Vaccinated and Ready To Go!

Properly preparing pre-weaned calves for respiratory challenges influences consumer acceptance of the final product.

It’s no secret that preconditioning can reduce the occurrence of respiratory disease and, in turn, increase the productivity of beef calves. In some cases, preconditioning calves can result in price premiums to the producer. And, continuing research shows that healthy cattle yield higher quality beef – something from which everyone in the beef supply chain can reap benefits.

However, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), only about two-thirds of the nation’s beef calves receive pre-weaning disease prevention vaccinations. Deeper data from NAHMS surveys around the country shows that only about 25% of beef cattle producers nationwide vaccinate for bovine respiratory disease complex (BRD) pathogens common to U.S. cattle herds.

The facts of the matter

BRD, or shipping fever, accounts for a significant portion of cattle/calf losses in the beef industry. In fact BRD is the most common disease among feedlot cattle in the United States, accounting for approximately 75% of feedlot morbidity and 50-70% of all feedlot deaths. BRD causes from $800 to $900 million annually in economic losses from death, reduced feed efficiency, and antimicrobial treatment costs, according to research led by Clint Krehbiel, Oklahoma State University (OSU).

This disease complex is manifested as one entity – bronchopneumonia, says Charlie Stoltenow, Extension Veterinarian, North Dakota State University. Yet, it can be caused by a variety of factors that interact to cause the severe respiratory distress and death rates reported from across the country.

BRD in beef calves is called shipping fever because the greatest incidence of bronchopneumonia occurs after shipment from ranches and backgrounding operations to stocker pastures or feedlots.

“The main cause of BRD illness in calves is the tremendous exposure to infectious agents, along with stress associated with weaning, commingling, and transportation,” Stoltenow says. “Onset of BRD can be quite dramatic and rapid. Discovery of dead cattle and a high percentage of animals exhibiting depression and other signs of illness are not uncommon.”

Prevention of BRD requires proper planning and careful attention to herd-health management. Stoltenow says risks of BRD outbreaks can be reduced by:

• Developing a proper pre-weaning vaccination procedure. This means vaccinating two to three weeks prior to weaning, followed by booster vaccinations at weaning.
• Purchasing source-verified cattle from herds with a known health history.
• Weaning cattle and acclimating them to eating from a feed bunk prior to shipment.
• Reducing stresses related to shipping and handling cattle.
• Eliminating commingling of cattle from various sources at weaning and shipment.
• Observing freshly weaned calves or new arrivals at the lot several times daily, and watching cattle closely for signs of sickness.
• Isolating sick cattle in a separate pen.
• Developing a sound nutritional program for incoming cattle which ensures that cattle adapt easily to eating from a feed bunk. Poor nutrition can compromise the animal's ability to fight disease.

Putting it together

Donald Reif, DVM, Clayton Veterinary Clinic, Clayton, N.M., puts disease management practices like these to work every time he’s faced with a BRD occurrence. “Dr. Reif is an enthusiastic and long-time believer in AgriLabs' Titanium 5 and readily uses Pulmo-guard PHM-1,” relays Timothy Winter, Reif’s AgriLabs representative who oversees business in New Mexico and the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles.

The Titanium 5 is used as an aid in the prevention of disease caused by bovine rhinotracheitis virus (IBR), bovine virus diarrhea virus, Type I and Type II (BVD), parainfluenza3 virus (PI3), and respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV). And the Pulmo-guard PHM-1 aids in the prevention of respiratory disease caused by Mannheimia haemolytica and Pasteurella multocida.

Winter reports, “Dr. Reif believes so strongly in these vaccines that he’d like to see a combination of Titanium/Pulmo-guard PHM in one product.”

Tripp Townsend, Earth, Texas, is a third-generation rancher who owns and manages Sandhill Cattle Company, a feedlot operation that specializes in pre-conditioning cattle to return to grass and wheat pastures.

Townsend hangs his hat on Titanium 5 in fighting respiratory diseases and he uses Titanium IBR in his continuing battle with IBR. Commonly known as rednose, IBR is caused by bovine herpesvirus -1 (BHV-1), which produces a variety of disease syndromes most commonly affecting the upper respiratory tract and the reproductive system.

“We use Titanium products on the recommendation of our consulting veterinarian who is a firm believer in the Titanium line of products,” Townsend says. “We get a lot of high-risk cattle coming from sale barns all over this part of the country and the Titanium products do a great job for us.

”He adds that a well-rounded vaccination program including Titanium 5 will prepare the immune system for the IBR disease challenge that is nearly certain to take place at some point in the animal’s life. Titanium 5 contains a modified live strain of IBR that stimulates the production of antibody which “floods” into the area of infection and neutralizes the invading wild IBR strain.

Townsend is adamant that he “absolutely” receives a return on the investment he puts into his vaccination regime. “The bottom line is that our cattle gain better when we use these products – and the more our cattle gain, the happier the customer is on the other end of the deal,” he says.

 Beef is the bottom line

“Immune response and morbidity issues relative to cattle growth and carcass quality affect every level of the beef industry, from the producer to the packer, all the way to the consumer as end-user,” remarks OSU’s Krehbiel. “In other words, health issues on the farm or at the feedlot can have a direct relationship on the product purchased in the store. Everybody in the food chain loses dollar value.”

Relatively recent research conducted by Krehbiel and his collaborators shows cattle that have three or more bouts of disease produce lower-quality meat.

“As the number of antimicrobial treatments increased, average daily gain in the background phase decreased, cost-per-unit increased, and net returns declined,” Krehbiel explains. “Moreover, marbling scores, color stability, and overall acceptance of the final beef product by consumers decreased as the number of antimicrobial treatments increased.

” Krehbiel further reports, “Increased days on feed, lower final body weight, and lower carcass value resulted in an $11.36 loss in income for every time an animal was treated. Therefore, decreasing the average number of times an animal is treated for BRD by one treatment would result in a nearly $9 million savings to feedlot cattle producers in Oklahoma alone.”

Few studies have documented the economic effect of BRD from incidence of the disease through harvest, and especially the impact of BRD on acceptability of the final product as determined by consumers.

“Demand for higher-quality products and an increase in value-based marketing highlight the importance of research aimed at increasing beef producers’ awareness of health management practices that have the potential to increase profitability and beef product quality,” adds Ron Kensinger, head of OSU’s Department of Animal Science.

“Many of our complex problems in animal agriculture today require interdisciplinary teams to develop creative solutions,” he says. Kensinger emphasizes that “creative solutions” to beef-cattle health management can improve reproduction efficiency, advance quality assurance programs, and help beef producers maximize their profit potential in sustainable ways.