In the last edition of Herd Health: a Bovine Science with BCI podcast, Dr. Bob Larson and Dr. Brad White discussed AI (artificial intelligence). During this episode, the experts talk about a different kind of technology with the same abbreviation: artificial insemination. Tune in to learn more about a paper regarding different protocols and what to do after a mistake during the synchronization process. Thanks for listening and enjoy the show!
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! This episode begins with Dr. Phillip Lancaster and Dr. Bob Larson discussing different strategies for feeding cattle during extreme heat. The show progresses with a conversation concerning risk management methods that producers should contemplate now for shipping calves in the fall. Larson continues the episode by examining three facial diseases: lumpy jaw, wooden tongue and cancer eye. To wrap up this edition of Cattle Chat, the experts share different criteria for culling cows during this period of record high prices. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the episode!
2:18 Heat Feeding: Adjusting rations and feeding times, water consumption, heat from fermentation
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on Twitter at @The_BCI, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
What do all classes of cattle have in common? One answer is that they all share the need for the right amount of carbohydrates/energy in their diets to maintain proper health and nutrition. Dr. Phillip Lancaster and Dr. Brad White explain all things energy during this episode of Diving into Diets: a Bovine Science with BCI podcast. The experts talk about topics like energy’s role within a ration and how to calculate net energy. Thanks for listening and enjoy the show!
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! Dr. Brad White opens up this episode by asking the other hosts questions regarding fly control, grazing and pink eye. The experts continue the show by discussing a listener’s question about calves trying to nurse first-calf heifers instead of their dams. This edition of Cattle Chat winds down with Dr. Brian Lubbers and Dr. Bob Larson explaining how antibiotics work and their role within beef cattle production. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the episode!
9:00 Listener Question: Calves not nursing where they are supposed to
13:12 Antibiotics: How they work, the different classes and considerations before use
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on Twitter at @The_BCI, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
40% death loss occurs in only the young calves belonging to first-calf heifers within a large herd. Dr. Scott Fritz and Dr. Brad White analyze this abnormal case and discuss the necropsy process leading to diagnosis in this edition of Tox Talk: a Bovine Science with BCI podcast. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the show!
The toxicology website and Bovine Sciences with BCI podcasts have been sponsored in part through a veterinary services grant that Dr. Scott Fritz, Dr. Steve Ensley and Dr. Bob Larson have received to share more toxicology information and examples for people to understand what to submit and how to submit. Another part of that grant has been working with people and producer in the field.
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! Dr. Fred Gingrich, DVM and executive director of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, sits down with the hosts to provide an update on the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreak — a virus recently transmitted to dairy cattle called H1:N1. The experts and Dr. Gingrich progress this episode by sharing their thoughts on technologies in veterinary medicine that may assist beef cattle production in the future. To wrap up this edition of Cattle Chat, Dr. Brad White asks the other hosts and guest some rapid-fire questions concerning hay storage, a beef cattle sedative and other topics. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the episode!
3:20 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza: A broad overview, symptoms, communication, and what’s next
9:55 Future Veterinary Technologies: the role of veterinarians, genetic modification, feeding cattle and data
15:53 Rapid Fire Questions: Hiring professionals, Xylazine, storing round bales and interacting with younger generations
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on Twitter at @The_BCI, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
Scott Fritz, DVM, ABVT Toxicologist Beef Cattle Institute Kansas State University Scottfritz@vet.k-state.edu
Sources
Calves are usually affected due to dams being deficient in vitamin E and/or selenium during gestation. Selenium is naturally found in grains and forage. However, certain areas of the country such as the northeast, eastern seaboard, and northwest are known to have deficient selenium levels in the soil. Vitamin E is normally found in high-quality hay, silage, and green forage. Supplements containing vitamin E can also be administered. Selenium is legally regulated in feed supplements due to its toxic potential.
Mechanism
Vitamin E and selenium act as antioxidants and protect cells from damage caused by free radicals. Without this protection, heavily oxygen-dependent cells like cardiac and muscle cells are injured or die.
Signs
Animals with primarily skeletal muscle damage can show an altered gait, muscle weakness, difficulty rising, and pain on palpation.
Animals with primarily cardiac damage can show respiratory stress, difficulty breathing, and a buildup of fluid in the abdomen due to heart failure.
Treatment
Supportive care is necessary to make sure the animal is stable. Once stable, supplementation of vitamin E/selenium should be administered to the affected animal. Injectable selenium and vitamin E supplements are available for short term use. The diet should be evaluated to make sure appropriate amounts of vitamin E and selenium are present to avoid further deficient animals.
Diagnosis
Vitamin E serum (red top tube) or fresh/frozen liver
Selenium whole blood (purple top tube) or fresh/frozen liver; feed samples can also be analyzed
Phillip Lancaster, MS, PhD Ruminant nutritionist Beef Cattle Institute Kansas State University palancaster@vet.k-state.edu
Hay is one of the most expensive feedstuffs available to cattle producers. Hay harvesting equipment, spoilage and wastage, and delivering hay to cattle in drylot add tremendous cost to hay. On a per pound of nutrient basis, hay is generally more expensive than bulk commodities such as corn, soybean hulls, and distillers grains. Reducing this cost can improve the bottom line of the cow-calf operation.
One of the ways to reduce the cost of hay is to decrease the amount of spoilage and wastage. Spoilage occurs when hay absorbs moisture during storage then cattle avoid consuming that part of the bale thereby wasting it. Thus, anything we can do to reduce the amount of moisture absorbed by the bale during storage will reduce spoilage and wastage.
One of the most important storage considerations is to raise bales off the ground so that moisture from the ground is not absorbed into the bale. Bales sitting on the ground can result in 5 to 20% spoilage compared to 3 to 15% of bales eleveated off the ground. Raising bales off the ground can be done in a variety of ways – laying down large rock (3 or 4 inch limestone rock), old tires or old pallets, etc. Moisture wicking from the ground is more important in smaller diameter round bales. In smaller bales, a greater percentage of the bale mass is in the outer layer such that spoiled hay is a greater percentage of the bale. Also, the thickness of the outer layer impacts spoilage as a thicker outer layer constitutes a greater percentage of the bale mass. These factors are compounded where smaller bales with thicker outer layer have the greatest spoilage.
A second consideration is to store bales in a designated hay lot where vegetation can be controlled compared to along the edge of the hay field. Along the edge of the field, vegetation usually gets tall and thick, and the bales are many times under the overhang of trees. This vegetation holds moisture around the bale and increases spoilage. Storing bales in an open hay lot removes trees and allows other vegetation to be controlled so that bales can dry out after a rain or snow event. Aligning the bales in rows running north and south allows the sun to shine down between the rows and leaving a few feet between rows allows for better control of vegetation so that sunshine better dries out the bale after a rain or snow event.
The best way to reduce moisture absorption by bales is by storing them in an enclosed barn resulting in less than 2% spoilage even when stored for a very long time. However, construction of a hay barn is expensive adding to the cost of hay as a feedstuff for cattle. Less costly methods of covering bales can be used. Constructing a hay barn with only a roof and open wall generally results in similar spoilage (2-5%) as a enclosed barn. Also, stacking bales in a pyramid shape and covering them with a tarp results in 5 to 10% spoilage when on the ground and 2 to 4% spoilage when elevated off the ground.
As the value of hay increases so does the cost of spoilage. As an example, if hay is $100 per ton, then 10 % spoilage costs $10 per ton so the hay that cows were fed actually cost $110 per ton. In January 2024, bluestem grass hay was ~$180 per ton and with 10% spoilage was $198 per ton. Thus, to feed a 1300-lb cow for 120 days, hay cost alone would be $32 more with spoilage.
Hay spoilage with different storage methods at different time frames and estimated cost at hay price of $150 per ton.
Method
Store for 9 months
Store for 15 months
Cost per Ton
Uncovered
Ground
5 to 20%
15 to 50%
$7.50 to $30.00
Elevated
3 to 15%
12 to 35%
$4.50 to $22.50
Covered
Ground
5 to 10%
10 to 15%
$7.50 to $15.00
Elevated
2 to 4%
5 to 10%
$3.00 to $6.00
Under roof
2 to 5%
3 to 10%
$3.00 to $7.50
Enclosed barn
< 2%
2 to 5%
<$3.00
Adapted from Beef Cattle Manual, Oklahoma State University
Every cattle producer deals with down cows at some point in their career. The fate of the animal – in most cases – is grim. This episode of After the Abstract: a Bovine Science with BCI podcast features Dr. Brian Lubbers and Dr. Brad White evaluating a research article that explores how to increase the probability that a down beef cow gets back up. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the show!
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! The experts begin the show by discussing the pros and cons of pulling bulls during/after the breeding season. Dr. Phillip Lancaster continues this edition of Cattle Chat by relaying all the known information about Leaky gut – a new and peculiar disease to cattle production. BCI student LuisFeitoza closes out the episode by talking with Dr. Brad White and Dr. Brian Lubbers about the capabilities of modern ultrasound machines in veterinary medicine. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the episode!
2:19 Removing Bulls: How to keep a tight calving window while adding value to cull cows
7:15 Leaky Gut: What it is, why it occurs, how it affects cattle, physical symptoms and prevention
15:12 Ultrasonography: capabilities, weaknesses and scenarios
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on Twitter at @The_BCI, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
Over the last couple of years, artificial intelligence and machine learning have become a part of daily life for most people. From self-driving cars to chatbots, they can be seen all around society – even in veterinary medicine. In this edition of Herd Health: a Bovine Science with BCI podcast, Dr. Bob Larson and Dr. Brad White discuss AI’s role in diagnosing diseases now and in the future. Thanks for listening and enjoy the show!
