PRODUCTION MEDICINE
Simon Kenyon
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The comparison of actual performance with agreed performance targets
Importance of sub-clinical disease and production inefficiencies
Importance of collection and analysis of production and health data
Importance of integration of sources of advice (e.g. disease, nutrition, economics and housing)
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EVOLUTION OF PRODUCTION MEDICINE
Area based disease control programs
1870’s
Individual animal treatment
1940’s
Health programs for control of specific diseases
1960’s
Integration of health maintenance with production management
1980’s
THE VETERINARIAN AND PRODUCTION MEDICINE
Has the necessary veterinary skill
Understands the production system
Understands and uses data management techniques
Can participate in and manage the advisory team
Aware of the economics of production and the effects of disease
Is a positive promoter of animal welfare, food safety and environmental protection
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On Farm Troubleshooting of Nutritional Problems
Presentation
Production problems
Reproduction problems
Metabolic diseases
Peri-parturient disease
Foot problems
Farm Visit
Charge by the hour
DHIA records
Peak milk
150 day milk
Persistency
Days to 1st service
Culling records
Milk Fat:Protein ratio
Check tanker pick-up slips
Try and get there when feed is put out.
Collect data and information and arrange to come back to discuss at farm meeting.
Feeds
Always get your own forage samples
Examine feeds for overheating, spoilage etc
Particle size analysis for forages
Check fineness of grind of corn
Be aware of effect on feed mixture of a moisture change in a major component. Check moisture
content using microwave to dry samples.
Feed mixing
Order in which feeds added to the TMR mixer
Awareness of impact of moisture changes in forages
Time the mixer. Adequately mixed? Over-mixed?
Take samples of TMR from feed bunk and check with Penn State Forage Separator
Check moisture content of ration as fed.
May wish to send TMR sample for proximate analysis by chemical methods as check on mixing.
Feed Bunk
How many times/ day are cows fed.
How long is bunk empty.
What is left in the bunk? Nothing? Cobs? Spoiled feed?
How many feet of bunk space for how many cows. How many feet of bunk has feed in it?
If poor man’s, TMR how many hay feeders are available?
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Water
How many waterers?
Are they clean? Is water always available?
Tempered water from plate cooler?
Is there room around waterers. Often in passthrough between free-stall alleys.
Free- stalls
Size & condition
What bedding material? Is it groomed?
Ventilation.
Cow to free-stall ratio
Look at Cows
Body condition score cows by lactation number and stage of lactation & plot on chart.
How do cows move? Lame cows? Overgrown hooves? Scuffed hocks?
What are cows doing?
How are cows using freestalls. Lying? Standing?
How many are cud-chewing?
Manure
Color/ odor
Consistency of manure. All the same? Some loose/ some firm? How much grain in manure.
Ration formulation
Look especially at ration moisture, ADF, NDF, NFC , NEl,, CP, heat damaged protein for major
errors
Potassium levels in dry cow hay?
Adequate buffer in lactating ration?
High levels soluble protein or NPN?
Special examinations
Feed analyses
Mycotoxin screen?
Pick up and examine feet.
Penn State Forage Separator
BUN or MUN
Herd based rumenocentesis
Urine pH on close-up dry cows fed DCAD ration
Follow-up
Try some ration ideas using the values from you feed analyses
? By-product suggestions
Written agenda for farm meeting
Meet nutritionist at farm to discuss.
Walk through again with meeting participants and then meet somewhere comfortable.
Written summary of meeting to all participants
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BEEF CATTLE PRACTICE
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Cow-calf and small feedlot
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Large cow-calf operations
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Feedlot practice
Cow-calf practice:
Seasonal
Sick cow work
Vaccination & Deworming programs
Preconditioning
Farm records and financial performance
Glossary
Backgrounding- A management system for a weaned calf in which the animal is grown for a
period of time (generally 2 to 6 months) prior to being finished. Diets and weight gains vary
during this time period.
Bunk breaking - The process of acclimating calves to consume feed from a bunk or other
feeder.
Calf-feds - Cattle which are placed on feed as calves and finished at less than 16 months of age.
They are usually on feed for 150 to 200 days. These cattle are usually placed in the feedlot
directly following weaning.
Carcass merit - Desirability of a carcass relative to quantity of muscle, fat, bone, and quality of
lean tissue. Many packer estimate carcass merit by measuring backfat and one or more other
indicator traits such as carcass weight.
Carrying capacity - The maximum stocking rate possible without damaging vegetation or
related resources. Carrying capacity may vary from year to year on the same area, due to
fluctuating forage production.
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) - Animal feeding operations with at least
1,000 animal units (1,000 head of cattle).
Custom feedyard - A feedyard which feeds, manages, and markets cattle for customers. Fees
are charged for materials and services.
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Double muscling- A genetic trait in cattle where muscles are greatly enlarged rather than
duplicate muscles
Dressing percentage- The percentage of the live animal weight that becomes the carcass weight
at slaughter. It is determined by dividing the carcass weight by the live weight, then multiplying
by 100.
Expected Progeny Difference- One-half of the breeding value; the difference in performance to
be expected from future progeny of a sire, compared with that expected from future progeny of
an average bull in the same test.
Grade- (1) A designation of live or carcass merit-e.g., choice grade. (2) Livestock not registered
with registry association.
Heterosis - The improvement in production observed or measured in crossbred animals
compared with the average of their purebred parents; hybrid vigor.
Marbling- The distribution of fat in muscular tissue; intramuscular fat.
Market class- Animals grouped according to the use to which they will be put, such as
slaughter, feeder, or stocker.
Pay weight- The actual weight for which payment is made. In many cases it is the shrunk weight
(actual weight minus pencil shrink).
Preconditioning - The process of preparing calves to enter the feedlot. It often includes
weaning, bunk breaking, and vaccination for respiratory disease.
Process verified program (PVP) - A PVP is a USDA approved Process Verified Program. A
PVP requires a company or business entity to implement a Quality Management System, based
upon ISO 9000 standards, to provide products or services which consistently meet specified
product requirements. in the beef cattle industry, PVP's are usually used to verify the age and
source of cattle for export to various foreign countries.
Quality grades- Animals grouped according to value as Prime, Choice, etc., based on
conformation and fatness of the animals.
Radio frequency identification (RFID) - A method of identifying cattle by placing an
electronic tag or button in their ear. The tags are read by a scanner attached to a hand-held or
portable computer.
Railer(s) - Cattle which fail to respond to treatment.
Settle- To become pregnant
Shrink- Loss of weight-commonly used in the loss in liveweight when animals are marketed.
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Stocker- Weaned cattle that are fed high-roughage diets (including grazing) before going into
the feedlot.
Thermoneutral zone (TNZ) - Range in temperature where rate and efficiency gain is
maximized. Comfort zone
Yardage- Charges incurred each day that the cattle are in the feedlot. These charges vary
depending on the lot. Yardage is usually expressed on a cents per head per day basis.
Yield grades- The grouping of animals according to the estimated trimmed lean meat that their
carcass would provide; cutability.
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