The Beef Cattle Health and Nutrition Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

 Dr. Colin Palmer, one of our reproductive specialist veterinarians from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine here at the University of Saskatchewan  joins the podcast again this week to discuss the important topic of subfertility in beef bulls.  Today we focus on the parts of the breeding soundness exam that greatly impact fertility - scrotal circumference and semen morphology.  Dr. Palmer describes some of the most common sperm defects and why they occur.

00:00 –Welcome and introductions

01:05 – Importance of body condition score in bulls

03:16 – Scrotal circumference and it’s impact on fertility

10:02 – Identifying testicular and scrotal problems

16:05 –  Accessory sex glands and seminal vesiculitis

18:45  – Evaluating the semen sample

21:55 – Abnormal sperm morphology – why does it occur?

24:12 – Common sperm morphology abnormalities – Distal midpiece reflexes and proximal droplets

32:00 – What does the term “Rusty load” mean in terms of sperm defects?

35:05 – Genetic sperm abnormalities

37:12 – Why is 70% normal sperm considered acceptable?

40:21 – Summary and wrap up

Dr. Colin Palmer, one of our reproductive specialist veterinarians from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine here at the University of Saskatchewan  joins the podcast to discuss the important topic of subfertility in beef bulls.  Why do we need to perform bull breeding soundness exams? What are the implications of various factors such as lameness and other physical problems on bull fertility?  These are just some of the topics we discuss in this first part of a two part episode.

00:00 –Welcome and introductions

03:54 – Importance of herd fertility in cow-calf operations and factors that affect it

10:45 – Value of a limited breeding season

14:22 – Subfertility vs Infertility

16:08 – Importance of the breeding soundness examination of the bull

19:21 – Meaning of the various classification categories

27:22 – Impact of lameness on bull fertility

31:06 – Other factors that may affect fertility that can be identified in physical examination

34:23 – Summary and Wrap-up

This week I'm presenting another case from the files of our Disease Investigation Unit.  This case has particular relevance to those producers that have been dealing with drought conditions over the last year.  The case focuses on a cow-calf herd that has calves affected with neurological signs and blindness at birth.

00 - Introduction
1:36 - Herd background and presenting complaint
3:43 - Post mortem findings and lab results
4:40 - Details of on farm visit and continued cases
10:24 - Presumptive Diagnosis of Vitamin A Deficiency
12:54 - Other research results on impacts of low Vitamin A in calves and cows
13:52 - Concluding remarks on Vitamin A testing and supplementation

Links to BCRC Webinar Series:  https://www.beefresearch.ca/webinars/

Dr. Andy Acton joins me this week in the podcast to discuss the impacts, treatment and prevention of coccidiosis in cow-calf herds.  Dr. Acton is a veterinarian and owner of a mixed practice in Ogema, Saskatchewan with lots of practical experience in working with cow-calf herds.  He is the 2022 recipient of the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners Veterinarian of the Year Award.  Andy recently sent me a message about a nervous coccidiosis case he dealt with and we begin the podcast with a brief discussion about nervous coccidiosis before moving on to discuss the more common presentation in calves which manifests as a bloody diarrhea.

Dr. Zach Johnson joins me to discuss an infertility case that he investigated a few years ago.   Dr. Johnson is the current president of the Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association and he is a veterinarian who owns a rural practice in Melville, Saskatchewan.  Zach has led  a number of these types of infertility investigations and we discuss the challenges with sorting out the cause of an infertility problem and the various diagnostics that might be used.

00:00 – 2:20   Welcome and Introductions 

02:21 – 04:17   Infertility case history

04:18 – 5:58 The challenges associated with investigating infertility problems

05:59 – 07:40   What diagnostics did we do?

07:41 – 09:32   Neospora caninum as a cause of abortion or infertility

09:33 – 11:45   IBR and BVD, Leptospira, Trich and Campylobacter

11:46 - 18:27 Discussing the diagnosis – Copper deficiency

18:28 – 19:43   What was recommended for the herd

19:44 - 21:33   The value of pregnancy checking the herd

21:34 – 22:35 Wrap up

Barry Yaremcio is a nutritionist from Camrose, Alberta who provides nutrition and management consulting to beef producers.  Barry spent years working as a nutritionist with Alberta Agriculture and has a wealth of practical experience.  He is joining the podcast to discuss the challenges associated with drought and to discuss the important things to focus on when trying to stretch your feed supplies when forage may be limited.  Here is a link to Barry's website where you can read his blog and learn more about his consulting services.  https://www.beefconsultant.com/

00:00 – 1:25   Welcome and Introductions 

01:26 – 05:09   Importance of maintaining body condition

05:10 - 07:28 Correcting less than ideal body condition scores

07:29 - 09:16   Drought impacts on feed quality

09:17 - 13:42   Importance of feed testing, bale weights and cow weights when feed is limited

13:43 – 24:44   Using alternative feeds that might be used to stretch supplies -Kochia, Green Feed, Screening pellets, Distillers grains, Canola regrowth, Cocktail mixes for grazing

24:45- 27:33 Rules of thumb for feeding straw

27:34 – 29:29 Dealing with tight feed supplies

29:30 – 30:55 Wrap up

Dr. Chris Clark is my guest this week.  Dr. Clark is an internal medicine clinician in large animals who also serves as the Associate Dean at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine.  We have a short conversation on the agriculturally focused seats at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and then take a deep dive into some of the causes of sudden death in cattle.  We also discuss the importance of getting a post-mortem diagnosis when deaths do occur in your herd.

00:00 – 1:25   Welcome and Introductions 

01:26 – 06:04   Agriculturally focused seats at WCVM

06:05- 08:23  Definition of Sudden death

08:24 -  13:42  Infectious causes of Sudden death in cattle – Clostridial Diseases(Blackleg)

13:43 -  23:33  Infectious causes of Sudden death in cattle – Anthrax

23:34 – 28:04  Traumatic causes of sudden death (Lightning)

28:05 – 34:27  Nutritional causes of sudden death (Bloat)

34:28 – 36:25  Other nutritional causes of sudden death (Lead toxicity, Blue green algae, white muscle disease, monensin toxicity, water deprivation, magnesium deficiency)

36:26 - 38:25  White muscle disease

38:26 – 41:45 The importance of a post-mortem diagnosis

41:46 - 42:30 Wrap up

Dr. Emily Snyder returns as a guest expert on the podcast to answer a listener question.  What are the best practices to follow when introducing animals to your herd?  It's an important aspect of biosecurity and Dr. Snyder gives us some of the diseases we worry about and what we can do to mitigate the risks.

00:00 – 1:54   Welcome and Introductions 

2:01 – 3:13   What do we mean by the term biosecurity?

3:14 – 5:01   The importance of source of incoming animals

5:02 –   6:57 Diseases of concern when purchasing new animals

6:58 – 9:17 Johne’s Disease

9:18 – 14:26 Salmonella dublin

14:27 – 17:30 Bovine Viral Diarrhea

17:31 – 19:32   Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis Virus

19:33 -  21:35  Timing of introduction and impact on calf scours and BRD

21:36 - 23:14   Minimizing stress for the incoming animals

23:15 -  25:00 Wrap up

Jayce Fossen recently completed his Masters degree at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine focused on antimicrobial usage in Canadian cow-calf herds.  Jayce joins me to discuss his results as well as a pitch for recruiting new herds for the Canadian Cow-Calf Health and Productivity Enhancement Network.
If you have a cow-calf herd that meets the criteria mentioned in the podcast, and are interested in participating in this new study, contact Jayce at 306-966-7870 or via email at C3H.PEN@usask.ca

Link to BCRC website on antimicrobial use and resistance: https://www.beefresearch.ca/topics/antibiotic-resistance/

00:00 – 1:22   Welcome and Introductions 

1:23 – 3:37   Why do we need to study antimicrobial use in cow-calf herds?

3:38 – 5:10 Description of herds that were followed in the study

5:11 –   7:01 Most common reasons for antimicrobial use

7:02 – 8:17 Proportions of animals being treated

8:18 – 12:22 Classification of antimicrobials based on importance for human health

12:23 – 14:53   Reasons for higher treatment numbers and mass medication

14:54 – 20:52   Antimicrobials and remote drug delivery

20:53 – 23:26   Differences between Eastern and Western Canadian herds

23:27- 26:00   General principles of wise antimicrobial stewardship

26:01 -  30:54  The Canadian Cow-Calf Health and Productivity Enhancement Network

30:55 – 31:54  Wrap up 

In this episode, I recorded a presentation by Dr. Anatoliy Trokhymchuk at the annual field day of the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence at the University of Saskatchewan.  Anatoliy is a veterinarian and epidemiologist who serves as the Chief Scientific Officer at our local veterinary diagnostic laboratory (Prairie Diagnostic Services).  Anatoliy will describe some of the new technology that may make it possible to learn what bacteria or viruses are present in a swab in a much faster manner than traditional laboratory techniques.  New technology might make it possible to perform DNA fingerprinting for bacteria and viruses on the farm or at your local veterinary clinic rather than sending the sample into the diagnostic lab and waiting 5-7 business days for an answer to come back.