“Calfhood Vaccination”
by Chris Reinhardt, feedlot specialist
There are many things that we do in the beef industry that we can be proud of that we continually improve upon. However, there are a handful of practices that can still be made better. One of these is improving immunity prior to shipment to the feedlot.
Respiratory disease continues to be the costliest disease in the beef industry. The costs of medication, lost performance, unrealized quality grade, and mortality drain the industry of resources which could be invested elsewhere.
One practice which has repeatedly demonstrated success at reducing disease is vaccinating calves prior to weaning. This practice has shown value in research studies as well as commercial production situations.
Studies have shown that whether you vaccinate at branding time or shortly before weaning, calves have reduced incidence of respiratory disease. Debate still exists as to the value of and ideal length of a pre-shipment weaning period. However, little question exists that calves which are vaccinated for respiratory pathogens prior to exposure to the numerous, intense, unpredictable stressors of the weaning, marketing, and transportation process are much better prepared to defend themselves against respiratory disease.
It’s time to get busy. Ranchers should be developing a plan to vaccinate their calves. This can be done either at weaning time (at 2-3 months of age), when many ranchers castrate, dehorn, and/or implant their calves already, or shortly (2-3 weeks) before weaning. Many ranchers give a clostridial vaccine at branding time but have been told a respiratory viral vaccine does no good—this is not accurate. Pre-weaning vaccination adds real performance potential to calves, and ranchers do not need to look very long to find buyers or special sales which will pay a premium for healthier, better performing calves. But ranchers DO need to seek and find that value-added outlet, instead of going to the labor and expense of vaccinating and then marketing through a commodity sale.
The beef industry has made great strides in performance and genetics; however, there is still room for improvement in disease prevention and health management. Healthy calves perform better, have higher and more predictable quality grade, and require less labor and logistics to manage at the feedlot. Commercial feedyards are paying premiums for these calves to capture these efficiencies. It is time NOW to develop your vaccination plan, find a value-added market, help make the beef industry better, and get paid for it in the process.
