290 likes | 387 Views
Livestock Production in the North: The Producer-Veterinarian Relationship. A good Producer-Veterinarian r elationship? Its about the efficient production of farm animals. What do we call it? Herd Health Preventive Medicine Program Production Medicine Health Management
E N D
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:
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 Rates Just weighing your animals is not enough! 2009
Muskox Calf Growth Rates Just weighing your animals is not enough! 2012 2009
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.
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? • Is it on the farm? • Dose • Environmental Hardiness • Virulence & Infectivity (microbes) • Toxicity (poisons) Agent Factors Husbandry & Management • Immunity • Age • Gender • Genetics • Behavior • Production status • Reproduction • Density • Housing • Nutrition • Temperature • Wind • Precipitation • Humidity Host Factors Environmental Factors
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 publicwith 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.