Protein Producers Fall 2017

PROTEIN producers

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PROTEIN Producers 2017 Volume 5 Issue 3

Editor: Kelly Terrell Associate Editor: Lisa Taylor Editorial Assistant: Brandi Bain

THE PAC TEAM Dr. Wade Taylor Technology identification and deployment Dr. Tom Noffsinger Animal handling, staff development Dr. Doug Ford Reproduction, lameness Dr. Corbin Stevens Diagnostics and clinical evaluation Dr. Nels Lindberg Leadership development, field research Dr. Kip Lukasiewicz Animal handling, field research, facility design Dr. Jim Lowe System design and management, team education Dr. Shane Terrell Feedlot lameness, field research Dr. Kev Sullivan International veterinarian Animal handling, heat stress management

Dr. Dan Thomson Field research, team education Dr. Tom Edwards Associate member Ultrasound technology, feedlot lameness Dr. Matt Fruge Associate member Ted Howard Animal stewardship, horsemanship Jose Valles Bilingual education & training, research monitoring Garrett Taylor Information management Kelly Terrell Marketing and communications Lisa Taylor Business and data analysis Brandi Bain Marketing and business administration

We want to showcase unique photographs from our readers here!

Please submit your photographs to Kelly Terrell at kelly.terrell@pacdvms.com.

McClymont Feedyard Holdrege, NE

Manager Jesse Landin Photo credit: Tom Strahm, American Gelbvieh Association

13 18 Contents 13 International:

Antibiotic Stewardship: A Way Forward to Ensure Antibiotics Will Continue to be Effective into the Future

21 27

37

18 Secure Food Supply Planning Takes Root in Kansas

21 Facility Design:

The Bud Box and Race

15 Newest PAC Members 17 Animal Stewardship:

Managing Foot Speed

24 Red Roses for the Lady 27 Feedlot:

Nutrition Impacts Feedlot Health, Part 4: Finishing Phase

31

40

Fall 2017 29 Chuckles from Down Under 31 Research:

Salmonella in Cattle

33 Chuckles from Down Under

37 Leadership:

What is the Most Important Thing We Can Do When Leading a Business or Group of People?

39 Newest PAC Members 40 The Pot Roast

Discovering Recipes from Agriculture’s Finest

34 Research:

Samonela en Ganado

43 Calendar

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1

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2

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All trademarks are the property of Zoetis Services LLC or a related company or a licensor unless otherwise noted. © 2016 Zoetis Services LLC. All rights reserved. DRX-00120

Welcome Welcome to the Fall 2017 edition of Protein Producers. This magazine has become a big hit with our clients and others in the industry. Kelly Terrell does a fantastic job of organizing the topics and articles for this magazine. We want to thank all of those that provide articles and the sponsors who help make this possible.

I want to give a quick review of our summer Summit meeting held in Oberlin, Kansas in July. This was a great meeting, and Dr. Corbin Stevens did a wonderful job lining up speakers for the subject matter presented.

Brian Bertelsen from US Premium Beef spoke about market demands on beef and about the demands of the Chinese market. Dr. Kev Sullivan gave an in-depth presentation on the global beef market and showed some of the preparation the Australian market must do to remove mud tags, including wood chips and washing stations. Dr. Jim Holterman, who is retired from USDA-FSIS, did an excellent job explaining inspection and residue testing. Dr. Ty Lawrence, a talented educator from West Texas A&M University Beef Carcass Research Center, brought some important information on meat science to our producers.

Garrett Taylor spoke about utilizing GPS technology to measure the time our caregivers spend in the pen and track the path they ride in the pen. We can use this information to bring positive reinforcement to our pen riders as we continue to improve our technique and strategies in the pen.

Dr. Tom Noffsinger gave an eye-opening presentation on diphtheria/honker syndrome, including photographic observations from a laryngoscope. Ted Cunningham was our keynote speaker. His presentation was not only inspirational but entertaining. I think talks like his are always helpful because we can relate and take some of the ideas home with us.

The fall and winter seasons are near, and every year we come into the season thinking we are ready for our calves and yearlings. Recently we evaluated data on placements and number of caregivers, and it was amazing to see how slugging the system with high-risk calves and yearlings has a negative impact on health. We always start off great, and then the time hits where the market is flooded with calves, we start to buy in larger numbers, and we fill pen space quickly. From these data, it was very apparent that we must do better in evaluating and visiting with our workers to determine if we can really handle the load. We may need to hire more help during this time or find backgrounders that can aid us in getting the calves started and then bring them into the yard.

As we enter this season, we need to look over our inventories; re-evaluate protocols and procedures; and train on arrival procedures, acclimation, processing and settling of calves. We need to provide bedding to all new arrivals and make certain we place them in clean pens.

I hope this issue provides you with helpful information on topics that we need to continue to learn about and improve on. Approach each day as a learning day. Seek out the positives of the day, work on fixing the not-so-positives in order to improve, and above all, do NOT focus on or surround yourself with negative behavior.

Kip L. Lukasiewicz, DVM

To subscribe to Protein Producers visit pacdvms.com and click on our Subscribe link!

Follow us on Twitter @PACVets

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Contributors Sandy Johnson

Sandy Johnson is the Emergency Management Coordinator for the Kansas Department of Agriculture where she is responsible for coordinating food and agricultural (both plant and animal) emergencies.

She represents states, locals, tribes and territories on the Government Coordinating Council for the Food and Agriculture Sector and she represents State Animal Health interests on the USDA APHIS Veterinary Services Training and Exercise team. She holds a BA in Political Science from the State University of New York and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Kansas.

Dr. Jeremy Martin

Dr. Martin is a nutritionist with Great Plains Livestock Consulting, Inc. and resides in Lexington, NE. He has a Masters and Ph.D. in ruminant nutrition and reproductive management from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The Pot Roast

We want to showcase the talented chefs that read our magazine. In this issue we are featuring Arturo and Wrenn Pacheco who run cattle in the Flint Hills of Kansas while also maintaining a fun and unique cooking blog which can be found at cookingwiththe cowboy.com. If you have a recipe that you would like to feature in The Pot Roast section of the magazine, please email us at kelly.terrell@pacdvms.com.

Our goal is to continue discovering recipes from agriculture’s finest.

Thank you to all those contributing multiple stories and insights to Protein Producers.

Cover Photo Credits: Thank you to Doug Keiser for the picture that was taken north of Cozad, NE on the Custer and Dawson County line. “A Rancher’s Eclipse”

Thank you to all sponsors for supporting PAC & Protein Producers.

Alltech American Animal Health Animal Health International Bayer Boehringer Ingelheim Chr. Hansen Daniels Manufacturing Co. Diamond V DOCTalk Elanco Lallemand Micro Technologies Midwest NetPro Newport Laboratories Norbrook SSG Fusion Zinpro Zoetis

pacdvms.com 11

Antibiotic Stewardship: A Way Forward to Ensure Antibiotics Will Continue to be Effective into the Future By: Dr. Kev Sullivan, Production Animal Consultation Australia Antibiotics are medicines or compounds that act to selectively kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria. Antibiotics are not effective against viruses and rely on the animal’s immune system to work effectively. Tetracyclines, penicillins, sulphonamides and macrolides are examples of antibiotics.

Antibiotic resistance refers to the acquired ability of bacteria to survive in the presence of an antibiotic that previously was able to kill or inhibit the growth of that bacteria. Resistance can be acquired by the appearance of favorable mutations or by acquiring pre-selected genes for resistance from other bacteria.

Stewardship is a collection of practices that protects valuable resources that belong to everyone, e.g., oceans, forests, rivers and air. The growing crisis of antibiotic resistance in humans has concentrated a lot of attention on the way in which antibiotics are used.

Antibiotic stewardship applies to the protection of antibiotic and other antimicrobial substances to limit antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and preserve their effectiveness so they can continue to work and maintain the health of humans and animals into the future.

In the veterinary space, antibiotic stewardship could be defined as “a multifactorial and dynamic approach to sustain the clinical efficacy of antimicrobials by optimizing drug use, choice, dose, duration and route of administration while minimizing the emergence of resistance and other adverse effects.”

Antibiotic stewardship promotes planning about how to reduce the need to use antibiotics rather than just using them judiciously.

Prudent or judicious use of antibiotics is very important and is an integral part of any stewardship program. Prudent use of antibiotics ensures that antibiotics are used at the correct dose, administered by the correct route for the correct duration to ensure that animals will respond to the treatment. Importantly, prudent use also ensures that there is no risk of antibiotic residues in the products of animals that enter the food chain by observing withdrawal periods in animals that have been treated with antibiotics.

Antibiotic stewardship programs are built around 5 core principles, also known as the 5 Rs. These are: 1. Responsibility 2. Review 3. Reduce 4. Replace 5. Refine Responsibility: It is crucial that everyone at the feedlot, including managers, administration people, stock crew, feed team and maintenance crew, is on-board in recognizing the need to preserve the effectiveness of pacdvms.com 13

antibiotics. Antibiotic stewardship becomes a priority. Management supports the formation of a team to develop and implement an Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) plan in consultation with the consultant veterinarian. The veterinarian is an integral part of the AMS team.

Review: A review of the current status of animal health, wellbeing and antibiotic use is undertaken. In the review, areas in need of improvement are identified and a plan is put in place to drive improvement. Outcomes of the AMS plan are monitored and measured. Measurements should include the quantity of each antibiotic used and the quality of their use. The quality of use refers to if the antibiotic has been used appropriately, i.e., if the treatment protocol has been followed.

Reduce: Wherever possible the use of antibiotics should be reduced, without compromising the health and wellbeing of the animals in our care. Preventative measures include procurement policy, preparation of animals prior to feedlot entry, vaccination, animal husbandry, precise nutrition, cattle handling and better diagnosis which when combined ensure that infectious disease incidence and the need for antibiotics is minimized.

Replace: The replacement of antibiotics should be considered whenever available evidence supports the efficacy and safety of an alternative. Many products are promoted as replacement, however rigorous scientific evaluation rarely produces evidence supporting the use of these products.

Refine: Refined use means that the correct diagnosis, the correct drug at the right time, correct dose, route of administration and for the correct length of time. Record this information for analysis of both use and efficiency which will help make future decisions on treatment protocols and use.

This is a continuous cycle of improvement: Responsibility, Review, Reduce, Replace and Refine.

How to develop an Antibiotic Stewardship Plan?

The feedlot industry already has a lot of experience at maintaining high levels of animal health and wellbeing.

Quality assurance programs (BQA), National Antibiotic Residue Testing schemes and the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) are examples of programs designed to maintain the safety and integrity of beef.

First step: The first step is to recognise and value the benefits of preserving antibiotics and make Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) a priority. Form an AMS team and develop a culture of everybody being on-board. It is important that the consulting veterinarian and the feedlot nutritionist are included on the team.

Second step: The next step is to ensure that there is a documented treatment protocol in place. This treatment

protocol is a living document and should be reviewed regularly. The treatment protocol must be developed in conjunction with the consultant veterinarian and should cover diseases and conditions that are seen or are likely to be encountered on the feed yard. From this treatment protocol a “Prescribed Drug List” is created and includes the product, drug name, dose rate, withdrawal period and any special conditions that may apply.

Third step: The next step is to review the current antibiotic use for each antibiotic. How much is used? In consultation with your veterinarian, work out what measures are to be used. An example might be grams of Draxxin used per cwt of animals sold per month. Grams per 10,000 head days could be another approach. This is a simple mathematical calculation. Once calculated, it is time to review the usage and develop a plan on how this could be improved.

Examine how well the treatment protocol is followed –the correct drug, dose, route of administration, duration and withdrawal period.

Fourth step: Look for opportunities to change practices that may lead to reducing the need to use antibiotics. For example, improve selection of animals for examination and diagnosis. Review the approach and methods of pen riding and pen checking. Improve the accuracy of diagnosis by using the implementation of technologies such as Whisper®to refine case definition and develop treatment protocols around these case definitions.

Examine and review policies and practices such as procurement of cattle, vaccination, animal handling and husbandry practices.

Fifth step: Once areas of improvement have been identified, set some objectives. An example might be to improve diagnosis of respiratory cases and only treat with antibiotics those animals that actually need antibiotics.

Set a time frame to make progress towards the objective.

For example 3, 6 or 12 months. This is a continuous review process.

An AMS plan has two approaches of measuring outcomes.

1. Quantitative – How much antibiotic is being used?

2. Qualitative – How well is the treatment protocol being followed? Correct dose, route of administration, correct timing, correct duration and correct withdrawal period.

To ensure that antibiotics will be effective into the future and to reduce the rate of development of antibiotic resistance, developing and implementing an AMS program is a way forward. This is an ongoing approach that if persisted with will continue to evolve and will produce positive outcomes for not only each feedlot and the feedlot industry but for society.

Newest PAC Members

Ira Linn Terrell

Parents: Brock and Heidi Terrell

Carter Dean Kaiser

Parents: Kyle and Erin Kaiser

Managing Foot Speed By: Ted Howard, Production Animal Consultation Horsemanship skills are achieved during a lifelong learning process. As you start to build on some foundation principles, you can really begin to see magnificent results in your horses. What I have found to be the most beneficial horsemanship tip in the feedlot industry is the ability to control the speed of my horse’s feet. When our horse trusts our hands and feet to ask them for movement, whether it be their front end, ribs or hip, we can then begin to control the speed of their feet.

The speed of our horse’s feet is important in numerous situations. When we receive new cattle or bawling calves, our horse’s feet need to be very slow and quiet to build confidence and trust in these sensitive cattle. The other end of the spectrum is building energy in our fats that tend to not move easily. Our horse’s feet need to be a bit quicker to establish more energy and fluid movement for those heavier cattle.

When pulling individual animals, the speed of our horse’s feet will vary. Individual cattle let us know very quickly how much pressure is required for easy movement. By being able to control our horse’s feet, we will be able to accommodate the flight zone of each animal we are encountering. The slower our horse’s feet move, the closer we can get to our cattle. Not only are we building confidence in the cattle we are pulling, we are also building confidence in our horse.

Due to varying pedigrees in our horses, some horses have more natural “cow sense” than other horses. If we can establish a foundation of trust in slowing down a horse’s feet, they will then have the ability to think and see how a cow is reacting. A horse will then start to adjust their own foot speed to fit the individual animal without as much cue from us.

I appreciate all that I learn from each horseman I encounter in my feedlot travels. I continue to build on the basics and add new tools to better my horsemanship every day.

pacdvms.com 17

Secure Food Supply Planning Takes Root in Kansas By: Sandy Johnson, Emergency Management Coordinator, Kansas Department of Agriculture Emergency planners have been preparing for an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) for decades. In 2001 when the United Kingdom experienced their catastrophic outbreak, Kansas policy makers were quick to develop contingency plans specific to FMD. Animals were lost, tourism was hugely affected and behavioral health consequences were real. That same year terrorists attacked the U.S. and a terrorist nexus was added to our planning process — what if someone did this on purpose? The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services publicly announced his surprise that no one had thought to attack our food supply, which had few protections in place. Homeland Security Presidential Directive No. 9 added the food and agriculture sector to the nation’s critical infrastructure and the table was set.

Sixteen years later…what have we accomplished?

In Kansas, more than 100 FMD exercises and trainings have been conducted, and policy makers have attended many national meetings. After the second outbreak in the U.K. in 2007, it quickly became evident that stopping the movement of susceptible species (cattle, swine, sheep and goats) was absolutely critical in stopping the spread of footand-mouth disease.

Foot-and-mouth disease is the most infectious known animal disease. The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has strict reporting requirements, and many coun-

tries are currently vaccinating for FMD where it is endemic.

The U.S. has an FMD free without vaccination status which is the most coveted. This status opens overseas markets that are not available when vaccination occurs or disease is present. Keeping the U.S. free of FMD is a key priority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and for state animal health officials. Eradicating the disease if an outbreak were to occur has been a key mission of Kansas animal health authorities since the last outbreak in the U.S. in 1929.

Since animals can carry the disease for several days before showing symptoms, and due to the nature of animal movement and Kansas being an import state, stopping movement of animals became a key strategy. This critical response strategy must be implemented immediately to obtain the maximum benefit.

Obviously, this strategy is not easy to accomplish. Kansas planners from a variety of organizations have spent years working with law enforcement, transportation officials, industry representatives and elected officials to develop plans and procedures to make the strategy actionable.

At the same time, it was clear that a prolonged stoppage of animal movement would devastate the industry. Milk needs to move immediately to avoid shortages and environmental damage. Pigs outgrow pens. Cattle need to move to slaughter. How do we allow movement without spreading the disease?

Secure Food Supply Plans started with the Secure Egg Supply and have evolved to include all poultry (due to an

avian influenza outbreak), milk, pork and beef (specific to FMD). Spearheaded by the Center for Food Security and Public Health at Iowa State University, with the assistance of USDA and checkoff organizations, the programs are now reaching maturity. These plans are designed to allow movement of animals and commodities out of a regulatory control zone to the next node in the supply chain. During the HPAI outbreak of 2015, thousands of commodities were permitted to leave control zones and go on to further processing across the U.S. To obtain a permit, the premises of origin had to meet the biosecurity standards set forth in the secure food plans (in this case, turkey or egg supply).

Kansas planners have been part of the Secure Beef Supply (SBS) team since its inception. Kansans are on every work group assigned to make SBS planning a successful endeavor for all stakeholders in the beef supply chain.

In 2015, the Kansas Department of Agriculture recognized that feedyards needed some assistance with biosecurity planning. The SBS tools were under development, but not yet ready. With the assistance of Dr. Larry Hollis, a retired beef extension specialist from Kansas State University, we worked with the Texas Panhandle Regional Planning Commission to use the biosecurity guidelines they developed as part of the Department of Homeland Security Regional Resiliency Assessment Program. The guide is very comprehensive and contains 16 chapters of recommendations accompanied by planning templates to assist the feedyard manager with implementation.

Several companies told KDA that although they appreciated the work we were doing, they were concerned about overlap with the SBS planning efforts. They also expressed frustration with the volume of materials and the length of some of the tools. In the spring of 2017 we reviewed the Biosecurity Guide for Feedyards and began updating it to match the guidance and terminology in the SBS plan. We hired three student interns from K-State to work with feedyards and dairies to write biosecurity plans that would meet the standards set forth in the Secure Milk and Beef Supply plans. We quickly had more work than time and staff would allow, but the process has shown us the importance of this type of planning to the industry and to KDA. The interns started by meeting with dairy and feedyard managers to gain an understanding of how their operations worked. Using satellite photos, the interns devised a proposed Line of Separation (LOS) depicting what parts of the operation would remain in the clean area (inside the line) and what would be outside, or the dirty area. Secure food supply planning relies on the assumption that public roads are dirty. The goal of this planning for the operation is to keep everything on the premises clean — not allowing dirty vehicles, animals or people onto the premises without

some level of cleaning and disinfection. Another major goal of this planning is to greatly reduce the need for full-scale cleaning and disinfection stations which are labor and resource intensive and can be impractical in Kansas winter weather.

This project resulted in completed biosecurity plans for a dozen feedyards, six dairies and a milk processor. The goal is to continue the project with KDA staff and part-time intern labor for the time being. A concept we are considering involves training industry intern labor to allow those interns hired by the operation to draft the plans for the feedyard or dairy management. The challenge in the past was not allowing time for the interns assigned with biosecurity planning to learn the process and get the plans drafted. We have found that this takes several weeks, so an intern can’t be expected to perform these activities in a few days or a few hours added on to already full days.

Once the plans are completed, KDA facilitates an informal tabletop exercise where the plans are presented to feedyard management, followed by a disease outbreak walkthrough where various roles and responsibilities of state, local and feedyard personnel are discussed. County emergency managers and the USDA personnel assigned to the area also attend.

Once the company has had a chance to finalize the plans and make any changes necessary to feedyard operations, an auditor will go through the audit checklist on site with a manager. The goal of the audit is to ensure that the feedyard could quickly transition from day-to-day operations to an enhanced biosecurity stance in a rapid fashion. The feedyard will have to demonstrate this ability in order to receive a permit from KDA to move animals during an outbreak of FMD. In Kansas, this will apply not only when a premises is inside a control area, but also for the period of time a stop movement order is in effect, which could be several weeks or even months depending on the scope and severity of the outbreak.

During an outbreak, KDA will only issue permits for animal movement for premises that have demonstrated the enhanced biosecurity protocols for a predetermined period.

The Kansas Animal Health Commissioner will also use the same standards for out-of-state permits for animals coming to a destination in Kansas.

If you are interested in more information about animal disease procedures in Kansas, the KDA website will be updated in September with links, checklists and information on how to get assistance: www.agriculture.ks.gov/EmergencyManagement. You can also contact Sandy Johnson (sandy. johnson@ks.gov).

pacdvms.com 19

The Bud Box and Race By: Dr. Kip Lukasiewicz, Production Animal Consultation

In the last issue, we discussed the layout of staging pens.

After cattle leave the staging pen, they move through the alley to the Bud Box or tub before entering the race (the alley leading to the chute, also known as the snake).

The Bud Box is a rectangular box with open sides on three of the four sides. The entry gate coming into the Bud Box is the only solid side; this solid gate redirects the focus of the animal toward the open race leading to the chute.

The open sides allow cattle to see what is pressuring them, which is a natural instinct of all prey animals.

The Bud Box can vary in dimensions, but it should be the same width or wider than the alley leading to it. Cattle are more likely to enter the Bud Box voluntarily when it is at least as wide as the alley leading to it than when the Bud Box is narrower than the alley. A Bud Box measuring 14 feet wide and 20 feet long is recommended for processing while a Bud Box measuring 14 feet wide and 30 feet long is recommended for shipping cattle. The Bud Box is typically larger for shipping than for processing because the cattle are bigger and 16 to 17 head are loaded at once to fill the upper or lower deck of the trailer.

The Bud Box is designed to efficiently move cattle using natural cattle instincts. Cattle are moved from the staging area into the Bud Box in groups of 7 or 8, or whatever fits in the race at once (figure 1, panel A). The handler follows the animals into the Bud Box and then closes the gate (panel B). The handler then positions himself or herself on the inside of the corner to the race, facing the opposite corner (panel C). The handler applies pressure toward the back corner of the box (panel D) and then turns toward the hinge of the gate (panel E), encouraging the front animals to turn into the race. Finally, the handler turns toward the race, supporting motion at the back of the group (panel F).

From this position, the handler can also control the number of cattle entering the race.

The solid gate on the Bud Box can either be placed at a 90-degree angle or a 120-degree angle to the alley (figure 2). Placing the gate at a 120-degree angle can help inexperienced handlers support movement by allowing cattle to easily make the turn around the handler and transition into the race. The gate is a form of sustained pressure, which allows the handler to apply less pressure to maintain movement and reduces the chance that cattle will stall in the corner of the Bud Box where the gate is hinged. Pressure can pacdvms.com 21

Figure 1: Handler position while moving cattle through the Bud Box into the race.

Figure 2: Gate placed at a 120-degree angle (panel A) versus gate placed at a 90-degree angle (panel B).

be adjusted in either situation using the handler’s position, posture, distance, angle and speed.

The race connecting the Bud Box to the chute should be straight and approximately 30 to 40 feet in length. It can be either a single race or a double race that transitions into a single race. A single race utilizes the animals’ instinct to follow each other and eliminates obstacles that impede cattle flow through the race. In contrast, a double race gives cattle more space when exiting the Bud Box, increasing cattle confidence and improving flow into the race. However, cattle often hesitate when the double race transitions to a single race. To optimize flow through a double race, the opening from the Bud Box to the race should be approximately 69 inches wide and 14 feet long with a middle divider so there are two single races side by side. This race should then transition to a 36-inch-wide single race within 3 to 4 feet.

The race itself is very important in the design of the facility. The race should have an open base to allow animals to maintain a comfortable posture, improving cattle comfort and flow. It should also have open sides that can be adjusted manually or hydraulically, from 12 inches up to 36 inches in width, to accommodate all sizes of cattle (figure 3). Open sides allow cattle to see what is pressuring them and allow the handler to be in better position when asking for movement. For example, if an animal stops in the race, the handler can initiate movement by starting in front of

the animal’s head, gaining its attention and then moving past its eye parallel to the race.

Choosing the proper flooring for the Bud Box and race is essential in reducing injury to the animals and increasing cattle confidence. Cattle tend to fall on slippery concrete floors, injuring themselves on upper joints or muscles or on the bottom of their toes. These toe injuries can lead to toe abrasions and abscesses that negatively impact the health and performance of the animal. Furthermore, cattle that slip lose confidence in their footing and become anxious, making them less confident in their handler. Adding sand 4-6 inches deep can improve footing but can clog drain pipes in facilities with a wash cleaning system. Pouring a cement curb around the outside perimeter of the Bud Box can keep sand from washing down the drainage system. Wood chips can also be used for improved footing but may be in limited supply in certain geographic regions. Rubber mats designed specifically for the Bud Box and race are recommended as a long-term solution for footing concerns (figure 4).

Not every operation has the luxury of starting from scratch or redesigning a new facility. In these cases, we can look at the existing facility, identify areas of concern and make suggestions to improve flow through the system.

Figure 3: Adjustable races can be adjusted to handle all sizes of cattle.

One simple way to evaluate the system is to place a camera at the height of the eyes of the animals entering the facility and snap a photo. This will reveal what cattle are seeing as they flow through the system. Often, there is a dark or solid side that looks like a wall to cattle, as observed in figure 5.

This presents cattle with two obstacles. First, they cannot properly see the exit of the tub because the race makes a difficult curve and the exit looks like a wall. Instead of moving forward, cattle will stop and return where they came from. Second, the cattle are asked to narrow their footing

because of the V shape (figure 6). This is a lot to ask of a frantic animal because altering its natural stance takes away the animal’s confidence.

This can all be fixed by opening the side of the tub and race on the inside corner and in some cases the outside corner as well. Removing the steel on either side of the race allows cattle to see what is pressuring them and places the handler in a better position to respond the needs of the animal.

When evaluating or designing any facility, always remember the following points: 1. Cattle crave guidance and direction. In order to accommodate this, they must see what is pressuring them.

2. Cattle that come to or perceive they have reached a dead end will always stop and return where they came from.

3. Cattle prefer to go straight. We do not need serpentine or snake-like race configurations. While cattle have a left leg lead, they will always correct and go straight toward the water tank in pasture situations where the terrain is flat.

4. Cattle need the guidance of a good leader. Always work with the lead animal and the others will follow. Cattle that follow with controlled motion have very little stress. Cattle that follow in a bunched-up group experience unwarranted stress created by handlers.

Figure 5: Cattle perceive solid walls as a dead end.

Figure 4: Rubber mat flooring in the Bud Box (panel A) and race (panel B).

A Figure 6: A V-shaped race forces cattle to narrow their stance.

B

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Red Roses for the Lady By: Dr. Greg Quakenbush, Geissler Corp., & Dr. Doug Ford, Production Animal Consultation ​I am a type A personality on steroids! The question is, is it my nature, my DNA or simply a choice? It is probably a combination of all three, but human nature and skewed judgment often cause me grief. My headstrong tendencies and overbooked schedule push me forward, blinding and deafening me to that little voice in the back of my head that says, “Be still and know that I am God. Let me lead your day. Rest in my joy, protection and wisdom. Only I bring the peace of mind that you seek.” ​Allow me to share two examples that illustrate my point.

First, in the fall of 2013 several pasture fences on our ranch were washed out by the 100-year Biblical-style flood of the Platte River. I was compelled to get them fixed and back in service. A little voice in the back of my mind said, “Don’t be in such a hurry.” I ignored the voice. The next year another flood washed out the rebuilt fences. This caused me twice the work. If I had only trusted and listened.

Second, in 2012 my lower back was a challenge. Like many of us, I was far too busy to take time to see a doctor. Especially if it meant making the appointment, three or four office visits, diagnostics, surgical procedures and recovery time. I reluctantly made an appointment and started the process. On my first visit, I did not even get to see the doctor but rather his Nurse Practitioner. She confirmed there would be many appointments before I had resolution. She informed me the process would take at least one month if everything went well.

Looking over the top of her fashion designer glasses, she seemed unconcerned by my busy schedule and frustration.

What could I do? I did not have time for this inconvenience!

In that moment I had an idea. “What kind of flowers do you like?” She suddenly smiled, her eyes perked up and she said, “Why, red roses of course.” She then paused and said, “Let me see what I can do.” The next thing I know two days later we did testing and the following day I would have my procedure.

The morning of my procedure I left the house at 4:00 a.m. to make my 6:00 a.m. appointment. Forty miles into my trip I was surprised by a herd of white-tailed deer along the South Platte River. The lead doe hit my heavy frame Texas-style grill guard, shifting her to the left and mangling

my driver’s side door. I was less than pleased. I had a little rant and may have even taken the Lord’s name in vain.

Thirty minutes later I arrived in the small town of Eaton, Colorado. I was westbound at the main intersection with a green light. Seconds prior to me entering the intersection, a car headed south ran the red light going 50 mph. As you can imagine I reacted negatively against the driver, thinking, “Man it isn’t safe to be on the road this morning.”

My heart was in my throat. I had that “poor me” victim mentality. As I drove a few miles up the road it dawned on me, if I had not slowed down for a few seconds when I hit the deer, I would have been directly in the path of that southbound car. The result would have been a major T-bone wreck… mangled, goner, end of story, adios amigo.

That morning I was the victor, not the victim. In my frustration I did not see the Lord’s perfect protection on my life.

This was a defining experience.

Many times I fall short when it comes to being still and listening. It is a lot like my earthly father; he always gave me great advice. I did not always listen or take his advice, but he was NEVER wrong.

God cares so much. He is concerned about every detail of our lives. He has sent the helper, the Holy Spirit, to guide our every move and decision. I should have listened more to my earthly Father; it would have saved me a lot of anguish.

The Creator of the universe has given us an even better helper. An all knowing, all caring helper. All we have to do is listen and receive! Thank you, Jesus!

Reflection…

So how does one evaluate those seemingly unexplainable events that ultimately shape the course of life? Is it luck, chance or the providence of God? Luck and chance are easily defined; however the definition of God’s providence might be worth reviewing. “Providence is the means by which God directs all things — both animate and inanimate, seen and unseen, good and evil — toward a worthy purpose, which means His will must finally prevail.”

It could well be that God directs thousands of events in our lives in the course of each day. It also is likely that we may never be cognizant of His activity, or completely miss it or discount it when it actually is too obvious to miss.

For those who do not see God and His provision as a reality, then life’s events, good or bad, are just a matter of luck or a roll of the dice. No matter what this individual does or how he lives, he will eventually reach the conclusion that life is meaningless and an exercise in futility.

For those who are willing to consider the implications of God’s involvement in our lives, His ultimate provision for us has already been given, 2,000 years ago. And it is this specific provision that ultimately is the source of our hope, faith and security.

By the way, Dr. Doug did go back and provide the lady with a bouquet of red roses. She was shocked and pleased, as she never expected this gesture. It is likely that she rarely gets a “thank you” from patients or anyone else. In this situation it may have been one of those “hundreds of daily events” that shapes and directs our lives and gets overlooked, except not this time.

Matthew 6:26-27: Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.”

For your consideration: Proverbs 16:9: The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

Romans 8:28: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

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Nutrition Impacts Feedlot Health, Part 4: Finishing Phase By: Dr. Jeremy Martin and Dr. Dan Larson, Great Plains Livestock Consulting, Inc.

Nutritional management of calves in utero through receiving and effects of nutrition on health in the feedlot have been the focus of the previous articles in this series. Once the receiving period is over and the cattle are well-started on feed, we tend to experience fewer health challenges as an industry.

From this point on though, a high percentage of pulls are either related to feeding management or nutrition in some way. Nutritional disorders that impact cattle during the finishing phase can have serious consequences in terms of performance and conversion; three of the more common issues are acidosis, liver abscesses, and polioencephalomalacia (PEM). The three are distinct but interrelated conditions.

The goal of feedyards and their nutritionists for finishing cattle is generally to achieve maximum performance and feed conversion while minimizing digestive disorders. In ruminant animals adjusted to high starch rations, we can expect cattle to experience acidosis of varying degrees at some point during the feeding period.

In general, acidosis is simply low rumen pH due to an imbalance between volatile fatty acid (VFA) production in the rumen and the ability of cattle to absorb and utilize VFAs. Since cattle convert energy in feeds to VFAs in the rumen, VFA production increases as cattle are stepped up to rations with more grain and less roughage, or due to increasing intakes. Managing the risk of acidosis is the very reason for the step-up process.

Since acidosis is a continuum of rumen pH, rather than a disease, it can be classified as acute or subacute. Acute acidosis occurs when rumen pH drops below 5.2 and produces noticeable symptoms including reduced intake, cattle panting in an effort to maintain acid-base balance in the blood, bloat, loose stools that contain bubbles and a white appearance when dried, and pen deads.

Unseen results of acute acidosis include founder which becomes apparent 45-60 days further into the feeding period, damage to the gut lining which reduces ability of cattle to absorb nutrients, and liver abscesses. All of these result in reduced feed efficiency and performance at the least.

Additionally, there is a link between acidosis and polioencephalomalacia (PEM) – more on that later. University of Nebraska-Lincoln data also associate risk of PEM with pacdvms.com 27

reduced roughage levels in the ration. In 2002, Loneragan and associates showed a 70% increased risk for acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP) in pens with at least one digestive death.

Subacute acidosis is generally diagnosed in research scenarios as rumen pH 5.2-5.6, but practical observation is more difficult. Although intakes and performance suffer, it is often masked by the fact that it is an individual response in a pen setting. Intake patterns of cattle experiencing subacute acidosis are more erratic, but within a pen those individual patterns are not necessarily discernible.

Behaviors that may be noticeable are cattle eating dirt, kicking at their bellies, loose stools, or more erratic pen intakes. During the feeding period, individual cattle likely experience subacute acidosis to varying degrees (Erickson et al., 2003), and this experience helps train them to avoid acidosis in the future. Therefore, while subacute acidosis does have a cost in terms of cattle performance and efficiency, it is essential to training cattle to avoid the more serious consequences of acute acidosis. Under ideal management, individual subacute acidosis bouts do not result in whole pens displaying erratic or depressed intakes.

Managing risk of digestive disorders is in the details, because finish rations have the potential to create acidosis and that is unlikely to change. Cattle are creatures of habit, and the less change they experience in feeding times, feedstuffs, weather, handling, etc. the better in terms of avoiding acidosis.

Often when incidence of bloat increases in feedlots, it can be linked to variations in processes or environmental variables. To avoid problems, do not step cattle up onto a higher energy ration during a change in weather, particularly if barometric pressure is changing significantly.

In terms of ration formulation, preventing extreme peaks in VFA production involves several steps. Roughage inclusion provides a buffer for the rumen and maintains gut health to help prevent digestive disorders, and risk of acidosis generally decreases as roughage levels increase.

However, maintaining enough forage in the ration to prevent all digestives is counterproductive to feed efficiency. Focus on managing roughage sources so they do not vary widely and are not prone to picking up moisture from the environment, and ensure ration mixing is adequate to distribute roughage evenly in the bunk. Energy sources ferment at different rates in the rumen, so utilizing multiple energy sources with different rates of fermentation helps alleviate high acid load in the rumen and minimize risk of digestive deads. This may include combinations of different grains, different processing methods of grains, and inclusion of byproduct feedstuffs.

The majority of cattle on feed receive an ionophore as

a tool to improve feed efficiency. Research clearly demonstrates the ability of the ionophore Rumensin to increase average rumen pH, reduce the amount of time cattle experience acidotic conditions in the rumen, and stabilize intake patterns (Fanning et al., 1999 UNL Beef Reports). While managing roughage, feeding multiple energy sources, and supplementing Rumensin alleviate risk, it remains critical that bunk management and consistency of process are priorities for a feedlot to avoid acute and subacute acidosis.

Liver abscesses are a consequence of acidosis that deserve special mention because they not only affect feedlot performance but are detrimental to carcass value. When acidotic episodes occur, the rumen wall that is damaged can become susceptible to Fusobacterium necrophorum and Actinomyces pyogenes (the primary bacteria involved in liver abscesses although others are often involved as well) colonization.

This allows bacteria access to the bloodstream and thus they can travel to the liver.

The resulting colonization of liver tissue produces abscesses that not only contribute to reduced feed efficiency but also potentially to reduced dressing percentage due to adhesions and thus negatively impacts margins at both the feedlot and packer level. Tylan is the most widely used antimicrobial feed additive which is approved for reducing the incidence of liver abscesses. Liver abscesses not only cost the industry money, but they are evidence that the effects of acidosis in feedlot cattle can persist through the entire feeding period and beyond, so cattle do not necessarily recover from bunk management and feeding management mistakes once intakes are corrected.

Another disease of finishing cattle that is nutritionally induced is polioencephalomalacia (PEM), which is a noninfectious disease of cattle characterized by reduced feed intake, impaired vision, muscle tremors, and incoordination.

Affected animals will press their head against inanimate objects, grind their teeth, groan, and display convulsions and recumbency.

There are two forms of the disease: the acute form sporadically seen in feedlot cattle where affected animals are extensively affected, and the subacute form occasionally seen in animals on pasture. The incidence of the disease is low; however, the death rate can be high (90%) in the acute case with death occurring in about 50% of the affected animals within a few days of the disease. In the subacute form, mortality is about 50%. Animals with the subacute form may recover completely or may have a lower lifetime average daily gain.

There are two primary causes of PEM in cattle, a thiamin deficiency and excess dietary sulfur intake. The excess sulfur can come from either the feed or the water. Thiamin is integral to energy metabolism. The brain, due to its

high demand for energy, is especially sensitive to a thiamin deficiency. Thus, a thiamin deficiency does not specifically target the brain but is rather seen in a neurological aspect first. Thiamin is supplied by two chief means in a ruminant: microbial production and from feedstuffs. However, processed or long-term stored feedstuffs have lower thiamin content, making ruminal microbial production more important.

The principal problem associated with thiamin is thiamin destruction in the rumen. An increase in the amount of thiaminase may occur when dietary concentrates are increased too rapidly. This change ostensibly causes the amount of thiamin to fall rapidly. Apparently, the sudden increase in rumen acidity releases the enzyme. Therefore, acidosis is clearly linked to PEM. Certain species of mold also produce high amounts of thiaminase and can lead to increased destruction of thiamin in the rumen.

Excessive sulfur intake, as a consequence of high sulfur in either the feed and/or the drinking water of cattle, can also lead to the destruction of thiamin in the rumen. When excess sulfur is consumed, rumen microbes produce excess hydrogen sulfide gas. This condition is exacerbated by low pH, otherwise defined as acidosis. The hydrosulfides stay in the rumen fluid phase and hydrogen sulfide gas accumulates in the rumen gas cap. The hydrogen sulfide is absorbed across the rumen wall into the bloodstream. This elevated level of sulfide in the blood interferes with energy production, similar to a thiamin deficiency.

Although sulfur has recently received substantial criticism for causing PEM, acidosis and other issues not discussed here such as cobalt deficiency and amprolium represent a significant portion of PEM cases. In addition, the disease must be differentiated from similar conditions such as lead poisoning, (grass) tetany, water deprivation, antifreeze ingestion, or a vitamin A deficiency.

A number of plant species, including the bracken fern, produce a thiaminase and can cause similar symptoms if ingested. There are also a number of infectious diseases that can cause neurological symptoms similar to PEM. Rabies can cause similar symptoms and is common in feedlots with a raccoon or skunk problem. Thrombotic meningoencephalitis can also present very similar symptoms and is caused by a Haemophilus somnus infection. Vaccination for this disease is difficult and can be prevalent in many feedlots.

A substantial coccidiosis infection may result in a disorder known as nervous coccidiosis, presenting similar symptoms as those seen in PEM cases. Listeriosis also presents similar symptoms to PEM. Listeriosis is caused by a bacterium harbored in the intestinal tract of cattle and also found in poorly fermented silages. A large rodent population will help spread listeriosis. Making high quality silages is the best

preventative for listeriosis. A number of clostridial diseases, including tetanus and enterotoxemia, can also cause neurological symptoms similar to PEM. Cases of PEM are likely a combination of subacute or acute acidosis, coupled with a high sulfur diet, which is why thiamin administration is often a successful treatment. However, be certain to differentiate PEM from other infectious and noninfectious diseases.

If cattle are appropriately transitioned to a high-concentrate diet and bunks are managed correctly, acidosis related issues including bloat and PEM should be rare. Most cattle will experience subacute acidosis during the feeding period and we know liver abscesses will occur at some level.

However, care should be taken in ration formulation to test roughage sources and high sulfur feedstuffs and to adjust diets accordingly. With appropriate vigilance and diligence, including a systematic daily approach to reading bunks, calling feed, and evaluating cattle, we can limit the effects of these nutritional disorders during the finishing phase.

Chuckles From Down Under

By: Jane Sullivan, Bell Veterinary Services A four-year-old boy had a disagreement with his father and decided he was going to leave home.

He packed up his teddy, pillow and piggy bank and headed for the front door. As he was about to leave, his dad asked him some questions: “What are you going to do when your clothes get dirty?”

The little boy answered, “Come home so Mummy can wash them.”

“What are you going to do when you get hungry?”

The little boy answered, “Come home and Mummy will cook me something.”

“What are you going to do when your money runs out?”

The little boy answered, “Come home and Mummy will give me some more.”

At this the father said, “Hang on a minute. You’re not leaving home. You’re going to a university, aren’t you?”

Salmonella in Cattle By: Dr. Dan Thomson, Production Animal Consultation Salmonella is one of the oldest and most recognized bacteria that cause disease in many species of animals including humans. Salmonella is a gram-negative bacterium that causes diarrheal diseases in neonates of many species, wide-spread septicemia in dairy cattle and respiratory disease in swine.

Salmonella bacteria cause diarrhea and other diseases in beef cattle. There are two reasons why animals get sick: 1) an overwhelming dose of a pathogen (like Salmonella) or 2) a suppressed immune system of the animal.

The cattle most susceptible to Salmonella infections are young calves and older cows. Salmonella species are abundant in the environment and cattle become exposed to Salmonella by ingesting fecal particulate while nursing or when drinking from a water tank or eating from contaminated feed when an animal defecates in the tank or bunk. While cattle can carry Salmonella without showing any signs of illness, wildlife such as birds, rodents and feral cats can carry Salmonella and spread the pathogen in places they congregate on the farm. Salmonella can survive in fecal matter for extended periods of time in the environment and generally are higher in concentration in areas where cattle congregate like feed bunks, water tanks, bale rings and barns.

Cattle that become ill from a Salmonella infection can exhibit many different clinical signs. Salmonella infections in baby calves generally occur between 2 and 12 weeks of age. Calves will have diarrhea, depressed appearance, dehydration, general weakness and a fever (figure 1).

Feedlot calves that contract Salmonella infections are in poor body condition and have a watery diarrhea, depression, dehydration and an elevated rectal temperature. Many times, Salmonella-infected feedlot cattle will also have other types of infections such as respiratory disease, liver disease or general septicemia.

Older cows that contract Salmonella will be thin, have elevated rectal temperature and be in very poor health. Cows may or may not have diarrhea but many Salmonella infections produce septicemia in older cows.

Diagnosis of Salmonella infections is easier in the neonatal calf than in older cattle. If an animal dies, a veterinarian can conduct a necropsy examination and take samples such as feces, gut loops, lung, heart, kidney and others for isolation of viruses or bacteria such as Salmonella.

One can also take fecal, feed, water or environmental samples during the time of a potential Salmonella outbreak.

It takes 4 to 5 days to get results back from the diagnostic laboratory on bacterial isolation from these samples. Many pacdvms.com 31

Figure 1: Calf scours

times when neonatal calves break with Salmonella or another scours pathogen, it is recommended to take the dead calf intact to the diagnostic laboratory to improve the chances of getting the right samples and enhance sample integrity.

Prevention of Salmonella is the best strategy as Salmonella infections are hard to treat in cattle. Many times Salmonella infections are self-limiting meaning that the calf or cow develops immunity against the pathogen and clears the bug itself.

It is important to provide supportive care to calves such as providing them fluids and keeping them warm and dry.

Some people try to improve gut health by treating cattle with a probiotic. Antibiotics in Salmonella infections are administered orally to kill pathogens in the gut or through the syringe to treat septicemia. We recommend that producers work with their veterinarian to develop a judicious and proper antibiotic treatment program for Salmonella or other bacterial infections in cattle.

Prevention of Salmonella in cattle involves controlling pathogen exposure through decreasing environmental contamination and keeping the cattle’s immune systems functioning. Healthy cattle have functioning immune systems from proper housing, vaccination programs, nutrition, water and other good animal husbandry practices. It is important to keep balling guns, drench equipment and other instruments sanitary.

It would be best if new cattle are processed in a chute and facility different than the facility where sick animals are treated. However, if that is not possible, processing new cattle should be done prior to the treating of sick cattle for the day.

It is important to keep feed bunks and water tanks clean and move the bale rings around to give animals a cleaner

environment. As mentioned above, wildlife can carry Salmonella and you should control birds, varmints, cats and other animals on your cattle facilities as much as possible.

Salmonella can survive for days, even weeks, in the environment. Manure management and mud management is vitally important.

Salmonella is a vicious zoonotic disease that people can acquire from cattle and calves. People become infected by consuming fecal particles or diarrhea when they work with infected cattle. Do not bring calves into your kitchen or bathroom to warm them up. There have been cases of young children becoming ill and even dying from Salmonella after drinking bath water following a calf being warmed up in the bathtub the day before.

It is not recommended that colostrum or milk be warmed up in your kitchen for the same reasons. Keeping soiled boots and clothes away from crawling babies or toddlers in the house is a good prevention measure to think about. Lastly, wash your hands. When you get done working cattle or doing a necropsy, wash your hands with soap and dry them with a towel before eating or placing your tobacco between your cheek and gum.

Chuckles From Down Under By: Jane Sullivan, Bell Veterinary Services

A man goes on holiday to the Holy Land with his wife and mother-in-law. During the trip, the mother-in-law dies.

The man visits an undertaker, who explains that they can ship the body home, but it will cost $10,000. Or they can bury her in the Holy Land for $300.

“We’ll ship her home,” says the son-in-law.

“Are you sure?” says the undertaker. “That’s an awfully big expense.”

“Look,” says the son-in-law, “two thousand years ago they buried a bloke here and three

days later he rose from the dead. I just can’t take that chance.”

A little boy is being very naughty.

“You won’t go to heaven,” his mother scolds him, “if you behave so badly.”

“Yes, I will,” replies the little boy. “I’ll just run in and out, slamming all the doors until Saint Peter says, ‘For goodness sake, Jimmy! Come in or stay out.’”

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As measured by body temperature, feed intake, injection-site reaction or white blood cell count. 2Terhaar, B. 2001.

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Salmonela en Ganado Translation provided by: Jose Valles, Production Animal Consultation La salmonela es una de las bacterias más antiguas y reconocidas que causan enfermedades en muchas especies de animales incluyendo los humanos. La salmonela es una bacteria gram negativa que causa enfermedades diarreicas en neonatos de muchas especies, septicemia generalizada en ganado lechero y enfermedad respiratoria en cerdos. La bacteria salmonela causa diarrea y otras enfermedades en el ganado de carne. Hay dos razones por las que los animales se enferman: 1) una dosis abrumadora de un patógeno (como la salmonela) o 2) un sistema inmune suprimido del animal.

El ganado más susceptible a infecciones de salmonela son los becerros jóvenes y las vacas mayores. Las especies de salmonela son abundantes en el medio ambiente y el ganado es expuesto a la salmonela al ingerir partículas fecales durante la lactancia o al beber de un bebedero o al comer alimento contaminado por la defecación de un animal en un bebedero o un comedero. Mientras que el ganado puede transportar salmonela sin mostrar ningún signo de enfermedad, la fauna silvestre como las aves, los roedores y los gatos salvajes pueden transportar salmonela y propagar el patógeno en lugares donde se congregan en la granja . La salmonela puede sobrevivir en materia fecal durante largos periodos de tiempo en el medio ambiente y generalmente Figura 1: Diarrea en becerros

son más altos en concentración en áreas donde el ganado se congrega como alrededor de comederos, bebederos, porta forrajes, y granjas.

El ganado que se enferma de una infección de salmonela puede exhibir muchos signos clínicos diferentes. Las infecciones de salmonela en terneros generalmente ocurren entre las 2 y 12 semanas de edad. Los becerros tendrán diarrea, apariencia deprimida, deshidratación, debilidad general y fiebre. Los becerros de engorda que contraen infecciones de salmonela están en mal condición corporal y tienen una diarrea acuosa, depresión, deshidratación, y temperatura rectal elevada. Muchas veces, el ganado de engorda infectado de salmonela también tendrá otros tipos de infecciones tales como enfermedad respiratoria, enfermedad hepática, y septicemia general. Las vacas mayores que contraen salmonela serán delgadas, tendrán una temperatura rectal elevada y estarán en muy mal estado de salud. Las vacas pueden o no tener diarrea, pero muchas infecciones de salmonela producen septicemia en vacas mayores.

El diagnostico de infecciones de salmonela es más fácil en los terneros neonatales que en el ganado mayor. Si un animal se muere, un veterinario puede realizar un examen de necropsia y tomar muestras de heces, intestinos, pulmones, corazón, riñones, entre otros para el aislamiento del virus o bacterias como la salmonela. También se pueden tomar muestras fecales, de alimento, agua o medio ambiente durante el tiempo de un potencial brote de salmonela. Se tarda de 4 a 5 días para obtener los resultados del laboratorio de diagnóstico sobre el aislamiento bacteriano de estas muestras. Muchas veces cuando los terneros neonatales tienen un brote de salmonela u otro patógeno causante de diarrea, se recomienda llevar el becerro muerto intacto al laboratorio de diagnóstico para aumentar las posibilidades de obtener las muestras correctas y aumentar la integridad de las muestras.

La prevención de salmonela es la mejor estrategia ya que las infecciones por salmonela son difíciles de tratar en ganado. Muchas veces las infecciones de salmonela son autolimitantes, lo que significa que el becerro o la vaca desarrolla inmunidad en contra del patógeno y elimina el patógeno por sí mismo. Es importante proveer cuidado de soporte a los becerros, como proporcionarles líquidos y mantenerlos calientes y secos. Algunas personas tratan de mejorar la salud intestinal mediante el tratamiento del ganado con un probiótico. Los antibióticos en las infecciones de salmonela son administrados oralmente para matar patógenos en el

intestino o a través de una jeringa para tratar la septicemia.

Recomendamos que los productores trabajen con su veterinario para desarrollar un programa de tratamiento juicioso y apropiado para la salmonela u otras infecciones bacterianas en el ganado.

La prevención de salmonela en el ganado involucra el control de la exposición de patógenos a través de la disminución de la contaminación ambiental y manteniendo los sistemas inmunes del ganado funcionando. El ganado sano obtiene el funcionamiento de sistemas inmunes de alojamiento adecuado, programas de vacunación, nutrición, agua y otras buenas prácticas de ganadería. Es importante mantener la sanidad de pistolas de bolos, equipo para la administración oral y otros instrumentos. Sería mejor si el ganado nuevo es procesado en una prensa e instalación diferente que la instalación donde los animales enfermos son tratados. Sin embargo, si eso no es posible, el procesamiento del ganado nuevo debe llevarse a cabo antes del tratamiento del ganado enfermo del día. Es importante mantener limpios los comederos y los bebederos y mover los porta forrajes a diferentes áreas para darle a los animales un ambiente más limpio. Como se mencionó anteriormente, la fauna silvestre puede transportar salmonela y usted debe controlar las aves, alimañas, gatos y otros animales en sus instalaciones de ganado tanto como sea posible. La salmonela puede sobrevivir durante días, incluso semanas, en el medio ambiente.

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El manejo del estiércol y el manejo del lodo son de vital importancia.

La salmonela es una enfermedad zoonótica viciosa que la gente puede adquirir del ganado y terneros. Las personas se infectan al consumir partículas fecales o diarrea cuando trabajan con ganado infectado. No traiga terneros a su cocina o baño para calentarlos. Ha habido casos de niños pequeños que se han enfermado e incluso muerto de salmonela después de beber agua del baño después de haber calentado a un ternero en la bañera el día anterior. No se recomienda calentar calostro o leche en su cocina por las mismas razones. El mantener las botas y ropa sucia lejos de bebés que gatean o niños pequeños en la casa es una buena medida de prevención para tomar en cuenta. Por último, lavarse las manos. Cuando termina de trabajar con ganado o de hacer una necropsia, lávese las manos con jabón y séquelas con una toalla antes de comer o colocarse tabaco entre la mejilla y la encía.

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Leadership

What is the Most Important Thing We Can Do When Leading a Business or Group of People?

By: Dr. Nels Lindberg, Production Animal Consultation

We all know agriculture. We all know animals. But no one taught us how to lead! As we grow in life, many of us get the opportunity to lead a group of people, perhaps as head cowboy, as head of the maintenance department or even as leader of the entire business as a feedyard manager or owner. When these opportunities occur, we are thrust beyond the day-to-day nature of a job and doing normal work tasks, to all of a sudden dealing with people. As we take those steps of progress forward, we often fail miserably. And when we do, the pain of those failures allows thoughts to slip into our head saying, “Man, I’d just like to go back to what I used to do, go home and not have all these problems.” These are natural thoughts to have. We all have them from time to time, especially after a key person quits or after a customer calls and chews on our rear about things out of our control or maybe even in our control.

Many of these events that are engraved in our vivid memory were created by our lack of knowledge in terms of leading. Because we get so focused on outcomes, growth and strategy, we forget about the basics of people, human nature and the culture of the cowboy crew we lead or the whole yard we manage. Before we reach that point, or even if we have, we want to focus on building culture before we ever build and execute strategy. If the culture is broken, strategy cannot be achieved to its full potential.

Culture is the prevailing ideas, values, attitudes and beliefs that guide the way employees think, feel and act. Culture is who we are when we are at our natural best. As Robert Herjavec tells us, the culture of the business is the DNA of the founder. When there is a disconnect between our values and behaviors, we get the pleasure of having more stress and anxiety. That occurs on a personal level, or in our workplace.

The #1 human capital challenge we face today is employee engagement and culture. To help with this challenge, we must create the culture we want by shaping, changing, forcing and constantly talking about it. pacdvms.com 37

The easiest, yet most challenging, way to accomplish this is by creating a set of non-negotiable core values that we live by each day and by showing the observable behaviors they represent. We want our team to know them. We want them posted throughout our business as a constant reminder of those needed observable behaviors, and also for our customers to see to help hold us all accountable to our core values.

When culture and strategy are aligned, organizations achieve goals, amplify successes and have greater impact.

Impact is our goal, right!? We want to impact our industries.

We want to impact our “tribe”. We want to impact those around us in a positive way each day! What is your impact?

We expect it to be great! Our next article will outline specifics on how to write, build and execute your core values so your culture will be so great that your tribe can and will greatly enjoy “winning” at their job and their passion.

Newest PAC Members

Boyd Henry McCuiston

Archie Barnhardt

Parents: Nick and Ashton McCuiston

Parents: Sheldon and Dr. Tera Barnhardt

Ava June Laffy

Parents: Tim and Casey Laffy pacdvms.com 39

The Pot Roast

Discovering recipes from agriculture’s finest.

Lasagna Ingredients 1 lb. Italian sausage or ground beef 6 lasagna noodles 3 c. ricotta cheese 2 eggs 2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. pepper Fresh parsley 1 tsp. oregano 1 tsp. thyme 1/3 c. Parmesan cheese 1 jar spaghetti sauce 1 lb. mozzarella cheese (I used to buy the fresh stuff; however the store brand block of mozzarella seems to help the lasagna stay together better.)

Note: The pictures show ground beef but we prefer Italian sausage. The recipe is also cut in half and baked in a 9x9 pan. This is best for our little family, but when we are feeding a crew, I cook the full recipe.

Cook your meat until brown and then add spaghetti sauce. Cook the noodles in boiling water until tender. In a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, parsley, oregano and thyme. Pour a thin layer of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Place three noodles over the top of the meat sauce and spread half of the cheese mixture over the top of the noodles. Sprinkle with

mozzarella. Pour half of the remaining meat sauce over the cheese and layer with noodles, ricotta cheese mixture and mozzarella. Spread the remaining meat mixture and sprinkle the top with additional mozzarella. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes and let rest for 10 minutes. If you are making this ahead of time and refrigerating or freezing, give it a little extra time to cook.

Thank you to Arturo and Wrenn Pacheco for sharing your recipe and pictures. Arturo and Wrenn are custom grazers located in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Their grazing operation consists of grazing double stock steers and custom heifer development for their clients. Arturo has his PhD in ruminant nutrition and owns and operates his own nutrition consulting business, Pacheco Cattle Services. Wrenn is a professional photographer and operates Wrenn Bird Photography. Together they have two little cowboys, Leo and Ross. You can find more of their recipes at cookingwiththecowboy.com. pacdvms.com 41

Clean-Up™ II Pour-On Insecticide with IGR

Effective lice control shouldn’t be a riddle. The only pour-on with an added insect growth regulator (IGR), one application of Clean-Up™ II on cattle kills both adult lice and their eggs. Finally, a simple answer for lice. ©2016 Bayer, Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66201. Bayer (reg’d), the Bayer Cross (reg’d) and Clean-Up™ are trademarks of Bayer.

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Who cares?

Kill both with one dose of Clean-Up™ II.

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Clean-Up II ™

Pour-On Insecticide with IGR I161499

Calendar September

October

7th BISA Gold International Veterinary Group

9th Noble Foundation, Ardmore, OK, Dr. Tom pre-

10th Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Associa-

12th - 13th Executive Veterinary Program -

tion, Regina, Saskatchewan, Dr. Tom presenting

Beef meeting, Olathe, KS, Dr. Wade, Dr. Dan, Dr. Jim and Dr. Kip attending and presenting

13th American Association of Bovine Practitioners

26th Mississippi Cattlemen’s College, Hattiesburg,

Training, Ames, IA, Dr. Jim presenting

Convention, Omaha, NE, Dr. Shane, Dr. Dan and Dr. Kip attending and presenting

14th Bayer Stockmanship meeting, Carthage, MO, Dr. Kip presenting

16th - 18th Nebraska LEAD meeting, Lincoln,

senting

MS, Dr. Tom presenting

November Oct. 30th - Nov. 3rd BISA Lead International Veterinary Group Training, Ames, IA, Dr. Jim presenting

NE, Jose attending

18th Leman Swine Conference, St. Paul, MN, Dr. Jim presenting

24th - 26th Nebraska LEAD meeting, Chadron, NE, Dr. Shane attending

Service. Synthesis. Solutions. pacdvms.com

pacdvms.com 43

Production Animal Consultation PO Box 41 Oakley, KS 67748 pacdvms.com

Mark Your Calendars!

PAC Beef Summit Meetings April 2018 Kearney, NE July 2018 Oberlin, KS

More details coming soon