Protein Producers Fall 2022

PROTEIN producers

TM

2022 Volume 10 Issue 3

EDITORIAL TEAM: Brandi Bain, Darcy Howard, Lisa Taylor

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

Animal Health International Bimeda, Inc. Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Daniels Manufacturing Co. DOCTalk Huvepharma Inc. Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health – North America Lallemand Animal Nutrition Merck Animal Health Micro Technologies MS Biotec, an Axiota company Neogen Newport Laboratories Norbrook Virbac Zinpro Corporation Zoetis FRONT COVER PHOTO CREDIT Thank you to Molly Foote for the photo from Hoxie Feedyard in Hoxie, Kansas.

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Knight Land & Cattle Ellsworth County, Kansas

Photo Credit: Luke Knight

We want to showcase unique photographs from our readers here!

Please submit your photographs to protein.producers@ pacdvms.com.

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WELCOME Welcome to the fall issue of Protein Producers! The fall is a busy and rewarding time in all of agriculture, with calves weaned, harvest conducted, and preparations made for the winter and for the following year. This past summer brought weather challenges in many parts of the country, with many producers facing significant drought and heat. We hope those producers see relief.

We were glad to see those who attended the PAC Summit for Industry Leaders in Hays, Kansas, and the PAC Summit for Feedlot Caregivers in Garden City, Kansas, and Kearney, Nebraska, this summer. We appreciate the engagement and enjoy the opportunity to spend time with clients and collaborators.

We are excited about the great information in this edition of Protein Producers. Greta Krafsur shares an overview of heart failure in the feedlot. Also in the feedyard section, Sara Trojan writes about intestinal health management and BRD prevention, and Grant Crawford shares interesting new research on the economics of extending days on feed. Jose Valles continues his series on the five points of animal health evaluation with an article on respiratory disease.

For those with cow-calf interest, Mark Hilton discusses beef cow-calf herd health plans and Austin Traphagan provides information on cow protocols during fall weaning. Nels Lindberg shares some thoughts on decentralizing decision making, Doug Ford and Greg Quakenbush provide a parable, and The Pot Roast features a recipe appropriate for the cooling weather as we enter fall.

We are thankful for all those who share their expertise with us, for our clients, and for our subscribers.

We hope you have a great fall!

Shane Terrell, DVM, PhD Production Animal Consultation Gothenburg, Nebraska

THANK YOU We want to thank the industry partners, publications and associations who have pro vided content to Protein Producers. Also, a big thank you to our readers for sup porting us, offering content and helping us improve each issue. We could not do any of this without all of you!

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and information expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect Production Animal Consultation's policy or position.

contents FALL 2022 6 Welcome Shane Terrell, DVM, PhD

24 PAC Member Highlight: Dr. Shaun Morris

58

10

Risa entre dientes desde Oz

60 Parable: The Photograph Part 3: Take Cover

68 PAC Member Highlight: Raymond Stegeman, DVM

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14

The Pot Roast: Cheeseburger Macaroni Soup

❙ COW-CALF

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Fall Weaning, It’s Not Just for the Calves

Chuckles from Down Under

10 14 Developing a Beef Cow-Calf Herd Health Plan

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contents

❙ LEADERSHIP

20 Decentralizing Decision Making – Releasing Power and Control

❙ FEEDLOT

54

26 Economics of Extending Days on Feed: Live, Carcass or Grid Sales

32 Heartache in High Plains Feedyards 60

40 Intestinal Health Management and BRD Prevention

46 Five Points of Animal Health Evaluation: Respiratory Health 20

❙ EN ESPAÑOL

50

– vaca-becerro

El Destete de Otoño, No Es Solo Para Los Terneros

54

– corrales de engorda

Cinco Puntos de la Evaluación de Salud Animal: Salud Respiratoria 26

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FALL WEANING, IT’S NOT JUST FOR THE CALVES

By Austin Traphagan, DVM

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hen we generally think about fall activities in the cattle industry, weaning calves (in spring herds) immediately comes to mind. The process of removing the calves from the cows and successfully moving them on to the next phase of the production cycle is an important task. Proper planning and techniques can help to improve and produce calf crops that backgrounders and feedyards strive to fill their pens with.

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However, this time of the year and the weaning process is just as important, if not more so, for the cow herd. In the time between weaning the calf and the arrival of the next offspring, the cow herd will have to endure the colder winter months while continuing to replenish body stores and maintain pregnancy. Keeping on top of cow herd management during this time period will pay dividends later on down road with overall productivity of the cows and longevity in the herd.

The primary benefits of timely weaning and proper nutritional management can be seen in multiple stages of the breeding/production cycle. Once fall arrives, it is time to remove the calves from the cows, removing a nutritional burden from the herd. In the months prior, they have had to expend much of their energy store in late gestation and lactation, the most nutritionally demanding stages of the production cycle. This is followed by the expectation that they will rebreed within about 80-85 days of calving in order to calve at the same time next year and stay in the herd. For the cattle to rebreed and exhibit a high level of reproductive efficiency, they must have the nutritional support and body condition left to do so. If the spring has left them far behind in body condition, they will have a much tougher time breeding back on pace with the rest of the herd, if at all. Poor nutrition and body condition is one of the leading reasons that cows come up open in the fall. In order to guard against losing females after the breeding season, nutritional management has to be started and maintained long beforehand in the prior fall.

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In a normal spring operation, cows will have been rebred over the summer months and have been lactating for the calf they had on their side. Early on in gestation, the energy requirement needed to support a fetus is marginal compared to what is being spent on lactating for the existing calf. Ideally, cows who have been out on summer pasture will have replenished much of their body stores by this point and have a body condition score of around 5-6 (out of 10) around the time of fall weaning. Once the calf is weaned, assessing body condition of the pregnant cows can start to give you an idea of what your management strategy will be moving forward. In some cases, a producer may have the ability to split his cow herd into different groups to be managed and fed differently based upon the condition of the cows. Matching the cows to the feed is the best and most cost-efficient way to utilize what you have on hand and plan ahead. The goal is to maintain this current mid-range body score and, in the cases of cows who are a little on the thin side, add some pounds with additional nutritional support. If you cannot get those cows to make up some ground prior to winter, the December to March time frame is very tough and expensive to add additional weight when compared to just maintaining body condition. Fall is a great time to utilize crop residues and other roughages. They can provide low-cost pounds to increase body weight and BCS before cold weather and energy draws from later gestation start to tax the body’s fat reserves. If cattle are on the thinner side heading into the calving season, they are higher risk for calving difficulties and weaker

Managing younger females such as replacement heifers and first-calf heifers separate from the rest of the mature herd can help to keep animals in the herd and decrease the loss of first-calf heifers in the sophomore slump.

and lower vigor calves and they are in a bad position to get back into body condition to rebreed.

Some research comparing cattle with a BCS of 5-6 to thinner BCS 34 cattle showed the 5s and 6s had 10% more live calves, 26% higher weaning weights, and pregnancy rates the following year of 92% against that of 79% in the thinner cows. Colostrum quality is also researched to show a direct correlation between body condition score and quality. If cows are in good shape prior to calving, their calves will have a better overall immune system. By selecting the groups who need the higher quality feed earlier on, you can help to get BCS scores up where they need to be and put cows into a positive situation that will increase their likelihood of staying around the herd longer. The more years a cow can spend in the herd, the more money she will make you.

Aside from separating cattle based upon body condition score, separating them based on age can also provide future benefits. Managing younger females such as replacement heifers and first-calf heifers separate from the rest of the mature herd can help to keep animals in the herd and decrease the loss of first-calf heifers in the sophomore slump. These young animals are continually growing while they are still responsible for producing their first two calves. It is also widely noted that these younger cows are less aggressive eaters than their mature counterparts. If these populations are comingled with the rest of the mature cow herd, they risk higher levels of reproductive inefficiency simply because they are not allowed to eat enough feed.

Additionally, utilizing your higher quality feeds specifically for the younger group can account for higher nutritional requirements and help propel higher numbers of replacements into the mature herd.

Lastly, adjusting your weaning date to earlier in the year can be beneficial in cases where the environment is not providing enough forages. Weaning early will help to maintain the cows and the pasture resources available as their maintenance needs will drastically decrease in the absence of lactation. Consistent research has shown that cattle (spring calvers) weaned, for example, in August will have 0.5 to 1 body condition

score higher than November weaned cows. With early weaning, further studies have linked these benefits in BCS to increased conception rates of thin first-calf heifers from 50% to 97% and shortened days to first estrus by 17 days. In that program, mature cows in moderate condition were found to have higher rebreeding percentages nearer to 100% compared to just 81% after moving the weaning date ahead as well.

Even in normal years where forages are at adequate levels, this adjustment can be made with younger females when opportunities for higher quality feeds are slim in the late fall and winter.

There are numerous tactics available to managing the cow herd in the fall and winter months. A passive approach to nutrition and preparation will always save on labor and may be easier in terms of feeding and sorting ability. However, there is real value to putting in the time and resources to fitting your program to your herd’s needs. When you can make ground up in the early fall in terms of nutrition and overall health, the benefits can be seen year-round in all production phases resulting in a more profitable and efficient herd.

Dr. Austin Traphagan graduated with his DVM from Kansas State University in 2020. He is a Colorado native who grew up on the northeastern plains of the state in Yuma, Colorado.

He grew up splitting much of his time between his father’s mixed veterinary practice and the rest of his family’s cow-calf operations and small feed yard. After attending the University of Wyoming, he made his way to Manhattan and Kansas State. Since graduating, he started his career practicing in north-central Kansas but now currently splits his time practicing in both Wyoming and Colorado as a mixed animal veterinarian.

This article has been translated to Spanish on page 50. fall 2022 | pacdvms.com

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DEVELOPING A BEEF COW-CALF HERD HEALTH PLAN

By W. Mark Hilton, DVM, PAS, DABVP (beef cattle), Elanco Animal Health

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f sitting down with your herd health veterinarian to develop a plan of achieving a healthier herd and a more profitable business gets you just a bit excited, we are of the same mindset. This is why we as herd health veterinarians do what we do. We want our client’s animals to be healthy and we want your business to be successful. That is what drives us.

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What are the keys to achieving these goals?

1. Colostrum. I was interviewed years ago by a novice agricultural journalist and she asked me what the critical times in a calf’s life were. I responded, “The first 12 hours.” She asked what else and I explained that if things went poorly in the first 12 hours like inadequate colostrum intake and environmental stress, little else mattered.

that is the exception rather than the rule. Before I buy a new animal for my herd, I call the seller and ask for permission to talk to her herd health veterinarian about the health of the herd. If the answer is “no”, that makes for a very short conversation. If granted permission, I specifically ask, “Has the herd ever had a case of Johne’s disease or a BVD PI positive animal?” Other diseases may also be on your list.

For optimal production of colostrum, cows need to have proper nutrition and be in adequate body condition (BCS). This is why we all need a ruminant nutritionist on our “Beef Team.”

New additions should be quarantined for at least 30 days after arrival. All veterinarians have stories of producers that say, “I sure wish I would have done that.”

Calves need to have excellent vigor at birth. My “rule of thumb” is 30-30-30. A calf should be born 30 minutes after the initiation of stage 2 labor (water sac observed), should be standing 30 minutes after delivery, and should be nursing 30 minutes after birth. Adequate cow BCS, optimal heterosis, and calving in weather that promotes calf vigor at birth all tip the scales in favor of excellent vigor at birth and superior colostrum consumption.

2. Don’t buy a new disease. Most new disease is introduced into a beef herd on four legs and via a livestock trailer. Sure, wildlife, insects, and the neighbor’s herd can bring in a new disease but 16 cow-calf

3. Vaccination protocol. While many would start a herd health plan here, I do not. Proper immunizations are one tool in our quest to help you have a healthier herd. We need to use management instead of medicine and money to solve most of our beef cow-calf herd health issues and that is why I began the article as I did.

Producers want and need a vaccination protocol that is customized to their herd. I strongly recommend a meeting where the herd health veterinarian and beef owners’ team sit down and review the vaccination protocol once yearly. We need to keep abreast of new research that may improve the producer’s plan.

Even with a customized plan for each herd, there are what I consider to be “core” vaccinations that would fit the huge majority of cow-calf businesses.

Young calves (2-4 months of age) can and should be vaccinated against IBR and BVD. Modifiedlive vaccines produce primarily cell-mediated immunity and this augments the passive immunity (primarily humoral) the calf received through his dam’s colostrum. A second dose of MLV vaccine four weeks pre-weaning or at weaning is the standard protocol on many cowcalf operations.

Most calves will also receive a Clostridial bacterin and the strains needed should be customized to the herd. I also go into my yearly meeting with my clients with a list that includes everything possible – Mannheimia haemolytica, pinkeye, foot rot, etc. – and add or delete based on the need.

A two-year research project that looked at the effect of MLV or inactivated vaccine on cows prebreeding made many of us question our longheld belief that MLV 30 days pre-breeding was the gold standard. Over 1,300 cows in 7 herds showed a 6.5% advantage on first-service conception rate and a 2.8% improvement in overall pregnancy rate when an inactivated vaccine was used instead of MLV.1 Elanco has spent the past six years researching why this occurred and we believe we have found at least part of the answer.

The MLV vaccine caused an inflammation of the ovary which resulted in a significant reduction in the number of large luteal cells in 24% of the cows.2 These cells produce roughly 80% of the progesterone needed to maintain a pregnancy. A reduction in large luteal cells means lower progesterone which means a decreased conception rate. All of the cows in the study had been on a yearly MLV program prior to the research trial.

When I was in private practice in Iowa, I had a new client call to let me know he was starting a beef herd. He wanted to make an appointment to “get all of the vaccines needed.” When he came in, I said, “Tell me about your new herd.” His response was, “I want to vaccinate for everything.” I opened our vaccine cooler and said, “Start loading it out.”

He looked perplexed and I explained that if he

vaccinated for “everything”, I would likely make more money on his cows than he would. I think that I can speak for most beef veterinarians and we love reviewing a client’s vaccination protocol – many times developed by numerous “advisors” – and cutting things out! A seasoned veterinarian told me early in my career, “Never put a hole in a cow unless it is necessary,” and I have never forgotten that. I use the lifetime immunity approach to vaccination – using the right product at the right time with the right protection.

4. Integrated pest and parasite management. If any item needs a customized approach, it is pest and parasite management. There is zero chance that a “cookie cutter” program will be effective for you. Product used and timing are critical to success.

• Horn flies and face flies – I despise flies!

Although we cannot eliminate flies, we can lessen their impact. Pour-ons, insecticide ear tags, insect growth regulator (IGR) in mineral, sprays, and rubs should be used as needed in a coordinated effort.

• Lice – For the best chance of success, treat animals with a pour-on soon after the cows have a winter haircoat. For where I live in Indiana, I recommend “between Halloween and Thanksgiving” as an easy-to-remember time frame. Timing is very dependent on ambient temperature. Be sure to get the product down on the skin. Spraying a cow as she runs past you will yield poor results.

• Internal parasites – In my 39 years as a beef veterinarian, I think I have seen recommendations change about 6 times on who to deworm, what to use, and when to treat. Please do not call me in 10 years and say, “Hey! What you said in 2022 is wrong!” One of our beef doctors at Elanco says, “4 score and under 4 for deworming cows and bulls”. The translation is all cows BCS 4 or lower and all females 4 years and under get dewormed. All others serve as refugia, or non-treated animals (along with nursing calves). This is to decrease the chance of resistance. Cows develop some immunity to internal parasites as they age. fall 2022 | pacdvms.com

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When I was discussing this “new” concept with a producer, I pointed to one of her 5-year-old cows in BCS 6 with a big strapping calf by her side. I said, “Whatever worms that cow has in her body, you want them on your pasture!” She smiled and agreed.

5. Minimize stress. If someone wiser than me, like Dr. Tom Noffsinger, were writing this article, this might have been listed at number 1. I can’t disagree. One of our jobs as the herd health veterinarian is to be that second set of eyes to examine extremely important functions such as animal handling. Everything needs to be low stress. I have asked my clients, “Would you like to make working cattle easier for you and the cattle?” many times. The answer is always “yes”. It is very rewarding to get a call after our recommendations have been implemented with the client expressing thanks for improving this critical aspect of their business.

A beef cow-calf herd health plan is a system with many integrating factors. One key to having a healthier cow-calf herd and a more profitable beef business is for the herd health veterinarian and the owner’s beef team to meet on a yearly basis to update the team’s customized, total beef herd health program.

W. Mark Hilton was born and raised on a swine and beef farm in Indiana. He earned a BS in Animal Science and DVM from Purdue University. Hilton began his veterinary career with Dr. Bill Speer in an 80% farm animal practice in DeWitt, Iowa. In practice he developed “The Total Beef Herd Health Program”. This was a comprehensive, preventative medicine program where he consulted with beef cow-calf producers concerning nutrition, genetics, herd production and financial records, marketing, health, fertility, and environmental improvement. Dr. Hilton is board certified by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in beef cattle practice and is also a Professional Animal Scientist.

After 15 years in practice, Mark joined the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine as a clinical professor of beef production medicine and a food animal ambulatory clinician. After 18 years at Purdue, Hilton joined the beef technical consulting team at Elanco Animal Health. He is also the President of Midwest Beef Cattle Consultants, LLC., a consulting and beef genetics business. Hilton coauthored the “Vet’s Opinion” column for BEEF magazine for 21 years. Mark has been married to his wife, Denise (they met in 4-H) for 42 years. They have two sons, two daughters-in-law, and seven grandchildren.

References __________________

1. Perry GA, Larimore EL, Crosswhite MR, et al. Safety of vaccination with an inactivated or modified-live viral reproductive vaccine when compared to sterile saline in beef cows. J Vet Sci Res 2016;2:35-41.

2. Epperson KM, Rich JJ, Mengatti Zoca S, Quail LK, Andrews TN, Kline AC, Carroll JA, Sanchez NC, White F, Daly RF, and Perry GA. Influence of commercial inactivated and modified-live virus vaccination at time of AI on corpus luteum function and development in beef cattle. Society for the Study of Reproduction Annual Meeting. December 15-18, 2021, St. Louis, MO. https://www.ars.usda.gov/ research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=386531

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DECENTRALIZING DECISION MAKING – RELEASING POWER AND CONTROL

By Nels Lindberg, DVM, Production Animal Consultation

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ave you ever worked for someone who rarely allowed you to make a decision or who was a control freak? Maybe those descriptions are a bit extreme, and you have worked for someone who holds tight to decision making and control in some areas but not others. Many of us as leaders struggle with the varying degrees of decision making and control that we should relinquish or delegate as we make our leadership journey in a feedyard or agriculture organization.

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A key aspect to making sure your feedyard goes on beyond you is decentralizing decision making and control.

The challenge we face is the sheer value of animals within our care. When we are entrusted with the successful outcome of millions of dollars’ worth of animals or perishable products, we can get caught up in making sure all aspects of the operation are executed to our standards with extreme supervision and guidance.

The age of the organization plays into the level of supervision or guidance required. The younger the business, the greater the guidance and supervision called for, while a more established business can allow for less supervision and guidance. Often, leaders feel the need to remain too involved in different aspects of the feedyard rather than allowing others to lead and reaping the rewards of the great hiring and mentoring already done.

The key question for each of us as leaders is, “What would happen to the feedyard (or the team I lead) if I were to die today?” Are there people around you that could rise to the challenge and lead the yard in a winning direction? Or do you have some work to do in making sure that you have the right people in the right place to ensure the operation will go on just fine without your leadership? Do you need to decentralize some decision making to help ensure success beyond you?

I recently worked alongside and observed a team of supervisors that had the opportunity to step up following the loss of a leader who had centralized power. What I learned is that most good human beings will rise to the challenge if needed or if given the opportunity. It just takes some coaching, guidance, and clarity by way of thorough, routine communication.

A key aspect to making sure your feedyard goes on beyond you is decentralizing decision making and control. According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of decentralization is “the dispersion or distribution of functions and powers”. Decentralization takes some of the weight off your shoulders by letting those around you carry some of the load.

Decentralization of decision making can be very “releasing” and empowering. It can encourage others to grow while you also grow and focus on other areas of opportunity. It creates “white space” for your brain to challenge where you are and where you are headed in the future.

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Decentralization of decision making requires four things: 1. A solid foundation of trust – There must be a solid foundation of trust, care, and desire for the organization to be more successful in the future than under your leadership. This requires the points we reviewed in last issue’s article on working to replace yourself. From all leaders of the organization, it requires vulnerable humility and honesty, doing what we said we would do, and routine meetings and conversations (scheduled and unscheduled). As the leader of the feedyard or crew, you should routinely ask others, “What do you think?” This sets the tone for the group and encourages everyone in the organization or team to ask the same question.

2. A strong set of values – In order for any leader to trust their people, we must have a solid set of behavioral values for every member to abide and live by. We do this by identifying what those behaviors and values are, developing them, and then indoctrinating them so they permeate throughout the team or feedyard with complete buy-in. We must have a minimum set of common behaviors leadership is aligned on. For organizations to last beyond current successful leaders, we as leaders must make sure those behaviors that got us to where we are today are instilled in all leaders. This will increase the likelihood that decentralization of decision making goes (mostly) according to plan.

3. Transparent alignment on direction – If we decentralize decision making and power without sharing relevant information and expectations, then those we give the power to make more decisions will more than likely fail in our opinion. We must provide them with the practical knowledge, expectations, priorities, vision, boundaries, and limits for the decision so that they are equipped to make the best-informed decision possible. We also need to make sure they know the direction we are headed for that day, week, month, or year. The further out we can line out “direction”, with the understanding that “direction” is fluid and will change, the better-informed decisions our people can make.

4. Repeated communication on direction – This is a repeat of point #3, because it is that important to the success of decentralization of decision making and power! If point #3 is executed well, organizations will find themselves actively growing while also engaging in “white space” that allows for creativity in working on the business (rather than just working in the business). This generally opens more doors for greater success. In this process of executing point #3, continue asking “What do you think?” and truly listening to others’ ideas and input.

Earlier, I posed the key question, “What would happen to the feedyard (or the team I lead) if I were to die today?”

I began to ask myself this question about 15 years ago, and I did not have a good answer at the time. I do not know how you would answer the question today, but I hope this article will stimulate you to think more about how you can contribute to your organization or team’s success after you are gone. That may seem a bit extreme, but it is reality. The team you lead needs to be successful beyond you, and you can help make that happen. That is the most honorable work you can do for them! They deserve that, so let’s get it done!

Dr. Nels Lindberg is a people coach, team coach, business coach, and keynote speaker, available virtually or in person. If you have any interest in these opportunities, please reach out to his office at 620-792-1265 and visit with his right-hand lady, Jill.

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PAC MEMBER HIGHLIGHT•••••••••

DR. SHAUN MORRIS S and E Feedlot Consulting Services Johannesburg, South Africa Dr. Shaun Morris has been practicing veterinary medicine for 32 years and with S and E Feedlot Consulting Services for the past 24 years. His practice is based out of Johannesburg, South Africa, and services feedyards throughout southern Africa including Namibia and Botswana. They service about 200,000 cattle and 80,000 to 100,000 lambs at any one time.

When asked about a unique aspect of his practice, Dr. Morris said, “The scope of diseases we deal with outside of the respiratory disease complex are vast and complicated. South and southern Africa are endemic areas for a multitude of arthropod vector-borne and foreign animal diseases. Our typical day involves feedyard visits coupled with government interaction on a disease control front, on farm, in abattoirs, and finding solutions to the multitude of problems the industry faces.”

Dr. Morris is passionate about the opportunity as a veterinarian to make a difference on a daily basis. He credits Dr. Dan Thomson as his mentor, demonstrating passion, enthusiasm, motivation, and a wealth of knowledge as well as being a true human being. Dr. Morris would encourage aspiring veterinarians to find a mentor who will provide guidance and motivation and to be enthusiastic about their work.

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ECONOMICS OF EXTENDING DAYS ON FEED: LIVE, CARCASS OR GRID SALES

By Grant Crawford, Ph.D., Associate Director, Cattle Technical Services, Merck Animal Health

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ontinued pressure on cattle producers regarding high feed and input costs leads feedlot managers to evaluate days-on-feed (DOF).

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As cattle grow and mature in the feedyard, the composition of gain changes. Fat gain increases and protein gain decreases proportionally for each pound of weight gained. Because fat is more energetically dense than protein (primarily water), total gain of live and hot carcass weight slows down as the animal matures.

Increased DOF improves quality grade but also increases risk of carcass discounts due to excess weight and/or increased yield grade. Additional DOF offers a different value structure for grid sellers versus live sellers due to carcass transfer and composition of gain.1 To find the balance of optimum feed efficiency to maximize return, look at historical closeouts and credible serial slaughter research to see how different days

on feed affect gain and carcass composition.

A recent serial harvest trial examined extended DOF for 7,000 head of cattle.2 Four groups of feedlot cattle were fed for 166, 180, 194 and 208 days.

Costs for dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), feed-to-gain ratio and cost-of-gain were calculated for each time period. Using the feed costs and yardage (fixed and non-feed operating costs), a total cost estimate was attained to evaluate the net revenue.

The goal was to analyze the economics of feeding cattle longer when sold on a live, carcass or grid basis based on current market conditions. Premiums and discounts for yield grade, quality grade and overweight carcasses were applied to determine profitability.

Live sale economics •

•

•

On days 166-180, total costs were $65.35/head. With an increased revenue of $57.96/head (42 lbs. at $1.38/lb.), the net incremental revenue was -$7.39/head.

On days 180-194, total costs were $66.43/head. With an increased revenue of $53.82/head (39 lbs. at $1.38/lb.), the net incremental revenue was -$12.61/head.

With these data and feed and cattle cost assumptions, there was no value to feeding these cattle past their first harvest endpoint when selling on a live basis.

Carcass sale economics •

•

•

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On days 166-180, total costs were $65.35/head. Carcass average daily gain was 2.20 lbs./day. With an increased revenue of $72.60/head (33 lbs. at $2.20/lb.), the net incremental revenue was $7.25/head.

On days 180-194, total costs were $66.43/head. With an increased revenue of $66/head (30 lbs. at $2.20/lb.), the net incremental revenue was -$0.43/head.

With these data and feed and cattle cost assumptions, there was a $7.25/head additional return for feeding 14 additional days. After that, there was no added return for continuing to feed these cattle when sold on a carcass basis.

Grid sale economics •

•

•

On days 166-180, total costs were $65.35/head. With an increased revenue of $59.24/head, the net incremental revenue was -$6.11/ head.

On days 180-194, total costs were $66.43/head. With an increased revenue of $38.69/head, the net incremental revenue was -$27.73/ head.

With these data and feed and cattle cost assumptions, there was no value to feeding these cattle past their first harvest endpoint when selling on a grid basis.

Though quality grade improved and provided greater premiums, the discounts associated with yield grades 4 and 5 and overweight carcasses led to reduced returns when extending days on feed.

Key findings Increasing DOF increased HCW but decreased ADG and gain-to-feed ratio as fat deposition increased. While increasing DOF increased HCW and profit potential, there was added risk of yield grade discounts.

The results support extended DOF for carcass sales, but it’s important to pay close attention to yield grades and overweight premiums and discounts. The economics show that if selling live or on a grid, extending DOF presents very little to no opportunity for increased revenue, based on this data.

Implants and the feeding period Implants are critical tools to improve cattle feed efficiency, and using the right implants can achieve an ROI during each phase of production.

Implanting is one of the most researched, proven and consistent cattle production technologies on the market.

These products have a tremendous fall 2022 | pacdvms.com

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return on investment by shifting the growth curve of cattle, resulting in improved efficiency through heavier, leaner and larger-framed animals.3 Implants offer significant value for feedlot cattle, helping achieve higher average daily gains and 10% to 15% greater feed efficiency.3 Implants with extended activity during the final finishing period help add carcass weight while maintaining carcass quality.

One field study1 observed that implanting heifers with an extended-release implant resulted in similar final BW and HCW versus a more aggressive implant strategy.

Researchers concluded that implant strategies substantially increase HCW and revenue and serve as important conduits of feed efficiency across all DOF. Other heifer studies have shown a slight advantage to an aggressive implant strategy compared with an extendedrelease implant.4 This advantage should be compared against the costs of reimplanting cattle when choosing an implant strategy.

Conclusion Using serial slaughter data helps feedyards make informed decisions on the appropriate number of DOF to match their cattle and marketing opportunities. Consult with your nutritionist to develop a feeding and implant program to meet your profitability goals.

References 1. Ohnoutka et al. Evaluation of coated steroidal combination implants on feedlot performance and carcass characteristics of beef heifers fed for constant or varying days on feed. Applied Animal Science, Volume 37, Issue 1, 2021, Pages 41-51, ISSN 2590-2865, https://doi.org/10.15232/ aas.2020-02013.

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2. Martinez et al. The effect of three implant programs on performance, carcass outcomes, and activity of finishing steers fed different days on feed. Proceedings, Plains Nutrition Council Spring Conference, 8-9 April 2021, San Antonio, Texas, Page 110. Available from https://the plainsnutritioncouncil.com/web/wp-content/ uploads/2022/02/2021-Plains-Nutrition-CouncilProceedings.pdf.

3. Guiroy et al. The effects of implant strategy on finished body weight of beef cattle. Journal of Animal Science, Volume 80, Issue 7, July 2002, Pages 1791-1800, https://doi.org/10.2527/2002.8071791x.

4. Smith et al. A pooled analysis of six large-pen feedlot studies: effects of a noncoated initial and terminal implant compared with a single initial and delayed-release implant on arrival in feedlot heifers. Translational Animal Science, Volume 4, Issue 3, July 2020, txaa109, https://doi.org/ 10.1093/tas/txaa109.

Grant Crawford, Ph.D., is the Associate Director of Cattle Technical Services at Merck Animal Health, providing technical support for beef producers, veterinarians, and nutritionists in the Upper Midwest. Prior to joining Merck Animal Health in 2015, Dr. Crawford worked as a feed company technical nutritionist for 3.5 years and spent 5 years in beef cattle Extension and research at the University of Minnesota.

HEARTACHE IN HIGH PLAINS FEEDYARDS

By Greta M. Krafsur, DVM, DACVP, MSc, PhD Candidate, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz School of Medicine Cardiovascular Pulmonary Research Lab

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sk anyone involved in the cattle feeding business about late day morbidity and mortality concerns in high-performing beef cattle and the subject of bovine congestive heart failure (BCHF) nearly always dominates the conversation. While most cattle feeding occurs in the High Plains, the author has observed BCHF in university feedlots and farmer-feeder operations in eastern South Dakota and southwestern Minnesota.

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No matter the location or size of the feeding organization, a subset of cattle is predisposed to pulmonary hypertension culminating in right heart failure (Figure 1). The precise genesis of BCHF remains unknown, impairing our ability to develop testing strategies aimed at identifying cattle with the greatest risk of disease.

Likewise, a host of bovine cardiopulmonary diseases including congenital defects, chronic respiratory disease, hardware disease, ionophore intoxication, infectious valvular endocarditis, and atypical interstitial pneumonia produce clinical signs like BCHF and frequently are misdiagnosed as such, leading to underdiagnosis of BCHF. The gross and microscopic lesions associated with BCHF are distinct from other bovine cardiopulmonary diseases, emphasizing the merit of performing a thorough postmortem and microscopic examination of heart, lung, and liver tissues to rule out these differential diagnoses. BCHF is an important cause of mortality in North American feedyards and independent of mortality, the condition negatively impacts production and carcass traits, increases antibiotic usage to address animal welfare concerns, and frustrates and causes poor morale among feedlot managers and key personnel. Regrettably, the escalating risk and incidence of the invariably terminal disease shows no signs of abating with premature culling and death the norm, not the exception.

The author herein summarizes current knowledge and potential genetic risk factors associated with feedlot BCHF, drawing upon our understanding of high mountain disease, and comparing the feedlot condition

to hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension of high elevation.

Not-So-High Mountain Disease While many consider BCHF a newly emerging syndrome plaguing cattle fed at low to moderate elevations (800-1600 m), the reality is the disease has been around for quite some time. In 1974, Colorado State University veterinary pathologists collaborated with feedlot veterinarians to survey causes of morbidity and mortality among 407,000 placements in 4 northern Colorado feedyards. Respiratory disease was predictably the most common cause of illness and death and tended to occur within the first 45 days of feeding. The second most common cause of death, tied with diphtheritic disease, was brisket disease (5.8%) although the cattle surveyed were fed at moderate altitude (1,600 m). Brisket disease had not previously been investigated in the feedlot setting although incidence appeared to escalate with greater days on feed. Investigators conjectured the convergence of four causative factors contributed to disease: 1) genetic predilection, 2) high elevation origin, 3) rapid growth, and 4) obesity hypoventilation. Although respiratory disease could initiate hypoxia-induced pulmonary vasoconstriction leading to brisket disease, the investigators also acknowledged that acute comorbid respiratory disease could develop in the latter stages of brisket disease, hastening clinical trajectory.

Nearly 50 years have passed since brisket disease was first described in the feedlot setting, and while several

FIGURE 1 This cartoon depicts how a subset of cattle develop clinical manifestations of BCHF that is nearly always fatal. Another group of cattle while asymptomatic exhibit morphologic pathology in the heart and lungs indicative of subclinical disease.

These cattle are the “winners” as they completed the production cycle despite having silent cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. The remaining group of cattle enter the food chain with no adverse cardiopulmonary remodeling.

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designations have been assigned to reflect the feedlot condition, little progress has been made in prevention because the etiologic factors and mechanistic underpinnings contributing to disease remain poorly characterized.

The Cardiopulmonary Phenotype of BCHF Clinical manifestations in BCHF generally parallel high mountain disease stemming from exhaustion and failure of the right heart due to rigid obstructive lesions in the pulmonary circulation increasing pulmonary vascular resistance and workload on the right heart (Figures 2A, 2B). While we know that hypoxia of high elevation initiates adverse pulmonary vascular remodeling in high mountain disease, the one or more insults underlying adverse cardiopulmonary remodeling in BCHF are not yet identified. Unlike high mountain disease, however, BCHF disease and lesions are characterized by global pulmonary vascular remodeling encompassing the venous and arterial circulations, cardiac fibrosis and scarring of the left and right heart, and arteriosclerotic lesions in the coronary vasculature.

Likewise, from feedlot necropsies and experimental field investigations, cattle succumbing to BCHF have

FIGURE 2B The heart is severely enlarged with an abnormal shape and enlargement of the right ventricle in particular causing rounding of the apex or the so-called “double apex”. The heart is encased by excessive fat. The steer was fed in north-central Nebraska and originated from the Dakotas.

Genetic testing revealed its risk for BCHF was 28-fold compared to its pen mates.

FIGURE 3

FIGURE 2A This is a heart with a normal size and shape. The apex of the heart with a sharp “point” is formed entirely by the left side of the heart.

Microscopic image of the heart muscle depicting excessive fatty infiltration within the heart with concurrent fibrosis and scarring. While the animal did not exhibit clinical signs of heart failure, the steer had pulmonary hypertension and an enlarged heart encased by a massive amount of fat invading the heart muscle. fall 2022 | pacdvms.com

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excessive fatty infiltration of the heart, the so-called “well-marbled heart” described in human obesityinduced heart disease. Advanced obesity is associated with “fat in flames” and unhealthy fat “befats” inflammation and fibrosis (Figure 3). There exists widespread speculation that significant genetic improvements in performance and carcass traits emphasizing accelerated growth, frame size, muscle mass, and marbling underlie BCHF. However, it is acknowledged by the author and her contemporaries that BCHF is not necessarily a disease of advanced adiposity and frequently, the disease occurs much earlier in the feeding period before accretion of adipose. How then does one account for cardiac inflammation and fibrosis co-localized with excessive heart fat? Perhaps cardiac fat does not initiate the yet to be identified sequence of pathophysiological events directing BCHF but rather is a bystander or facilitator of cardiac inflammation and fibrosis. Unlike high mountain disease wherein hypoxia-induced pulmonary vascular remodeling initiates right heart disease, BCHF seemingly appears to involve adverse pulmonary vascular remodeling secondary to cardiac disease.

Prior Hypoxia of High Altitude and Predilection for Pulmonary Hypertension During Fattening Our group has utilized cattle from the CSU Beef Improvement Center at the Rouse Ranch (Encampment, Wyoming; elevation 2150 m) to follow the natural progression of BCHF, performing sequential pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) testing as a surrogate marker for

adverse pulmonary arterial remodeling leading to pulmonary hypertension and high mountain disease.

PAP testing is routinely used as a screening tool to select against bovine pulmonary hypertension in high elevation breeding programs. Even so, a subset of weanling calves remains sensitive to hypoxia of high altitude although when moved to moderate elevation (Fort Collins, Colorado; elevation 1519 m) pulmonary arterial pressures generally return to normal. However, once intense feeding and fattening commences, those same cattle most sensitive to environmental hypoxia experience the greatest increases in PAP scores (Figure 4). Similar to humans, there are individual animals that exhibit severe out of proportion pulmonary hypertension in response to hypoxic and metabolic insults.

One such animal we studied had a PAP score of 123 mm Hg (normal < 41 mm Hg) approximately 3 weeks prior to scheduled harvest. Despite severe alterations in cardiac morphology at harvest, the steer did not present clinical manifestations (Figure 5). Clearly, a subset of high elevation feedyard placements enter with a measure of pulmonary hypertension exacerbated by metabolic demands incurred during accretion of muscle and adipose. Likely, hypoxia of high altitude primes the immune system, potentiating biological signaling networks underlying inflammation and metabolism during growth and fattening.

We have since eliminated the confounding factor of prior hypoxia of high altitude by utilizing a herd of moderate elevation beef cattle (northeastern Colorado) with

FIGURE 4 This graph depicts a subset of cattle (red lines) sensitive to environmental hypoxia of high altitude had elevated pulmonary arterial pressures that returned to normal when they were moved to lower elevation. Once feeding and fattening commenced, animals most sensitive to environmental hypoxia exhibited the greatest elevation in PAP scores although none of them developed over clinical disease.

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FIGURE 5 This steer prior to slaughter had a severely elevated PAP (red circle on Figure 4) and despite having a severely enlarged heart (depicted in the photo) did not exhibit any clinical signs of BCHF. Again, he was a “winner”, surviving the production cycle with no gross lesions that would have led to condemnation at harvest.

a history of BCHF in monitoring natural disease progression. PAP testing was performed within 3, 6, and 9 months of placement at the Eastern Colorado Research Center (Akron, Colorado; elevation 1400 m). To our astonishment, a remarkable number of 6- to 7-monthold steers weighing approximately 320 kg had elevated PAP scores within 3 months of arrival. The majority of BCHF mortalities (clinical diagnosis) occurred between 6 and 9 months of placement. Necropsy was performed on one steer euthanized for presumptive BCHF believed to be complicated by respiratory disease. The author noted the lungs were pristine. Gross alterations in cardiac morphology and chronic passive congestion in the liver were consistent with BCHF. Likewise, microscopic cardiopulmonary lesions bespoke global pulmonary vascular remodeling, biventricular cardiac fibrosis and scarring, and coronary arteriosclerotic lesions. Harvest data confirmed high PAP steers did not perform as well, having lower average daily gain and feed conversion.

Much attention has been given to the prospect of obesity hypoventilation in fattened cattle as the hypoxic insult precipitating adverse pulmonary vascular remodeling; however, our assessment of arterial-venous blood gases does not support this hypothesis.

PAP testing is fraught with logistical and technical drawbacks and while the procedure is routinely performed in high elevation breeding programs, its pitfalls limit utilization in the feedlot setting. Screening tools are needed to predict cattle at risk for BCHF; however, our ability to identify susceptible cattle mandates understanding genetic and other yet identified management and environmental factors influencing disease. Two Nebraska researchers have identified potential genetic risk factors associated with BCHF that appear to offer the promise of identifying susceptible cattle.

Genetic Underpinnings of BCHF It is beyond the scope and abilities of the author to adequately address the work performed by Mike Heaton, PhD (USDA, ARS, US Meat Animal Research Center) and Brian Vander Ley, DVM, PhD, DACVPM (Great Plains Veterinary Education Center) that has led to the unveiling of 21 genetic variants associated with BCHF. Two SNP variants (NF1A-AS2, ARRDC3) are strongly associated with BCHF. The reader is advised to consult the fact sheet available at https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/ 30400500/BCHF_photos/BCHF_Factsheet_03.31.2022.pdf for a more thorough description of the science behind their identification and utility of these markers to mitigate BCHF. The identification of these variants will inform and direct our efforts to appreciate the mechanistic underpinnings of BCHF and help us understand potential environmental and management effects. The author has tested for the two variants in cattle dying from BCHF and found the two SNP variants were highly correlated with disease.

In summary, although it is widely acknowledged there is a measure of risk for BCHF associated with performance and carcass traits, there is a serious lack of scientific evidence elucidating the specific mechanisms connecting these traits to disease. Until knowledge gaps concerning biological processes regulated by candidate genes in cattle are addressed, we can only speculate regarding in what manner genetics, performance traits, and environmental hypoxia converge to influence disease.

The problem of BCHF has been decades in the making, will take considerable time to alleviate, and requires a collaborative multidisciplinary approach joining scientists with caregivers. In closing, Robert F. Grover, MD said this of cattle: fall 2022 | pacdvms.com

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“Nature sometimes determines that cattle are the professors, and we the human researchers are the students.”

As cattle caregivers, we are compelled to take note.

Selected References Heaton, M.P., Harhay, G.P., Bassett, A.S., et al. Association of ARRDC3 and NFIA variants with bovine congestive heart failure in feedlot cattle [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 1 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2022, 11:385 (https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.109488.1).

Holt, T., and R. Callan. 2007. Pulmonary arterial pressure testing for high mountain disease in cattle. Vet. Clin.

North Am. Food Anim. Pract. 23:575-596.

Jennings, K. J., Krafsur, G. M., Brown, R. D., Holt, T. N., Coleman, S. J., Speidel, S. E., Enns, R. M., Stenmark, K. R., & Thomas, M. G. (2019). Characterizing the impact of altitude and finishing system on mean pulmonary arterial pressure and carcass characteristics in Angus cattle.

Translational animal science, 3(Suppl 1), 1669–1672 https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txz052.

Jensen R, Pierson RE, Braddy PM, et al. Brisket disease in yearling feedlot cattle. JAVMA 1976; 169:515-517.

Krafsur, G. M., R. Brown, T. N. Holt, D. H. Gould, F. Garry, S. Riddle, J. M. Neary, R. Enns, M. Thomas, and K. R. Stenmark. 2017. Intense feeding and fattening regimens augment pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary venous and cardiac remodeling in beef cattle: a natural large animal model of pulmonary hypertension with left ventricular dysfunction. Amer. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. 195:A7216.

Krafsur, Greta M., Joseph M. Neary, Franklyn Garry, Timothy Holt, Daniel H. Gould, Gary L. Mason, Milton G. Thomas, et al. “Cardiopulmonary Remodeling in Fattened Beef Cattle: A Naturally Occurring Large Animal Model of ObesityAssociated Pulmonary Hypertension with Left Heart Disease.” Pulmonary Circulation, (January 2019) doi:10.1177/2045894018796804.

Moxley RA, Smith DR, Grotelueschen DM, Edwards T, Steffen DJ. Investigation of congestive heart failure in beef cattle in a feedyard at a moderate altitude in western Nebraska.

J Vet Diagn Invest. 2019 Jul;31(4):509-522. doi: 10.1177/1040638719855108. Epub 2019 Jun 6. PMID: 31170901; PMCID: PMC6857034.

Neary, J. M., F. B. Garry, T. N. Holt, A. P. Knight, D. H. Gould, and D. A. Dargatz. 2013b. Pulmonary arterial pressures, arterial blood-gas tensions, and serum biochemistry of beef calves born and raised at high altitude. Open Acc. Anim. Physiol. 5:1-8.

Neary, J. M. 2014. Epidemiological, physiological, and genetic risk factors associated with congestive heart failure and mean pulmonary arterial pressure in cattle. Ph.D. Diss., Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins.

Neary, J. M., F. B. Garry, T. N. Holt, M. G. Thomas, and R. M. Enns. 2015a. Mean pulmonary arterial pressures in Angus

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steers increase from cow-calf to feedlot-finishing phases.

J. Anim. Sci. 93:3854-3861.

Neary, J. M., F. B. Garry, and T. N. Holt. 2015c. A case-control evaluation of cardiopulmonary physiology in feedlot steers fed the beta-2 adrenergic agonist zilpaterol hydrochloride. J. Anim. Sci. (manuscript in preparation for submission; information discussed in Neary et al., 2015b and Chapter 7 in Neary, 2014, PhD Diss. Colorado State University, Fort Collins).

Neary, J. M., F. B. Garry, T. N. Holt, R. M. Enns, and M. G. Thomas. 2015d. The altitude at which a calf is born and raised influences the rate at which mean pulmonary arterial pressure increases with age. J. Anim. Sci. 93:47144720.

Neary, J. M., B. K. Wildman, C. W. Booker, and P. S. Morley.

2016. Right-sided congestive heart failure in North American Feedlot cattle. J. Vet. Intern. Med. 30:326-334.

Rhodes, J. 2005. Comparative physiology of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension: historical clues from brisket disease. J. Appl. Physiol. 98:1092-1100.

Greta M. Krafsur hails from a multigenerational diversified family farm near Estelline, South Dakota, where she was the oldest of three children.

Greta took the circuitous route to veterinary school, entering the professional veterinary medicine program at Colorado State University at the young age of 41 after being a stay-home mother to her three sons until they entered elementary school. She graduated with her DVM in 2013 and then two months later entered a combined anatomic pathology residency/PhD program at CSU. Through her T32 postdoc training in the UC Denver Anschutz School of Medicine Cardiovascular Pulmonary Research Lab, she has utilized a One Health approach spanning multiple disciplines and specialties to examine novel paradigms in high mountain disease and bovine congestive heart failure. Her veterinary work has spanned the Alaskan Arctic, Canadian Yukon, and Scotland where she saw practice in 2013 and was a participant in the 2017 World Angus Forum delivered by the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society. In her spare time, she loves reading about the history of the cattle industry and Arctic exploration. She also enjoys flying with her son Joseph, a professional pilot, watching her twin son Joshua compete in Division I cross country and track for East Tennessee State University, and learning about cryptocurrency and blockchain technology from her other twin son Benjamin, the CFO for the startup company Indico Blockchain Solutions, LLC.

INTESTINAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT AND BRD PREVENTION

By Sara Trojan, PhD, Peak Beef Nutrition and Management Consulting, LLC

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he beef industry has dedicated decades of research and capacity to addressing the bovine respiratory disease (BRD) complex through vaccine technologies, antibiotic therapies, and management; yet, feedyard mortality rates continue to rise, and BRD remains the most economically detrimental disease to the industry.1 The current estimated direct cost of BRD mortality to the beef industry is $907.8 million annually, and the average cost for BRD treatments for feedlots is $75 million,1 with additional losses associated with decreased growth performance and reduced carcass quality. Recent developments in the field of BRD research have shed light to focus on a more systemic approach to BRD management through prevention, particularly at the intestinal level.

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Significance and Role of the Intestinal Tract The field of gastrointestinal health in humans and livestock has evolved rapidly over the past decade, with associations discovered between the interplay of the intestinal microbial population and environment and animal health and well-being. In ruminant production, the impact that the post-ruminal intestinal tract has on animal health and performance is beginning to be acknowledged and more well understood. The metabolic impact of the gastrointestinal tract in ruminants is significant as the surface area is vast and, depending on level of production, can range in size from 15,000 sq. ft. to 30,000 sq. ft., a tremendous space for the animal to defend and maintain. The gastrointestinal tract houses over 70% of the immune system, is the hub for post-ruminal nutrient digestion, absorption, and transport, and represents approximately 20% of total body oxygen use and up to 30% of total metabolic and protein synthesis.2 This system is kept intact predominantly by the resident commensal microbial population. To fulfill functional demands, the physical barrier of the tract is highly permeable, comprised of a single cellular epithelial layer along with mucosal and microbial layers.

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The integrity of the mucosal layer is highly dependent on the commensal microbial population as these populations are responsible for facilitating production of the mucosal layer, strengthening tight junction proteins of the epithelial cells through short chain fatty acid production, and serving as a barrier to parasites, pathogens, toxins, and acids. Compromise to this microbial population jeopardizes the efficacy of the intestinal barrier, leaving the tract and animal vulnerable to pathogen invasion and colonization. Overwhelming the system leads to an uncontrolled flux of bacteria and luminal antigens, reduced absorptive efficiency, and an increased energy demand, a complex referred to as leaky gut.

Management Practices that Compromise Intestinal Health Common management practices that result in acute or prolonged subacute stress impact the integrity of the intestinal tract. The permeability and integrity of the gastrointestinal tract is vulnerable to dietary changes, low feed and water intake that occur during weaning and transition, antimicrobial use, sub-acute ruminal acidosis, and environmental challenges.3,4,5 Moreover,

microbial ecosystems of individuals are dynamic and influenced at birth by vaginal microbial populations, dietary changes, environmental exposures, and management stressors.6 Individuals possessing more robust populations of commensal microbes, particularly in the lungs, have stronger lines of defense against pathogenic invasion associated with BRD in the forms of barrier function, improved immune function by microbial crosstalk, and production of metabolites that promote lung health.7,8 Further, in humans, pulmonary health has been associated with robust intestinal commensal microbial populations as the microbial communities of the lung are exposed to intestinal microbial populations and metabolites through the mesenteric lymph system.9

The Energetic Expense of an Immune Challenge

largely due to the management structure of the US beef system and many others across the globe. Antimicrobial therapies are presently the most common treatment regimens; however, long-term use continues to be scrutinized. Considerations of the systemic effects of antimicrobial use at the microbial level should also be acknowledged as commensal bacterial populations are largely compromised by use and take time for re-establishment.

Emerging alternative methods for treatment and management of BRD, with an emphasis on a systematic approach, including targeted therapies and methods for enhancing immune function and intestinal health at the microbial level are evolving. Particularly, the nutraceutical market is a self-regulated industry and has been heavily exploited in the livestock and human health sectors. Skepticism with the efficacy of these compound types is derived by the sometimes-overwhelming claims and responses associated with these products. Technologies in this arena continue to rapidly evolve; yet, owing to the development in knowledge of the intricate and dynamic roles the post-ruminal digestive tract has on health and productivity of the animal, developing an understanding of the application and science of these types of compounds has merit.

Evaluation of nutraceutical compounds should include the development of sound research, an understanding of the mode and site of action, the impacts of the compound on commensal microbial populations, compound stability in pelleting and processing conditions, liquid flowability and mixing, gastrointestinal stability, and interactions with antimicrobials.

The BRD complex will persist in beef and dairy production until market forces significantly drive alternative management practices. Embracing alternative preventative technologies and practices that target intestinal health management may reduce the severity, incidence, and economic impact of BRD to the industry.

The gastrointestinal tract houses over 70% of the immune system, is the hub for post-ruminal nutrient digestion, absorption, and transport, and represents approximately 20% of total body oxygen use and up to 30% of total metabolic and protein synthesis.

The major bacterial species involved in the BRD complex, Mannheimia haemolytica, Mycoplasma bovis, Pasteurella multocida, and Histophilus somni, produce virulent compounds like lipopolysacharide, a potent immune signal that triggers a strong inflammatory immune response. Colonization of these species and the associated inflammatory processes that follow are detrimental to the commensal bacterial species and are energetically demanding, exacerbating treatment efficacy and prolonging production losses. Immune cells are obligate glucose users upon activation. During a lipopolysaccharide challenge to lactating dairy cows, the estimated glucose requirement to support the challenged immune system was more than 1 kg of glucose over a 12-hour period, and glucose infusion during the challenge did not reestablish milk production.10 Preventative measures that reduce colonization and repress virulence of BRD pathogens through promotion of intestinal health can lessen associated treatment and production losses.

Intestinal Health Management Strategies Management of the BRD complex is challenging, continues to plague the beef industry, and persists

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References 1. Peel, D. S. 2020. The effect of market forces on bovine respiratory disease. Vet Clin Food Anim 36:497-508.

2. Cant, J. P., B. W. McBride, and W. J. Croom Jr. 1996.

Regulation of intestinal metabolism and its impact on whole animal energetics. J. Anim. Sci. 74:2541-2553.

3. Zhang, S., R. I. Albornoz, J.R. Aschenbach, D. R. Barreda, and G. B. Penner. 2013. Short-term feed restriction impairs the absorptive function of the reticulo-rumen and total tract barrier function in beef cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 91:1685-1695.

4. Wood, K. M., S. I. Palmer, M. A. Steele, J. A. Metcalf and G. B. Penner. 2015. The influence of age and weaning on permeability of the gastrointestinal tract in Holstein bull calves. J. Dairy Sci. 98:7226-7237.

5. Pederzolli, R. A., A. G. Van Kessel, J. Campbell, S. Hendrick, K.M. Wood, and G. B. Penner. 2018. Effect of ruminal acidosis and short-term low feed intake on indicators of gastrointestinal barrier function in Holstein steers. J. Anim. Sci. 96:108-125.

6. Credille, B. 2022. Modulation of the bovine respiratory microbiome from a systems perspective. Vet Clin Food Anim. 38:229-243.

7. Chase, C. and R. S. Kaushik. 2019. Mucosal Immune System of Cattle. Vet Clin Food Anim. 35:431-451.

8. Timsit, E., C. McMullen, S. Amat, and T.W. Alexander.

2020. Respiratory bacterial microbiota in Cattle from development to modulation to enhance respiratory health. Vet Clin Food Anim. 36:297-320.

9. Enaud, R., R. Prevel, E. Ciarlo, F. Beaufils, G. WieÎrs, Benoit Guery, and L. Delhaes. 2020. The gut-lung axis in

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health and respiratory diseases: a place for inter-organ and inter-kingdom crosstalks. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. 10:9.

10. Kvidera, S. K., E. A. Horst, M. Abuajamieh, E. J. Mayorga, M. V. Sanz Fernandez, L. H. Baumgard. 2017. Glucose requirements of an activated immune system in lactating Holstein cows. J. Dairy Sci. 100:2360-2374.

Sara Trojan is the owner of Peak Beef Nutrition and Management Consulting, LLC, a nutrition consulting business focusing on backgrounding, stocker, and cow/calf nutrition and management. Prior to the development of this business, Sara was on faculty in beef cattle teaching and research positions at South Dakota State University for two years and Texas Tech University for five years and worked in technical service for industry. She earned a M.S. in Animal Science from Kansas State University in 2006 and a Ph.D. in Animal Nutrition from Oklahoma State University in 2009. Sara maintains strong relationships and involvement with industry and academic professionals and associations and is active in the operations of her family ranch near Sheridan, WY. She, her husband, and two daughters live in Casper, WY.

FIVE POINTS OF ANIMAL HEALTH EVALUATION: RESPIRATORY HEALTH

By Jose Valles, MS, Production Animal Consultation

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n previous issues of Protein Producers, we talked about a five-point animal health evaluation that I like to implement when working with animal caregivers in the area of pen riding in feedyards.

This evaluation not only consists of detecting cattle that may need medical attention but also helps promote animal health in the lameness, digestive, respiratory, neurological, and mental categories.

In prior editions, we discussed lameness and digestive health; in this article, we will address the most common respiratory issues.

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When we enter a pen of cattle, it is important to take a few seconds to look over the entire group of cattle to observe their behavior and identify any obvious cases that may need immediate attention. As we continue to move, it is critical that we get all cattle up and ask them to move a reasonable distance or time that will allow us to make a careful respiratory health evaluation. There are several things to keep in mind as we make our observations while moving cattle within their pen. Some of the characteristics to look for include nasal and ocular discharge, excessive foamy salivation, hesitation to move or moving slower than pen mates, gauntness, cough, extension of the neck, swayed back, widened shoulders, swelling around the eyes, depression, and weakness. Taking notes of clinical signs presented by the animal in its home pen is highly recommended. This information will help the doctor with case definition, diagnosis, and treatment.

Respiratory diseases are very costly and multifactorial, which means they can be caused by multiple physical and physiological stressors in combination with exposure to viral and/or bacterial pathogens. Respiratory diseases are a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in feedlots across the United States. Cattle affected by respiratory diseases result in a significant economic loss represented by treatment costs, reduced performance, and death loss.

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Some of the most common respiratory issues in a feedlot include bovine respiratory disease, diphtheria, and acute interstitial pneumonia.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is described as a disease complex and is commonly found in feedlot settings year-round. BRD can be caused by both viral and bacterial pathogens. Some of the most common viral pathogens include bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), parainfluenza 3 virus (PI3V), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), and bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1). The most common bacterial pathogens in feedlot operations include Pasteurella multocida, Mannheimia haemolytica, Histophilus somni, and Mycoplasma bovis. It is believed that viral infections predispose affected cattle to bacterial infections. Viral pathogens can suppress the immune system and can also harm respiratory mucosal surfaces, which then allows bacteria from the upper respiratory tract to relocate to the lower respiratory tract and create a bacterial infection in the compromised lung. Clinical signs can include fever, depression, lack of appetite, increased respiration, cough, ocular and nasal discharge, salivation, extension of the neck, and hesitation to move.

Another respiratory disease commonly seen in feedlot cattle is necrotic laryngitis, better known as diphtheria.

Diphtheria cases are sporadic and can affect cattle any time of the year with higher incidence during the fall and winter months. Feedlot cattle 3 to 18 months of age are

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is described as a disease complex and is commonly found in feedlot settings year-round.

BRD can be caused by both viral and bacterial pathogens. at higher risk to become affected. Diphtheria is a noncontagious infectious disease that can affect cattle in an acute or chronic form. The gram-negative, nonsporeforming anaerobe Fusobacterium necrophorum causes inflammation and necrotic lesions to develop in the laryngeal mucosa and cartilage, which then causes the rima glottidis to narrow and produce an obstructed breathing sound. Diphtheria clinical signs include fever, dyspnea, cough, and stridor. Clinical signs can worsen rapidly as the ambient temperature increases or if the affected animal is put under intense physical movement.

Acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP), also known as atypical interstitial pneumonia, is a respiratory disease that sporadically affects feedlot cattle. AIP most commonly affects cattle during late spring, summer, and fall, particularly during hot, dry weather. AIP is a very costly disease as it is more likely to affect cattle that are closer to market weight. Clinical signs presented by cattle affected by AIP can include swayed back, extension of the neck to facilitate breathing, excessive foamy salivation, panting, open mouth breathing, grunting, refusal to move, and, in some cases, aggressiveness.

Symptoms can progress very rapidly as the ambient temperature increases or when the animal is put under intense physical movement.

When evaluating cattle for respiratory disease, it is important to know the recent history of the pen or lot under evaluation as processing or similar events can make cattle look tired or depressed and sometimes be febrile. It is very important to properly move all cattle within the pen as cattle with early stages of respiratory disease may be difficult to identify. Note-taking is essential when pulling a sick animal from a pen, as this will help guide the doctoring crew to a better case definition to provide proper treatment and follow up.

Resources Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD). Accessed at https://www.zoetisus.com/conditions/dairy/bovinerespiratory-disease-_brd_.aspx.

Campbell, J. Necrotic laryngitis in cattle. Merck Veterinary Manual. June 2016. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/respiratorysystem/respiratory-diseases-of-cattle/necrotic-laryngitisin-cattle

Chai J, Capik SF, Kegley B, Richeson JT, Powell JG, Zhao J. Bovine respiratory microbiota of feedlot cattle and its association with disease. Vet Res. 2022 Dec; 53, 4.

Jensen R, Lauerman LH, England JJ, Braddy PM, Horton DP, Flack DE, Cox MF, Einertson N, Miller GK, Rehfeld CE. Laryngeal diphtheria and papillomatosis in feedlot cattle.

Vet Pathol. 1981 Mar; 18(2): 143-50.

Loneragan GH, Gould DH. Acute interstitial pneumonia in feedlot cattle. In American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference. 2000.

Taylor JD, Fulton RW, Lehenbauer TW, Step DL, Confer AW. The epidemiology of bovine respiratory disease: What is the evidence for predisposing factors? Can Vet J. 2010 Oct; 51(10): 1095-102.

Valles JA, Apley MD, Reinhardt CD, Bartle SJ, Thomson DU. Pathologies of acute interstitial pneumonia in feedlot cattle. Am J Anim Vet Sci. 2016; 11(1): 1-7.

Jose Valles graduated with his Master of Biomedical Sciences from Kansas State University in 2013. He was born in the state of Durango in Mexico. He spent his childhood in both Durango and in southwest Kansas. In Mexico, his family has been dedicated to a cow-calf operation and the farming of dry beans, corn, and oats. After high school, Jose decided to further his education at the university level and has since lived in the U.S. He attended Seward County Community College in Liberal, Kansas, and during that time worked at the Liberal Animal Hospital. Jose transferred to Kansas State University through the Developing Scholars Program and Bridges to the Future Program. While attending Kansas State University, Jose worked at the Beef Cattle Institute from 2007 to 2013. After graduating from Kansas State University in 2013, Jose joined the PAC team, then later that year married his girlfriend Areli, and moved to Kearney, Nebraska. Jose enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife Areli and his sons Matteo and Antonio. He also enjoys riding a good horse, horse races, and grilling steaks.

This article has been translated to Spanish on page 54. fall 2022 | pacdvms.com

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EL DESTETE DE OTOÑO, NO ES SOLO PARA LOS TERNEROS Escrito por Austin Traphagan, DVM Traducido por Jose Valles, MS, Production Animal Consultation

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uando generalmente pensamos en las actividades de otoño en la industria ganadera, el destete de los terneros (en hatos de primavera) inmediatamente se nos viene a la mente. El proceso de remover los terneros de las vacas y moverlos exitosamente a la siguiente fase del ciclo de producción es una tarea importante. La planificación y las técnicas adecuadas pueden ayudar a mejorar y producir cosechas de terneros de los cual los centros de acopio y corrales de engorda se esfuerzan para obtener para llenar sus corrales.

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Sin embargo, esta época del año y el proceso de destete es igual de importante, si no más, para el hato de vacas.

En el tiempo entre el destete del ternero y la llegada de la próxima cría, el hato de vacas tendrá que soportar los meses de invierno más fríos mientras continúa reponiendo las reservas de su cuerpo y mantener el embarazo. Mantenerse al tanto del manejo del hato de vacas durante este período de tiempo pagará dividendos más adelante en el trayecto con la productividad general de las vacas y la longevidad en el hato.

Los principales beneficios del destete oportuno y el manejo nutricional adecuado se pueden ver en múltiples etapas del ciclo de reproducción/producción. Una vez que llega el otoño, es tiempo de remover los terneros de las vacas, eliminando una carga nutricional del hato. En los meses previos, han tenido que gastar gran parte de sus reservas de energía en la gestación y la lactancia tardías, las etapas más exigentes del ciclo de producción. Esto es seguido por la expectativa de que volverán a preñarse dentro de aproximadamente 80 a 85 días después del parto para parir al mismo tiempo el próximo año y permanecer en el hato. Para que el ganado se vuelva a preñar y exhiba un alto nivel de eficiencia reproductiva deben tener el apoyo nutricional y la condición corporal sobrante para hacerlo. Si la primavera las ha dejado muy atrás en cuanto a su condición corporal, tendrán un tiempo mucho más difícil para volver a preñarse al mismo ritmo del resto del hato, si es que se preñan. Mala nutrición y baja condición corporal son unas de las principales razones por las que 52 vaca-becerro

las vacas aparecen vacías en el otoño.

Para protegerse contra la pérdida de hembras después de la temporada de reproducción, el manejo nutricional debe iniciare y mantenerse mucho antes en el otoño anterior.

En una operación normal de primavera, las vacas se habrán vuelto a preñar durante los meses de verano y habrán estado lactando para el ternero que tenían a su lado. En etapa temprana de gestación, el requerimiento de energía necesario para mantener al feto es marginal en comparación con lo que se gasta en la lactancia del ternero existente. Idealmente, las vacas que han estado en los pastizales de verano habrán reabastecido gran parte de sus reservas corporales para este punto y tendrán un puntaje de condición corporal de alrededor de 5 a 6 (de 10) alrededor del tiempo del destete de otoño. Una vez que se destete el ternero, la evaluación de la condición corporal de las vacas preñadas puede comenzar a darle una idea de cuál será su estrategia de manejo a medida que va avanzando. En algunos casos, el productor puede tener la capacidad de dividir su hato de vacas en diferentes grupos para manejarlos y alimentarlos de manera diferente según la condición de las vacas. Hacer coincidir las vacas con el alimento es la mejor y más rentable forma de utilizar lo que tiene a la mano y planificar con anticipación. El objetivo es mantener este puntaje corporal actual de rango medio y en los casos de las vacas que están un poco delgadas, agregar algunas libras con apoyo nutricional adicional.

Si no puede lograr que esas vacas recuperen algo de terreno antes del invierno, el período de diciembre a marzo es muy difícil y costoso para agregar peso adicional en comparación con simplemente mantener la condición corporal. El otoño es un buen tiempo para utilizar residuos de cultivo y otros forrajes. Pueden proporcionar libras de bajo costo para aumentar el peso corporal y el puntaje de condición corporal antes de que el clima frío y los retiros de energía más tarde en la gestación comiencen a utilizar las reservas de grasa del cuerpo. Si el ganado está en el lado más delgado entrando a la temporada de parición, tienen un mayor riesgo de tener dificultades de parto y terneros más débiles y de menor vigor y están en una mala posición para recuperar la condición corporal para volver a

preñarse. Algunas investigaciones que compararon ganado con un puntaje de condición corporal de 5 a 6 con ganado mas delgado con un puntaje de condición corporal de 3 a 4, mostraron que los puntajes 5 y 6 tuvieron un 10% más de terneros vivos, 26% más de peso al destete, y tasas de preñez al año siguiente del 92% frente a un 79% en las vacas más delgadas. También se ha investigado la calidad del calostro y ha mostrado una correlación directa entre el puntaje de la condición corporal y la calidad. Si las vacas están en buenas condiciones antes del parto, sus terneros tendrán un mejor sistema inmune en general. Al seleccionar los grupos que necesitan alimento de mayor calidad desde el inicio, puede ayudar a obtener puntajes de condición corporal donde deben estar y poner a las vacas en una situación positiva que aumentará su probabilidad de permanecer en el hato por más tiempo. Cuantos más años pueda pasar una vaca en el hato, más dinero le hará ganar.

Además de separar el ganado según el puntaje de condición corporal, separarlo según la edad también puede proporcionar beneficios en el futuro. Manejar a las hembras mas jóvenes, como las vaquillas de reemplazo y las vaquillas de primer parto, separadas del resto del hato maduro puede ayudar a mantener a los animales en el hato y disminuir la pérdida de vaquillas de primer parto en el desplome del segundo año. Estos animales jóvenes están en continuo crecimiento mientras que aún siguen siendo responsables de producir sus dos primeros terneros. También se ha observado ampliamente que estas vacas más jóvenes son comedores menos agresivos que sus contrapartes maduras.

Si estas poblaciones se mezclan con el resto del hato de vacas maduras, corren el riesgo de tener niveles más altos de ineficiencia reproductiva simplemente porque no se les permite comer suficiente alimento. Además, utilizar alimentos de mayor calidad específicamente para el grupo más joven puede representar mayores requisitos nutricionales y ayudar a impulsar una mayor cantidad de reemplazos en el hato maduro.

Por último, ajustar la fecha de destete a una fecha más temprana en el año puede ser benéfico en los casos donde el entorno no esta proporcionando suficientes forrajes. El destete temprano ayudará a mantener las vacas y los recursos de los pastizales disponibles, ya que sus necesidades de mantenimiento disminuirán drásticamente en la ausencia de lactancia. Investigaciones consistentes han demostrado que el ganado (de parición en primavera) destetado, por ejemplo, en agosto tendrá un puntaje de condición corporal de 0.5 a

1 más alto que las vacas destetadas en noviembre. Con el destete temprano, estudios adicionales han relacionado estos beneficios en puntaje de condición corporal con mayores tasas de concepción de vaquillas primerizas delgadas desde un 50% hasta un 97% y recortado los días para el primer celo por 17 días. En ese programa, se encontró que las vacas maduras en condición moderada tenían porcentajes de volver a preñarse más altos, más cercanos al 100% en comparación con solo el 81% después de adelantar la fecha de destete también. Incluso en años normales donde los forrajes están en niveles adecuados, este ajuste se puede hacer con hembras mas jóvenes cuando las oportunidades para obtener alimentos de mayor calidad son escasas a finales del otoño y el invierno.

Existen numerosas tácticas disponibles para manejar el hato de vacas en los meses de otoño e invierno. Un enfoque pasivo de la nutrición y la preparación siempre ahorrará mano de obra y puede ser más fácil en términos de capacidad de alimentación y clasificación. Sin embargo, hay un valor real en dedicar el tiempo y los recursos para adaptar su programa a las necesidades de su hato. Cuando puede recuperarse a principios del otoño en términos de nutrición y salud en general, los beneficios se pueden ver durante todo el año en todas las fases de producción, lo que da como resultado un hato más rentable y eficiente.

El Dr. Austin Traphagan se graduó con su doctorado en medicina veterinaria (DVM, por sus siglas en ingles) de la Universidad Estatal de Kansas en el 2020. Es un nativo de Colorado que creció en las llanuras del noroeste del estado en Yuma, Colorado.

Creció dividiendo gran parte de su tiempo entre la práctica veterinaria de pequeñas y grandes especies de su padre y el resto en las operaciones de vaca-becerro y la pequeña operación de corrales de engorda de su familia. Después de asistir a la Universidad de Wyoming, se dirigió a Manhattan y a la Universidad Estatal de Kansas. Desde que se graduó, comenzó su carrera ejerciendo en el centro-norte de Kansas, pero ahora divide su tiempo ejerciendo en Wyoming y Colorado como veterinario de pequeñas y grandes especies.

Este artículo está disponible en inglés en la página 10. fall 2022 | pacdvms.com

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CINCO PUNTOS DE LA EVALUACIÓN DE SALUD ANIMAL: SALUD RESPIRATORIA Escrito por Jose Valles, MS, Production Animal Consultation Traducido por Jose Valles, MS, Production Animal Consultation

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n ediciones anteriores de Protein Producers, hablamos sobre una evaluación de salud animal de cinco puntos que me gusta implementar cuando trabajo con cuidadores de animales en el área de revisión de corrales en las operaciones de corrales de engorda. Esta evaluación no solo consiste en detectar ganado que pueda necesitar atención medica, sino que también ayuda a promover la salud animal en las categorías de cojera, salud digestiva, respiratoria, neurológica y mental. En ediciones previas, hemos hablado sobre las categorías de cojera y salud digestiva; en este artículo, abordaremos los problemas respiratorios más comunes.

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Cuando ingresamos a un corral de ganado, es importante tomar unos segundos para mirar a todo el grupo de ganado para observar su comportamiento e identificar cualquier caso obvio que pueda necesitar atención inmediata. A medida que continuamos moviéndonos, es importante que levantemos a todo el ganado y le pidamos que se mueva una distancia o un tiempo razonable que nos permita hacer una evaluación cuidadosa sobre la salud respiratoria. Hay varias cosas que debemos tener en cuenta cuando hacemos nuestras observaciones mientras movemos el ganado dentro de su corral. Algunas de las características a buscar incluyen secreción ocular y nasal, salivación espumosa excesiva, vacilación para moverse o moverse más lento que los compañeros de corral, delgadez, tos, extensión del cuello, espalda pandeada, hombros ensanchados, inflamación alrededor de los ojos, depresión y debilidad. Es muy recomendable tomar notas de los signos clínicos presentados por el animal en su corral de casa. Esta información le ayudará al doctor con la definición de caso, el diagnostico y el tratamiento.

Las enfermedades respiratorias son muy costosas y multifactoriales, lo que significa que pueden ser causadas por múltiples factores estresantes físicos y fisiológicos en combinación con la exposición a patógenos virales y/o bacterianos. Las enfermedades respiratorias son una causa frecuente de morbilidad y mortalidad en las operaciones de corrales de engorda a lo largo y 56 corrales de engorda

ancho de los Estados Unidos. El ganado afectado por enfermedades respiratorias resulta en una pérdida económica significativa representada por costos de tratamiento, rendimiento reducido, y pérdida por muerte.

Algunos de los problemas respiratorios más comunes en los corrales de engorda incluyen enfermedad respiratoria bovina, difteria y neumonía intersticial aguda.

La enfermedad respiratoria bovina (BRD, por sus siglas en inglés) se describe como un complejo de enfermedades y se encuentra comúnmente en entornos de corrales de engorda durante todo el año. La enfermedad respiratoria bovina puede ser causada por patógenos virales y bacterianos. Algunos de los patógenos virales más comunes incluyen el virus respiratorio sincitial bovino (BRSV, por sus siglas en inglés), virus parainfluenza 3 (PI3V, por sus siglas en inglés), virus de la diarrea viral bovina (BVDV, por sus siglas en inglés), y el herpes virus bovino 1 (BHV-1, por sus siglas en inglés). Los patógenos bacterianos más comunes en las operaciones de corrales de engorda incluyen Pasteurella multocida, Mannheimia haemolytica, Histophilus somni, y Mycoplasma bovis. Se cree que las infecciones virales predisponen al ganado afectado a infecciones bacterianas. Los patógenos virales pueden suprimir el sistema inmune y también pueden dañar las superficies de las mucosas respiratorias, lo que luego permite que las bacterias del tracto respiratorio superior se trasladen al tracto respiratorio inferior y crear una infección bacteriana en el pulmón comprometido. Los signos clínicos pueden incluir fiebre, depresión, falta de apetito, respiración aumentada, tos, secreción ocular y nasal, salivación, extensión del cuello y vacilación para moverse.

Otra enfermedad respiratoria que se observa comúnmente en el ganado de operaciones de corrales de engorda es la laringitis necrótica, mejor conocida como difteria. Los casos de difteria son esporádicos y pueden afectar al ganado en cualquier época del año con mayor incidencia durante los meses de otoño e invierno. El ganado de corrales de engorda de 3 a 18 meses de edad

tiene un mayor riesgo de ser afectado. La difteria es una enfermedad infecciosa no contagiosa que puede afectar al ganado de forma aguda o crónica. El anaerobio gramnegativo que no forma esporas, Fusobacterium necrophorum, causa inflamación y lesiones necróticas en la mucosa y el cartílago de la laringe, lo que luego causa que la rima glotis se estreche y produzca un sonido respiratorio obstruido. Los signos clínicos de la difteria incluyen fiebre, disnea, tos y estridor. Los signos clínicos pueden empeorar rápidamente a medida que aumenta la temperatura ambiental o si el animal afectado se somete a un movimiento físico intenso.

La neumonía intersticial aguda (AIP, por sus siglas en inglés), también conocida como neumonía intersticial atípica, es una enfermedad respiratoria que afecta esporádicamente al ganado de engorda. La neumonía intersticial aguda afecta más comúnmente al ganado a finales de la primavera, verano y otoño, particularmente durante el clima cálido y seco. La neumonía intersticial aguda es una enfermedad muy costosa, ya que es más probable que afecte al ganado que está más cerca del peso de mercado. Los signos clínicos presentados por el ganado afectado por la neumonía intersticial aguda pueden incluir espalda pandeada, extensión del cuello para facilitar la respiración, salivación espumosa excesiva, jadeo, respiración con la boca abierta, gruñidos, negación a moverse y en algunos casos, agresividad. Los síntomas pueden progresar muy rápidamente a medida que aumenta la temperatura ambiental o cuando el animal se somete a un movimiento físico intenso.

Al evaluar el ganado para detectar enfermedades respiratorias, es importante conocer el historial reciente del corral o lote que se está evaluando, ya que el procesamiento o eventos similares pueden hacer que el ganado se vea cansado o deprimido y a veces sea febril. Es muy importante mover adecuadamente a todo el ganado dentro del corral, ya que el ganado con etapas iniciales de enfermedad respiratoria puede ser difícil de identificar. Tomar notas es esencial cuando se saca un animal enfermo de un corral, ya que esto ayudará a guiar al equipo de doctores a una mejor definición de caso para proveer el tratamiento y el seguimiento adecuado.

Recursos: Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD). Accessed at https://www.zoetisus.com/conditions/dairy/bovinerespiratory-disease-_brd_.aspx.

Campbell, J. Necrotic laryngitis in cattle. Merck Veterinary Manual. June 2016. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/respiratorysystem/respiratory-diseases-of-cattle/necrotic-laryngitisin-cattle Chai J, Capik SF, Kegley B, Richeson JT, Powell JG, Zhao J. Bovine respiratory microbiota of feedlot cattle and its association with disease. Vet Res. 2022 Dec; 53, 4.

Jensen R, Lauerman LH, England JJ, Braddy PM, Horton DP, Flack DE, Cox MF, Einertson N, Miller GK, Rehfeld CE. Laryngeal diphtheria and papillomatosis in feedlot cattle.

Vet Pathol. 1981 Mar; 18(2): 143-50.

Loneragan GH, Gould DH. Acute interstitial pneumonia in feedlot cattle. In American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference. 2000.

Taylor JD, Fulton RW, Lehenbauer TW, Step DL, Confer AW. The epidemiology of bovine respiratory disease: What is the evidence for predisposing factors? Can Vet J. 2010 Oct; 51(10): 1095-102.

Valles JA, Apley MD, Reinhardt CD, Bartle SJ, Thomson DU. Pathologies of acute interstitial pneumonia in feedlot cattle. Am J Anim Vet Sci. 2016; 11(1): 1-7.

José Valles se graduó con su Maestría en Ciencias Biomédicas de la Universidad Estatal de Kansas en 2013. Nació en el estado de Durango en México. Pasó su infancia tanto en Durango como en el suroeste de Kansas. En México, su familia se ha dedicado a una operación de vacabecerro y al cultivo de frijol, maíz y avena. Después de la secundaria, Jose decidió continuar su educación a nivel universitario y desde entonces ha vivido en los EE. UU. Asistió al Colegio Comunitario del Condado de Seward en Liberal, Kansas y durante ese tiempo trabajo en el Liberal Animal Hospital. José se transfirió a la Universidad Estatal de Kansas a través del programa Developing Scholars y el programa Bridges to the Future. Mientras asistía a la Universidad Estatal de Kansas, José trabajó en el Instituto de Ganado de Carne del 2007 al 2013. Después de graduarse de la Universidad Estatal de Kansas en el 2013, José se unió al equipo de PAC, luego ese mismo año se casó con su novia Areli y se mudaron a Kearney, Nebraska. José disfruta pasar tiempo con su hermosa esposa Areli y sus hijos Antonio y Matteo.

También disfruta montar un buen caballo, las carreras de caballos y cocinar bisteces a la parrilla.

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RISA ENTRE DIENTES DESDE OZ Un pastor alemán, un doberman y un gato murieron.

En el cielo, los tres se enfrentaron a Dios, que quería saber en qué creían.

El pastor alemán dijo, “Yo creo en la disciplina, el entrenamiento y la lealtad a mi maestro.”

“Bien!” dijo Dios. “Siéntate en mi lado derecho.”

“Doberman, ¿tu en qué crees?” le pregunto Dios.

El doberman respondió, “Creo en el amor, el cuidado y la protección de mi maestro.”

“Ajá,” dijo Dios. “Puedes sentarte a mi izquierda.”

Luego Dios miró al gato y le preguntó, “¿Y tu en qué crees?”

El gato le respondió, “Creo que estás sentado en mi asiento.”

Cortesía de Jo-Anne Watts y Bell Veterinary Services Traducido por Jose Valles, MS, Production Animal Consultation

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THE PHOTOGRAPH PART 3: TAKE COVER

By Doug Ford, DVM, Production Animal Consultation, & Greg Quakenbush, DVM, Geissler Corp.

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uly 29, 2018 was a beautiful, calm, peaceful sunny day and coincidentally our youngest son’s birthday. All appeared perfect, looking like there would never be another bad day.

As I walked back to the house about 4:00 pm after a great day working in my shop, I recall waving to Jan and cheerfully commenting, “We’re almost there, babe!” It looked like our aggressive 13-year renovation project (The Photograph) was finally coming to an amazing close. The words barely cleared my lips when a steady brutal wind came out of nowhere, followed by heavy dark clouds moving in from the northeast. fall 2022 | pacdvms.com

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The weather went from 0 to 90 in a matter of minutes.

In that moment, I deliberately worked my way towards the house to batten down the hatches like I had done so many times over the years. As suddenly as the winds developed, they abruptly idled to an easy calm. In the distance, I could hear Jan’s cell phone broadcasting an urgent warning. The National Weather Service in Denver was warning, “Take cover now!” I recall the message was

62 parable

not the usual weather warning or watch that we had heard so many times over the past 20 years. It was a distinct, “TAKE COVER NOW!” Conflicted, I walked to the dining room window looking to the east, thinking, “This is so dumb. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.”

Certainly not a tornado! I again walked outside greeted by calm overcast skies and no apparent funnel clouds in sight. I walked back inside to the dining room window thinking, “Another crazy false alarm.”

At exactly 4:29 pm as I looked east, a lone softballsize hail stone hit the window directly in front of me. I remember thinking to myself, “Hey college boy, this may not be a great place to stand.” In a split-second, baseball- to softball-size hail came horizontally from the northeast at terminal velocity mixed with torrential rain.

In that moment Jan and I had nowhere to go. We were trapped, along for the ride with no seat belts or off ramp.

We made our way downwind to the kitchen refrigerator on an inside modular home wall. We strategically positioned our bodies against the refrigerator like we had learned 65 years ago in the 1st grade during the days of the Cold War and Cuban Nuclear Crisis (“remember duck and cover”). In less than a heartbeat, all the windows on the north and east side of the house were gone and 160 mph winds were taking out the windows from inside the house on the west side. We didn’t have to find the dog and cat; they found us. After a few seconds, it became apparent we needed to be face down flat on the floor as 4” hail stones, large knife-size shards of glass, and assorted debris ping ponged through the width of the 30’ wide house from east to west. I later learned the tornado was almost a mile wide traveling from Cheyenne, Wyoming, southeast to Lamar, Colorado. The entire ordeal lasted almost 5 minutes.

The longest 5 minutes of my life.

As suddenly as the storm came, it was gone. Jan and I rose from our foxhole on the kitchen floor to see the war zone that was the interior of our beautiful home.

I didn’t see Matt Dillon or Miss Kitty, but the entire house resembled the aftermath of a major cowboy brawl at the Long Branch in Dodge City. Fist-size holes in the walls, broken furniture, broken mirrors, and window glass everywhere.

As we cautiously peered outside, our beautiful homestead literally looked like the surface of the moon.

Trees were stripped of bark and every leaf. There was standing water everywhere after the 6 inches of rain.

Pieces of roof, siding, rain gutters, assorted debris, tree limbs, and hay bales were scattered for a quarter mile.

Fist-size holes in the walls, broken furniture, broken mirrors, and window glass everywhere.

Jan’s car even experienced hail damage in the garage.

Every bird for several miles lay dead on the ground.

For weeks, a decaying smell lingered over our property from dead deer, racoons, coyotes, and other animals. A small herd of our spring calving cows on pasture by the house were covered with welts, bruises, open bloody sores, swollen eyes and heads. I’m sure when the hides were pulled at slaughter, they looked like a terminal grub infestation.

Unfortunately, the next 14 months would be spent dealing with insurance companies and contractors. I never realized what a struggle and all-consuming process it would be restoring our property and lives back to a normal state. Progress on the $750,000 insurance claim moved at a snail’s pace. This claim did not include loss of crops, pasture, or sprinkler damage. Most of the time we were out of pocket for months, waiting for insurance company reimbursements. Our local agent was a true blessing dealing with the frustrating claims system. The OSB over our window openings didn’t afford much protection from the winter elements from December to February. Remarkably, to this day we still find broken glass.

What I have been privileged to learn over the past 17 years is to trust God’s unwavering will and grace for my life. Life is about choices, but God is in control. Proverbs 16:9 says, “Man plots his course, but the Lord establishes his steps.” For a time in my life, I actually thought I was in control, what a fool believes! Five minutes face down on the kitchen floor will truly and forever redirect your perspective on who is in charge. I continue to renew my mind and attitude daily, reminding myself it is not happening TO me but FOR me. God’s word proclaims he is taking us from Glory to Glory. His perfect plan and will are always on cue. The journey of Glory to Glory is about preparation not punishment. It’s about patience, persistence, and perspective. It’s about God’s glorious “protection” and His will for our lives. The past 17 years in Snyder, Colorado, have been an incredible platform for the cultivation and restoration of my personal and spiritual development. Thank you, Lord Jesus!

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get older, our chances of experiencing such an episode only increase.

The ultimate question is, “Where is God?” Where is God in the storm? Where is God in the disaster? Why does God allow such calamity and tragedy? In almost any given week, one can survey the news and find an earthquake, a tsunami, a hurricane, a tornado, a fire, a flood, or a drought. The loss of life, property, and livelihood ranges from minimal to catastrophic. So where is God? The first and most important truth to consider is that this world is cursed. In the beginning (literally, Genesis 1) we read about the miraculous design God applied in the creation of the heavens and earth. In the first chapter of Genesis, we read where He used the term “good” seven separate times to describe His pleasure with what had been created.

By the time we get to Genesis 3, sin, evil, and death have come on the scene and poisoned paradise. All of this because Adam and Eve succumbed to choosing the lies of Satan over the truth and promises of God. This rebellion and disobedience of Adam and Eve and their subsequent separation from God is known theologically as “The Fall of Man”. This fall was caused by Adam’s sin and the curse that followed from God involved all of creation including man, animals, plants, and even the earth itself. So, by the actions of one man (Adam), all of mankind has been born under the curse and separated from God. Romans 5:12 explains it this way: Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— Understanding that we live in a cursed world, where does this leave us? This knowledge should help us better set our expectations for life on earth. A bumper sticker theologian has concluded: “Life is hard and then you die”. One might consider the apparent futility in all of this life and shake his fist at God. That too is of little consequence. God does not owe us anything. Romans 9:2021 states that God is the potter and we are the clay. The clay never calls the shots but is totally in the hands of the potter.

Doubters and critics have concluded that God is not involved in the affairs of men, or that He does not care.

Some would go so far as to even suggest If God exists, He lacks the power to prevent disasters, natural or otherwise. If you agree with these thoughts, you are in alignment with Adam and the one that John 8:44 calls “the liar and the father of lies” (Satan).

A close study of the book of Genesis reveals that even

as God was releasing a curse on all of mankind and creation, He was making provision for a rescue. If you think God is not involved in our struggles and pending death sentence, look no further than the cross. God’s plan for the rescue and salvation of man involved the death of His son, Jesus. It is in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead that Satan was defeated and a way was opened to a new, never-ending paradise called “heaven”.

Death was replaced with life, eternal life. Life as God always intended for us to enjoy (John 3:16). John 5:17 sums up the Adam versus Jesus contrast this way: For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

This verse from Romans says that those who belong to Christ are the recipients of God’s grace, His righteousness, and eternal life. While we do not have a full understanding of events outside our control, we can have the confidence that we are not alone. He is with us. This assurance helps us to view the storms and natural disasters through a new lens. A perspective where the struggle is not against us but is in play for our benefit.

Without the storms in life, we might have missed out on the following: • Seeing the many amazing miracles that occurred during or following the course of a natural disaster.

• Realizing how small we really are and how dependent we are upon God to protect and sustain us.

• •

Grasping that we certainly are not in control.

Appreciating the brevity of life and the uncertainty of life.

• The opportunity to assist, love, and care for others in their time of need.

• Finding out many of our so-called priorities are not priorities or need serious re-evaluation.

• Experiencing God providing for our care in ways that we could never imagine.

• The opportunity for the growth of our faith and trust in Him. • Recognizing our ever-present need for Him in our lives.

We have all heard the somewhat humorless phrase, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” Few people who quote this adage likely give any Biblical or spiritual thought to the common sense and real-life application that it holds. Who of us have garnered any success in life without the benefit of hardship, struggles, difficulties, or setbacks? I would guess that number of individuals to be few. Difficulty is often the means that makes us better and sets the table for one to become humble and grateful.

The Word reminds us that storms and trials in life are to be expected. The intended consequence for those who belong to Christ is to see one’s faith and trust in Him grow. Faith involves trusting God for a future outcome that cannot initially be visibly seen. The height of trusting God is to see things that appear to be disastrous turned around and made into something for our good. fall 2022 | pacdvms.com

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Additional Bible verses for your review and study: James 1:2-4 (ESV) Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

*** 1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV) Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

*** Nahum 1:7 (ESV) The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.

*** Romans 12:12 (ESV) Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

*** John 16:33 (ESV) I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation.

But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

*** 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV) So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.

For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Doug Ford, DVM is the owner of Beaver Creek Veterinary Clinic in Brush, Colorado. Doug earned his DVM degree from Colorado State University. Brush, Colorado has been his home since graduating from Colorado State. Doug’s practice has been remarkably diverse over 40 years of veterinary medicine. Dogs, cats, cow/calf, feedlot, two sale barns, and spaying thousands of heifers for grass. The last 20 years of practice has been 50% large western dairies and 50% beef cattle (spaying, cow/calf, and feedlots).

In 2005, Doug was given the privilege to become one of the six founding members of PAC. Doug and his wife Jan ranch in their “spare” time. They are also heavily involved in a wetland’s development project on the South Platte River near Snyder, Colorado. Doug’s dad used to say, “Get your grades up. Do you want to grow up to be a ditch digger?”

Doug had no idea how much fun it is to play in the dirt with dozers and track hoes.

He feels truly blessed and believes that the best days are yet to come.

Greg Quakenbush, DVM is a 1978 graduate of Colorado State University and spent 16 years in large animal practice in Porterville, California. For 19 years, Dr. Q worked for Zoetis (Pfizer) and was Director of the US Cattle Technical Services team. Since 2013, Dr. Q has worked with the Geissler Corporation assisting in the development of new veterinary diagnostic technologies. Dr. Q enjoys Bible study, shooting sports, fly-fishing, and being a part-time farmer growing citrus and nuts in the central valley of California.

66 parable

PAC MEMBER HIGHLIGHT•••••••••

RAYMOND STEGEMAN, DVM Osage Veterinary Cinic St. Thomas, Missouri Dr. Raymond Stegeman has been practicing veterinary medicine since 1988 and purchased Osage Veterinary Clinic in the fall of 1991. The clinic is located in St. Thomas, Missouri, a small town situated in a bend of the Osage River in rural central Missouri. The predominantly food animal mixed practice serves farming communities and producers within an approximately 100-mile radius of St. Thomas.

Integrity is one of the core values of Osage Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Stegeman explained, “We strive to do the best for our clients even if it requires more work. We have never taken the easy or more convenient way out.”

Dr. Stegeman is passionate about improving beef cattle health and production from conception through slaughter. He also loves the relationships he develops with animal owners and caretakers as a veterinarian. He shared, “I love seeing the smile on a young child’s face when you hand them their recovering precious pet after successfully treating it or seeing producers succeed with their operations after all the hard work and long days they invested. All while knowing you may have played a part in this success. We are blessed in rural America to have good, down to earth, kind, hardworking and moral people to work alongside every day.”

68 member highlight

Ingredients •

1 lb. ground beef

•

1 c. onion, diced

•

1 c. carrots, diced

•

1/2 tsp. basil

•

1/2 tsp. parsley

•

1/2 tsp. oregano

•

1/8 tsp. black pepper

•

salt to taste

•

4 c. chicken broth

•

1 c. heavy cream

•

2 c. Colby jack cheese, shredded

•

1 c. elbow macaroni

CHEESEBURGER MACARONI SOUP

Thank you to Shelby Herrick and The Gingham Apron for sharing your recipe! The Gingham Apron is comprised of five women from one Midwest farm family whose passion is cultivating relationships in their everyday lives. Denise Herrick, center, is the mother and mother-in-law of the other four members of the group. Herrick has been an Iowa farm wife for 46 years. Jenny Herrick, Molly Herrick, and Shelby Herrick (left to right) currently live on their own farms, while Annie Boyd, Denise’s oldest daughter, lives in California where she homeschools her five children. They love to find new ways to celebrate everyday life together.

They have a blog and website, theginghamapron.com, where they share how to plan family gatherings, try new recipes, take care of their homes, and educate kids. They cherish their beautiful family farm, time spent with their family, and most of all, their faith in Jesus Christ.

You can find additional recipes and more in their book The Gathering Table.

Directions 1.

In a large pot, brown your ground beef.

Drain grease and return to stove.

2. Add onions and carrots and cook until tender (approx. 4-5 minutes).

3. Add all seasonings to pot and stir with beef and veggies.

4. Add in elbow macaroni and chicken broth.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat and cover.

Simmer for an additional 6-8 minutes until pasta is tender.

5. Add in heavy cream and shredded cheese.

Mix until cheese is melted and smooth.

If you have a recipe that you would like to feature in The Pot Roast section of Protein Producers, email us at protein.producers@pacdvms.com.

Filled with beautiful photography and inspirational writing, The Gathering Table follows this Iowa farm family through a year of gatherings that strengthen relationships, establish and deepen family traditions, and showcase God's gift of great food. With complete menus, easy-to-follow recipes, devotional readings, prayers, and plenty of inspiring and customizable ideas for everything from intimate family gatherings to larger community events, this book will become your go-to resource for entertaining and enjoying life – together!

This wonderful book can be bought online anywhere books are sold or by visiting their website: https://www.theginghamapron.com/ the-gathering-table-book/

CHUCKLES FROM DOWN UNDER....

A German Shepherd, a Doberman and a cat died.

In Heaven, all three faced God, who wanted to know what they believed in.

The German Shepherd said, “I believe in discipline, training and loyalty to my master.”

“Good!” said God. “Sit at my right side.”

“Doberman, what do you believe in?” asked God. The Doberman answered, “I believe in the love, care and protection of my master.”

“Aha,” said God. “You may sit to my left.”

Then God looked at the cat and asked, “And what do you believe in?”

The cat replied, “I believe you are sitting in my seat.”

Courtesy of Jo-Anne Watts & Bell Veterinary Services

1. When one door closes and another door opens, you are probably in prison.

2. To me, “drink responsibly” means don’t spill it.

3. Age 60 might be the new 40, but 9:00 pm is the new midnight.

4. It’s the start of a brand new day and I’m off like a herd of turtles.

5. The older I get, the earlier it gets late.

6. When I say, “The other day,” I could be referring to any time between yesterday and 15 years ago.

7. I remember being able to get up without making sound effects.

8. I had my patience tested. I’m negative.

9. Remember, if you lose a sock in the dryer, it comes back as a Tupperware® lid that doesn’t fit any of your containers.

Morris and his wife Esther went to the State Fair

10. If you’re sitting in public and a stranger takes the

every year, and every year Morris would say,

seat next to you, just stare straight ahead and say,

“Esther, I’d like to ride in that helicopter.”

“Did you bring the money?”

Esther always replied, “I know, Morris, but that

11. When you ask me what I am doing today, and I say,

helicopter ride is fifty dollars, and fifty dollars is

“Nothing,” it does not mean I am free. It means I am

fifty dollars.”

doing nothing.

One year, Esther and Morris went to the fair and

12. I finally got eight hours of sleep. It took me three

Morris said, “Esther, I’m 85 years old. If I don’t ride

days, but whatever.

that helicopter, I might never get another chance.”

13. I run like the winded.

To this, Esther replied, “Morris, that helicopter

14. I hate when a couple argues in public, and I missed

ride is fifty dollars, and fifty dollars is fifty dollars.”

the beginning and don’t know whose side I’m on.

The pilot overheard the couple and said, “Folks,

15. When someone asks what I did over the weekend,

I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take the both of you for a

I squint and ask, “Why, what did you hear?”

ride. If you can stay quiet for the entire ride and not

16. When you do squats, are your knees supposed to

say a word, I won’t charge you! But if you say one

sound like a goat chewing on an aluminum can

word, it’s fifty dollars.”

stuffed with celery?

Morris and Esther agreed and up they went. The pilot did all kinds of fancy maneuvers but not a word was heard. He did his daredevil tricks, over and over again, but still not a word.

17. I don’t mean to interrupt people. I just randomly remember things and get really excited.

18. When I ask for directions, please don’t use words like east.

When they landed, the pilot turned to Morris and

19. Don’t bother walking a mile in my shoes. That would

said, “By golly, I did everything I could to get you to

be boring. Spend 30 seconds in my head. That’ll

yell out, but you didn’t. I’m impressed!”

freak you right out.

Morris replied, “Well, to tell you the truth, I almost said something when Esther fell out, but you know, fifty dollars is fifty dollars!”

20. Sometimes, someone unexpected comes into your life out of nowhere, makes your heart race and changes you forever. We call those people cops.

21. My luck is like a bald guy who just won a comb.

72 chuckles from down under

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

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