Agricultural News
BRD - A Complex and Deadly Blow for Cattle Producers
Tue, 09 Jun 2015 14:33:44 CDT
A disease that has been around for generations. A disease that some cattle producers say it's getting tougher to deal with, is Bovine Respiratory Disease or BRD. Bayer Animal Health Senior Technical Services Veterinarian Dr. Larry Hawkins said this is the toughest ongoing challenge producers deal with.
"Over 65 percent of the treatments given in the cattle industry are because of respiratory disease in cattle," Hawkins said.
BRD is a complex disease that combines virus', bacteria and stress . Hawkins said it's the number one disease for the cattle industry that causes a lot of economic losses and emotional impact to cattlemen.
"They do, it's their livelihood, it's their business, they're animal caretakers," Hawkins said. "They take it as a personal attack when their cattle get sick. They think they've done the best they can possibly do as far as vaccines, as far as purchasing the best cattle that they came up in many cases. Then those animals get sick, they want to provide for them in the best manner. So they treat them, they use the best antibiotics and still sometimes they are not as successful as they would like to be. Again, bovine respiratory disease is the number one killer of calves today in the beef industry."
Dr. Hawkins said it's important that cattle producers understand that prevention of BRD begins with good cattle management. He said good nutrition plays a big role in helping cattle recover from long hauls.
"A ten hour truck ride today seems like a pretty short haul to some producers," he said. "They can be over 24 hours on a truck. So when those cattle arrive, if they've got a place for them to lay down that's dry and clean, some good long-stem hay for them to eat and a ration that their nutritional staff may have put together ready for them, good clean water, a clean water tank, that's the beginning right there."
Radio Oklahoma Network Farm Director Ron Hays featured Hawkins on the Beef Buzz feature. Click or tap on the LISTEN BAR below to listen to today's Beef Buzz.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show- and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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