Livestock Production in the North:The Producer-Veterinarian Relationship

A good Producer-Veterinarian relationship?Its about the efficient production of farm animals

• What do we call it?– Herd Health– Preventive Medicine Program– Production Medicine– Health Management– Health and Production Management

Objective of Herd Health Management

• Maintain animal health and production at the most efficient level that provides maximum economic returns to the animal owner

More Objectives• Comfortable animal housing

and good animal welfare.• Prevent disease introduction.• Prevent zoonotic disease.• Avoid contaminants and drug

residues.• Minimize pollution by animal

waste.• Be a good example to others.

Production Management• Keep it simple:– Regular veterinarian visits (1 or more per year)– Examine animals– Examine performance• Analysis of records• Animal identification

– Make recommendations– Involve other animal specialists

Who is this for?

• Basic Herd Health principles apply to all farms• How simple or complex the program depends

on the farm and the producer’s goals• 5 goats or 5000 milking cows

Requirements of an Effective Program

• Progressive Livestock Producer– Successful business people– Information-oriented– Good judgment – innovators– Knowledgeable– Producers who have not over-extended

themselves

Requirements of an Effective Program

• Progressive Livestock Producer– Program is based on producer’s decision-making

framework– What is economically feasible, workable, and

acceptable– Simplest record keeping system possible– Understand how best to use a veterinarian

Requirements of an Effective Program

• Ask yourself:– Do you care about your animals?– Do you pay attention?– Is there room to improve?

Requirements of an Effective Program• Enthusiastic and competent veterinarian• Knowledge and Skills in:– Veterinary Medicine– Animal Production– Production Economics– Systems Analysis– Information Management

Vaccinations and De-Worming Program?

• A vaccination and de-worming program alone does not make a herd health program!!

What to monitor?• Performance measures– What is important to make good decisions?

• Examples:Production Measure Concern

Reproductive failure rate >5%

Abortion Rate >2%

Stillbirth or dead within 24hrs >2%

Death between 24hrs old and weaning >3%

Calf-crop weaning % <85%

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Reproductive Failure Rate % of females exposed to a bull that failed to produce

What to monitor?

• More examples:– Weight gain and body condition scores– Quantifiable measure of your product• Pounds of milk produced• Dressed weight of your animals

• Most important:– Are you satisfied?

Muskox Calf Growth RatesJust weighing your animals is not enough!

2009

Muskox Calf Growth RatesJust weighing your animals is not enough!

2009 2012

Fundamental Truths

• Most health problems are tied to husbandry.– Nutrition!– Facilities– Reproductive management– Management of neonates– Density– Too many species– No biosecurity

Fundamental Truths• Regarding infectious

disease, more subclinical (silent) cases occur than clinical cases.

• The economic cost of subclinical disease exceeds that of clinical disease.

• Subclinical disease is considerably harder to detect and diagnose than is clinical disease.

Fundamental Truths

• Infectious disease problems cannot be controlled by focusing solely on clinically affected animals.

• New infectious agents often enter a herd and are unnoticed for some time before clinical disease occurs and a diagnosis is finally made.

Fundamental Truths

• Most diseases are bought and paid for!• When purchasing animals, the most important

information is honest, sound knowledge about the status of the herd of origin.

• Quarantine of purchased animals will not protect your herd against carriers of chronic disease.

Dead Animals?Why Not Learn Something!

Diagnostics

• Millions of causes and nobody can possibly know each and every one.

• Diagnostics is a process• All disease can be grouped in 6 categories:– Infectious– Chemical– Physical– Genetic– Metabolic– Nutritional

Why do animals get sick?

Agent Factors

Host Factors Environmental Factors

Why do animals get sick?

Agent Factors

Host Factors Environmental Factors

Husbandry & Management

• Is it on the farm?• Dose • Environmental Hardiness• Virulence & Infectivity

(microbes)• Toxicity (poisons)

•Immunity•Age•Gender•Genetics

•Behavior•Production status•Reproduction

• Density• Housing• Nutrition• Temperature• Wind

• Precipitation• Humidity

Alaskan Veterinary Issues• 70% of US Veterinarians are in companion

animal practice• Higher in Alaska!

Alaskan Veterinary Issues• Shortage of veterinarians trained or willing to

work with farm animals

Alaskan Veterinary Issues

• Veterinarians are needed in more than clinical practice – especially in Alaska!– Wildlife Management

– Food Safety and Security– Public Health– Environmental Health– Biomedical Research– Fisheries

Department of Veterinary MedicineUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks & Colorado State University

• Develop a Veterinary Medical program at UAF.• Get Alaskans involved in Alaska focused veterinary

medical education and research.• Enhance the veterinary profession in Alaska.• Engage the veterinary community and the public with

UAF.• Serve and support food and fiber production.• Promote and foster other specialties at UAF.• Offer continuing education and outreach programs.

One Health

• One Health is dedicated to improving the lives of all species—human and animal—through the integration of human medicine, veterinary medicine and environmental science.