Getting a hold of us: If phones are working like we expect, you should only need one number for us. 419-925-6212 is answered by staff, usually Jill, during the day and goes direct to the doctor on call when the office is closed. Jill does the ordering and schedules most farm calls. Put 419-925-6212 in your phone as our primary contact. Texting or calling an individual doctor is okay if the phone doesn't work right, but they may not be working or are on a long call that they can't respond quickly.
 

Dairy Producer's Banquet is Thursday, Dec 5 Knight's Hall, Maria Stein (Across from the Posrt Office. Booths open at 930. Don't miss the morning! Dr. Bill Wavrin "Organizing Milk Harvest - Producer Perspective on Infrastructure and HR." "What to Expect from Your Future Vet" Dr Barb Peterson "Bovine Influenza in the rear view mirror and practical biosecurity."Jason Hartschuh, "Identifying Mold and Mycotoxin Issues in Dairy Cattle".
 

AABP in Columbus Drs Buatois, Hardesty, and Lefeld were able to attend the centerpiece of educational meetings for Bovine Practitioners. Dr. Hardesty attended the Veterinary Practice Sustainability Committee meeting where he was appointed chairman. He also was invited to meet with the OSU Veterinary College Dean to discuss practitioner's expectations of the college.

There is a large exhibit hall showcasing what is new in our profession and these developments can be discussed from a scientific and economic standpoint. The Conference theme was "Challenging the Norm." The Keynote speaker was Shawn Baker, MD originator of the carnivore diet presenting "Benefits of Animal -based Diets."

 

 Sessions included Practice Management, Welfare, Practice Tips, Clinical Skills, Research Summaries, Dairy including Transport of Young Calves, Post Day 1 Colostrum Feeding, Low Stress Handling Milking Fresh Heifers, Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis, and New Concepts of Feeding Colostrum, Novel Barn Design, Cull Rates and Farm Economics, The Perfect Time to Breed Heifers, and Mechanical Cooling for Dry Cows, Heifers, and Preweaned Calves. Dr. Hardesty attended a dinner by Elanco announcing Pradalex, a third generation antibiotic in the Baytril family that well be available in January. He also spent an hour talking with a doctor from a large dairy practice in Colorado. He said every herd has influenza and the department of Ag is requiring weekly bulk tank testing to monitor spread. Michigan and Idaho are the other hotspots. Wisconsin has never had a case. We'll see if that changes after World Dairy Expo. Shows were cancelled in Michigan.

Fans for Winter We think of fans for cooling, but we have learned there is great advantages to bringing fresh air in from the outside through a tube. These come with some maintenance. Is there an alternative? Yes, we are now seeing variable speed fans that can be used to cool in the summer, then be dialed back to circulate air in fall through winter. They may not be as good as a tube because they recirculate the stale air that is in the building, but they reduce stagnant air that harbors respiratory organisms. One challenge is to not create drafts, which occur at 7 mph for calves. Measuring some of these fans, they have all been less than 7 mph. We can check these out further if you want. Now is the time to get winter ventilation right before you really need it.

 

 USDA Rule Veterinarians are encouraged to review the USDA Animal Disease Traceability Rule (ADT) to ensure that clients are prepared to comply with the updated regulations which will be implemented on November 5, 2024. All official ear tags sold for or applied to cattle and bison must be readable both visually and electronically. The current ADT rule covers all sexually intact cattle and bison 18 months of age or older (which excludes most feeder cattle), all dairy cattle of any age,

Carnivore Diet Red Meat can Cure You In the words of Dr. Shawn Baker "Red meat has been demonized since 1917 by bad science and really bad science". Evidence Based Medicine wasn't really practiced in human nutrition until 1990. Before that, much of nutrition research adhered to first principles that were commonly accepted. An example of first principles is when testosterone was prescribed for erectile dysfunction. Evidence based medicine showed that carnitine in steak was more effective treating ED than testosterone. The carnivore diet mitigates several diseases and can be therapeutic intervention for 3 to 6 months. There are people that try to sell the public that plant based is healthy. This is not supported by evidence based medicine.
 

Antimicrobial Stewardship An OSU study of farms showed that farm worker training needs to be a focus as these are the people that commonly make treatment decisions. The study evaluated treatment based on Animal Daily Doses per 1000 cow days.  With an average of 15.8 with Ohio at 15.2 and California 8.2. When worker training was instituted, treatments went from 13.6 to 10.8 per 1000 cow days. Cull rates were not reported, but we would expect no change.

 

Health of Surplus Calves at Calf Dealers Ohio State researchers found 60% of the calves go through auctions. Evaluating the comingled calves, 19% had failure of passive transfer and 100% were salmonella positive. 70% were dehydrated and 26% had navel issues. These numbers fluctuate with the value of the bull calves with Jersey calves always having the most issues and current calves having less issues. When conditions were reported back to the source dairies, dehydration decreased, but failure of passive transfer and navel infections did not change. It was common that bulls received less colostrums and it was later than heifer calves. Navel dipping was also neglect on many farms on bull calves. Many farms treated bull calves the same as heifers.

Is Fall a Burnout Time? It can be, but you can break through it. Yes, workload is increased with harvest, manure, fall seeding, and tillage. The uncertainty of the weather makes flexibility a must, but planning has to be pretty fluid. Is the increased workload too much? If so, is there more dependable, at least part time help available? Many farms have a lot of folks show up to drive tractors. Keep a focus on your purpose and it makes the work worthwhile. Take breaks when you can to keep life balanced with your people. After the first rainy day or two of putting equipment back together, take some family time. Maintain your connectiveness with family but also with other farms going through the same issues. This can increase your impact. Relationships may be more important than another load harvested.
 

I hear grown people say that kids have changed. Kids haven't changed. Kids don't know anything about anything. We've changed as adults. We demand less of kids. We make their life easier instead of preparing them for what life is all about. We're the ones that have changed. True or not? Worth thinking about.