Reading Time: 3 minutes Just how big a risk is transportation for BRD in calves? It’s not an easy question to answer, because one of the biggest risk factors is stress, according to one Alberta researcher. Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein, a beef welfare scientist at Agriculture and Agri-food Lethbridge, was one of the lead researchers in a recently completed four-year study […] Read more

Rest stops appear to contribute to BRD in calves
Length of trip and origin of cattle may also play a role in disease-causing stress
ULethbridge and AAFC team up on bovine respiratory disease
Reading Time: < 1 minute Researchers in the University of Lethbridge’s Southern Alberta Genome Science Centre (SAGSC) and its bioinformatics core are collaborating with scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to find viable solutions to mitigate Bovine Respiratory Disease. They are working with other scientists to advance a genomic-based diagnostic pipeline for BRD, based on Alberta herd-specific pathogens, that will […] Read more

Calculating the bottom line on not vaccinating cows
Not vaccinating herds comes with a cost — these two calculators put a number on potential losses
Reading Time: 2 minutes (This article has been edited for length. The full version can be found in the BCRC Blog section at beefresearch.ca.) Vaccination is a proven tool for disease prevention, but in Western Canada, one in 10 producers surveyed are not vaccinating their cows for infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) and bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVD). As well, […] Read more

The benefits of vaccinating calves for BRD
Reading Time: 2 minutes Bovine respiratory disease is one of the costliest health issues facing the beef industry today. While BRD research has focused on the feedlot stage, the disease is also the most common cause of death for nursing calves older than three weeks. USDA research that tracked the annual incidence of BRD in pre-weaned calves over a 20-year period […] Read more

Here’s how to assess the risk when bringing in calves
Beef 911: Mingling animals, transport times, light weights, and even weather can be factors that increase the risk of BRD
Reading Time: 4 minutes There are many factors to consider when bringing in calves to feed in order to minimize BRD (bovine respiratory disease), which is still the No. 1 cause of morbidity and often mortality in our feedlots. Knowing the history of the calves regarding weaning time, distance transported, vaccination, and health history — as well as upcoming […] Read more

Nasal spray vaccine more effective against BRD than injection
Reading Time: < 1 minute Vaccines for bovine respiratory disease are more effective when administered via nasal spray than injection, according to a University of Saskatchewan study. Dr. Philip Griebel’s study found vaccines administered at branding (age three to six weeks) and at weaning (age six to seven months) were more effective when given via nasal spray. “Intranasal vaccination at […] Read more
High-tech feed monitoring can forecast BRD
Reading Time: < 1 minute Bovine fitness trackers aren’t the only attempt to use technology to spot early signs of illness in feedlot cattle. Most efforts are focused on detecting bovine respiratory disease (BRD), the most common (and costly) illness affecting beef cattle and they’re borrowing a page from your mom’s handbook by asking, ‘Why are you poking at your […] Read more

Watch for newer respiratory pathogens
Beef 911: Corona virus and B. trehalosi bacteria aren’t always easy to spot
Reading Time: 3 minutes We have all heard of corona virus being one of the main causes of viral scours in our newborn calves. It and a couple of strains of rotavirus are the two main viruses we see in our scours vaccines. (It also causes a winter dysentery bloody diarrhea in mature cattle, especially housed dairy cattle in […] Read more

Everyone will benefit if calves are preconditioned, says vet
Preparing calves for the feedlot reduces antibiotic use and improves feed efficiency and animal health
Reading Time: 3 minutes While preconditioning your calves may not always put extra dollars in your pockets, it’s good for the health of the entire beef industry. That was the message from veterinarian Cody Creelman during a recent Beef Cattle Research Centre webinar. Preconditioning includes anything a producer does to a weaned calf that reduces shrink and chance of […] Read more

Antimicrobial resistance in cattle means big changes coming
Resistance crisis even has drug companies calling for producers to change their ways
Reading Time: 3 minutes Multi-drug resistance to disease-causing bacteria is quickly becoming a complete “game changer” that could cripple the cattle industry’s ability to manage common bovine diseases. “We are really slamming into the end of the antibiotic era,” said Dr. Trisha Dowling, a professor of veterinary pharmacology at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. “I’ve got 24 different […] Read more