Farmers need to take care when taking care of their cows.
That’s the message Dr. Julia Herman, beef cattle specialist veterinarian for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, wants farmers to take to heart.
Products are only as good as how they’re handled, and proper practices for processing cattle include maximizing the efficacy of medicines and their application.
Below are some tips Herman shared with producers.
- Make sure you’ve established a VCPR.
“Your veterinarian is your key to establishing vaccination, reproduction and treatment protocols for your herd,” said Herman. “They help you set up your health plan, your biosecurity plan and your nutrition plan.”
As of June 2023, a valid Veterinarian Client Patient Relationship (VCPR) is required for the purchase of prescription products under the FDA’s Guidance for Industry (GFI) #263.
- Keep both your humans and animals safe.
“It’s common sense, but all animals should be properly restrained before you approach them with sharp objects. It’s easy to get your hands pinched when working a chute, so your farmers should always wear gloves that offer protection to their hands but allow them the dexterity they’ll need to do the job. And neck access is very important. Your chute has to allow you access to the BQA triangle.”
The Beef Quality Assurance Triangle creates a “safe zone” for delivering injection into the cow’s neck. This zone exists below the nuchal ligament, above the spinal column and in front of the shoulder.
“Of course, you want to avoid hitting the spinal column and doing any damage there,” Herman explained. “But you also want to avoid the nuchal ligament because ligaments have no blood supply – they won’t absorb the injections. It just won’t work. And since there are a lot of good cuts to be had in the shoulder, you don’t want to spoil them with injection-caused lesions. And remember, there are two sides of the neck! You might have to give five injections, but you don’t have to give them all on one side. Switch it up!”
Dr. Julia Herman is the beef cattle specialist veterinarian for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Photo courtesy of Julia Herman
- Keep it cool.
Vaccines need to be refrigerated and away from sunlight, and so do dewormers. “I’ve spoken with farmers who’ve left their dewormers tied to the chute for three months in the summer. Don’t do that if you want it to work in the fall,” Herman said.
Farmers should typically refrigerate cold products at temperatures between 35º and 45º F. Non-refrigerated products should be kept below 70º.
“If you put your antibiotic on the dashboard of your pickup in the middle of the summer, you’re negatively affecting its efficacy. Don’t do that,” Herman said. She also recommended buying products from a reputable vendor, one that maintains the “cold chain” of the products so that they are undamaged when they get into the farmer’s hands.
- Read the label.
“Read the label, read the label, read the label!” emphasized Herman. It’s important that farmers are aware of any residue warnings. There are certain treatments that, once administered, leave the cattle unfit to be slaughtered for human consumption for 28 days. Other treatments disqualify the milk taken from those cattle for use as food for 96 hours.
“You also need to make sure that the products you’re using are for the right class of cattle. A lot of our lactating dairy cattle can’t get the same medications as our beef cattle. So I’ll say it yet again: Read the label!”
- Work all the angles.
Use the right injection technique for each treatment. “Some products are delivered subcutaneously, so the injection should be going in at a 45º angle so that it’s absorbed by the fatty tissue,” Herman explained. “Other medications have to be delivered intramuscularly, so a direct 90º angle is needed to make sure the delivery goes all the way into the muscle tissue.”
The BQA program offers online training for cattle care. Check it out at bqa.org/beef-quality-assurance-certification/online-certifications.
by Enrico Villamaino
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