A survey of recommended practices made by veterinary practitioners to cow-calf operations in the United States and Canada

Abstract

Practicing veterinarians (n = 148) who service commercial beef cow-calf herds responded to a survey describing general recommendations made to their clients in terms of vaccine protocol, health, and production practices. Responding veterinarians represented 35 states in the United States and 3 provinces in Canada. More than 50% of responding veterinarians devote over 50% of their practice to service commercial cow-calf producers. The largest group (33%) of veterinarians have been in practice for over 30 yr. Thirty-nine percent of responding veterinarians serviced more than 10,000 cows. Genetic advice is provided by 54% of practicing veterinarians. When vaccinating at branding, the most common recommended vaccines are clostridial (96%), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR; 94%), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV; 91%), parainfluenza-3 (PI-3; 90%), and bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) Types 1 and 2 (78 and 77%, respectively). When vaccinating before weaning, the most common recommended vaccines are IBR (99%), BRSV (98%), BVD Types 1 and 2 (96%), PI-3 (93%), clostridial (77%), and Mannheimia haemolytica (77%). When vaccinating after weaning, the most common recommended vaccines are BVD Type 2 (97%), IBR (97%), BVD Type 1 (96%), BRSV (96%), and PI-3 (91%). Over 60% of responding veterinarians recommended that the last preventative vaccine should be administered to cattle 7 to 21 d before shipping. The largest number of respondents (38%) recommended that the earliest age their clients should wean their calves is 90 to 120 d. Castrating bull calves at an age of 0 to 7 d was recommended by 34% of respondents. Calf nutrition is considered as extremely important during a preconditioning program by 82% of responding veterinarians.

Vaccination Management of Beef Cattle

“…14 As calf age increased (ie, preweaning vs postweaning), there was a slight increase in the percentage of veterinarians who recommended MLV vaccines versus killed virus vaccines (93% and 7%, respectively). 14 Although the preceding information is consistent with other vaccine recommendations 18 and reports, [19][20][21] where most veterinarians recommended routine administration of respiratory vaccines to beef calves, the USDA reported 9 that 60.6% of beef cow-calf operations (accounting for 30% of the US cattle population) did not vaccinate calves for respiratory disease from birth until the time they were sold. This discrepancy between veterinarian recommendation and producer implementation is concerning, given that 99% of veterinarians in the United States and Canada recommend some type of vaccination protocol at the cow-calf level of production.…”

“…Beef cow-calf operations and feedlots across North America are frequently provided vaccine recommendations from veterinary practitioners or other sources; however, a scarcity of literature exists that summarizes and reports these recommendations at the cow-calf level. 14 In contrast, several publications exist that describe recommendations and practices for vaccination and health management at the feedlot level. 12,15,16 Results from a US Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service survey 17 indicated that although vaccinating cattle is a relatively common practice in the cow-calf sector, it is not universally adopted, which leaves a significant portion of the US beef cattle population susceptible to numerous preventable diseases.…”

“…Only 68.9% of cow-calf operations vaccinated cattle for any disease in 2007, 17 which is in sharp contrast to a 2016 survey of veterinary practitioners indicating that 93% of cow-calf operations in the United State have a vaccination plan in place for cattle. 14 It is possible that recommendations and/or adoption of vaccination protocols changed over the 9-year lapse between surveys; however, it is more likely that a discrepancy between veterinarian recommendations of vaccination and implementation by beef cow-calf operations exists. This is further supported by a survey indicating that only 39% of all beef operations vaccinated calves against respiratory disease before sale, 9 despite the overwhelming recommendation of veterinarians to vaccinate calves against BRD pathogens during the cow-calf production phase.…”

“…There are 3 distinct times in the cow-calf sector when veterinarians recommend initial vaccinations: at branding, before weaning, and after weaning. According to a survey, 14 the most common vaccine antigens recommended for calves vaccinated at branding were clostridial (96%), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (IBRV; 94%), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV; 91%), parainfluenza-3 virus (PI-3V; 90%), and bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) Type 1 and 2 (78% and 77%, respectively). Eighty percent of veterinarians recommended MLV vaccines at this time, with 12% of veterinarians recommending killed virus vaccines at branding.…”

“…This discrepancy between veterinarian recommendation and producer implementation is concerning, given that 99% of veterinarians in the United States and Canada recommend some type of vaccination protocol at the cow-calf level of production. 14 For the feedlot sector, however, there is a stark contrast in respiratory vaccine use, as administration of a multivalent respiratory vaccine during initial feedlot processing is nearly 100%. 12 Furthermore, consulting feedlot veterinarians revealed that they unanimously recommend respiratory vaccination during initial processing of cattle considered high risk.…”