which can be found here: www.vitae.co.nz/ contact/counselling-form.

Vitae provide the NZVA with confidential reports quarterly. These provide us with a valuable snapshot of current issues, early warning of potential hot spots, and will allow us over time to track trends and highlight workplace health and safety issues that have a direct impact on veterinarians, such as stress, financial problems and depression.

www.vitae.co.nz

NZVA Mentor Scheme The NZVA Mentor Scheme partners veterinarians (who are NZVA members) with experienced practitioners, to provide collegial support at any career stage. Whether you are a new graduate, returning to practice, or just feel like you would benefit from advice and support, we can help.

Read more about how mentoring works in the article below, published in VetScript

by Dianne Gardner from the School of Psychology at Massey University: www.nzva.org.nz/mentorarticle.

Also see our information booklet “Vets wellbeing, resilience and managing in a complex environment”, which gives tips on how to ensure a healthy work/life balance (www.nzva.org.nz/wellbeingbookl).

www.nzva.org.nz/mentor

PI or TI? Know the difference with IDEXX • Differentiate a PI from a TI with only one sample.

• The IDEXX Antigen ELISA test is the preferred test for detecting and differentiating PI animals using ear notch samples.

• Test calf ear notches at any age1.

• When previous or suspected BVD infection is present – test every calf.

Scan the QR Code to hear the evidence directly from Dr Scott McDougall of Cognosco.

SPECIAL OFFER! Save more this season when you test ear notches with IDEXX# 1 Data on file. # Submit 20-39 samples and SAVE 10%, submit 40-59 samples and SAVE 15%, submit 60 or more samples and SAVE 20%.

Terms and conditions apply. Offer only vaild for IDEXX BVD Antigen ELISA tests on ear notch samples.

Samples must be received in one submission to qualify. Multiple submissions allowed. * Serum samples can also be used but we recommend follow up testing to confirm PI status when using IDEXX Antigen ELISA with Serum. ® IDEXX is a registered trademark of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. © 2020 IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved.