Bovamine –ANIMART’s Solution to Increasing Feed Costs!

Posted on May 24, 2011 by kaylab

According to University studies, Bovamine can increase feed efficiency by up to 4.3%. Bovamine also helps with E Coli shedding and has a derived benefit to the overall health of the animal. This solution is Win-Win!

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ANIMART Product Profile: BioPRYN pregnancy testing

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Administrator

BioPRYN saves time and money and increases the safety and accuracy of pregnancy testing. ANIMART Sales Manager, Tom Klas, and Veterinarian, Dr. Richard Ernsberger, talk about the benefits of using BioPRYN pregnancy testing and how it works.

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Q: What can happen if I have a positive meat residue screening?

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Administrator

A: Not all carcass residue testing is random— some is mandatory.  If the inspector sees signs of mastitis, metritis, peritonitis/surgery, injection sites and/or pneumonia, that carcass will be further examined for positive meat residue results.

Unfortunately, there are certain consequences associated with the presence of drug residues at slaughter. The FDA may want to know:

  • Does the person have an idea how the contamination occurred?
  • Does the producer have a protocol in place?
  • What steps will be taken so this does not happen again?

That farm may go on one of two ongoing, public USDA lists:

Residue Violator Alert List— “Repeat violators” are individuals or firms who repeatedly (i.e., on more than one occasion within a 12-month period) sell an animal for slaughter in which the carcass is found to contain a violative level of a drug, pesticide or other chemical residue.

Same Source Supplier— This residue violator list has 3 parts. Part I contains residue violations for the current week, Part II has source violations recorded for the current week with prior violation(s) identified within the past year and Part III has source violations collected over a rolling 12-month window. (Definitions from www.fsis.usda.gov website)

Once on these lists, the FSIS (Food Safety Inspection Service) can test two or more animals per shipment until the tests for four consecutive, separate shipments from the supplier are negative.

When an animal is rejected by the FSIS, that information is passed on to the FDA. Consequences of FDA investigation can vary depending on the severity of the violation(s).  They can range from a warning letter and/or fine after inspection, to civil sanctions and/or criminal charges.

So be proactive:

  • Have written protocols
  • Follow label directions
  • Train employees
  • Keep good daily records
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Prevent Pinkeye in Your Herd This Season!

Posted on April 12, 2011 by kaylab

Although cattle can suffer from pinkeye during anytime of the year, vaccinating cattle 30 days prior to fly season is key to preventing pinkeye in your herd. Dr. Ernsberger, Professional Services Veterinarian and Tom Klas, Sales Manager talk about pinkeye prevention and fly control solutions for your herd!

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Q: What are some guidelines for good udder prep?

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Administrator

A: The goal of good udder prep is to give adequate teat stimulation to maximize oxytocin release for efficient milk let-down, speed and milk out.  The following are some general ideas to consider when putting together your udder prep protocol.

Strip—This step can be done before or after cows are dipped.  Mastitis can be detected by stripping each quarter. Milk should never be stripped into the hand because this spreads organisms from teat to teat and from cow to cow.  Milkers should always wear clean gloves while milking. Gloves can be cleaned periodically during milking by washing them with warm water and sanitizer.

Dip—Pre-dip should remain in contact with the teat for 20 to 30 seconds.    

Dry—Complete cleaning and drying with individual towels can reduce bacterial populations on teat surfaces by 75 percent.  Make sure the teat and the teat end are wiped clean and dry.  

Each towel should be laundered, sanitized and dried after each milking.  Washing teats without thorough drying leaves many organisms on the teats.  If teats are not dried, water which contains mastitis-causing organisms can drip down and be pulled into teat cups, exposing teat ends to bacteria.  Milking wet teats increases the chance of mastitis and reduces overall milk quality.

Apply—The ideal lag time from the start of udder stimulation to unit attachment is 60 seconds, with a maximum of two minutes.

Tips to remember:

  • Wear gloves during milking.
  • The contact time for dip should be 20 to 30 seconds.
  • Use clean and dry towels—The containers that the towels are stored in need to be clean as well.
  • Teat dip cups should be clean, when dip gets cloudy or contaminated with excess bedding or manure, discard the teat dip, clean the dip cup and refill with fresh dip.
  • The time from the start of udder prep to attachment of units should be between 60 and 120 seconds.
  • Have a consistent protocol that is posted for everyone to read and follow.
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Q: I think I have a good vaccination program for protection from BVD but what should I be doing to monitor and prevent introducing a BVD-PI into my herd?

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Administrator

A: A solid vaccine program is significant for protection against BVD.  An immunized animal has a better chance of not forming a PI than a non-vaccinated animal.

 An idea for a surveillance program would be:

Step 1: Survey presence of BVD in your milking herd by checking the bulk tank milk quarterly.  Running the bulk tank test every few months will ensure the testing of all cows (i.e., some may be dry at the time of testing) and will monitor the introduction of either newly purchased animals and/or new heifers to the milking line.

Step 2: If the bulk tank is positive, break down the herd in groups by string sampling to determine which group(s) has a positive.  Then, at some point individual cows need to be tested using either an individual ear notch, serum or milk sample.

Step 3: Continue surveillance by testing all:

  • Newborn calves (heifers and bulls, and aborted, stillborn or dying calves)
  • Purchased animals
  • Clean-up bulls

 Now, if an ear notch comes back positive: 

  • The animal should be isolated if possible (a minimum of ten feet and with separate access to water and feed).
  • A confirmatory sample should be taken from the PI positive animal three weeks after the original test.  If the test is positive again, that animal is a BVD-PI.  If the test is negative, that animal was acutely exposed to the BVD virus.
  • The PI animal needs to be eliminated from the herd. Once a PI animal, always a PI animal.  PI animals should be humanely euthanized.
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Learn about ANIMART’s BVD Control Plan

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Administrator

ANIMART Sales Manager, Tom Klas, sits down with Dr. Richard Ernsberger to talk about the importance of testing for BVD in your dairy herd.

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Q. I have heard about some milk sampling program by the FDA, what does that mean to me? Is this different from the drug testing they already run on my milk?

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Administrator

A. Presently, the PMO (Pasteurized Milk Ordinance) requires bulk tank pick-ups to be tested for beta-lactam drugs.  Beginning mid January and going through at least September 2011 the FDA-CVM (Center for Veterinary Medicine) will begin their national program to sample for drug residues in milk.  The target includes farms that had a tissue residue violation in the past three years.  From a list of over 1500 dairies that have had a residue issue in the past three years, they plan to visit almost 900 dairies.  Their goal is to determine “if farms previously identified with drug residues in tissues have management practices that are also leading to drug residues in milk”.

Be aware that the milk sample will be tested for 27 different drugs commonly used on dairy farms. This list includes drugs that have been tested for in the past.  But the majority of the list are drugs that were not tested for in the past, including drugs that should only be given to dairy cattle less than 20 months of age.

They will be using sensitive technology, including liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to detect drug residues.  The FDA will be taking action for any drug adulterations. 

Precautions for all farms, especially those that have had residue issues include: 

  • Record all treatments and have with-hold times recorded
  • Use drugs according to label use; including dose and route of administration, frequency of administration and amount of drug per injection site
  • Program in place to identify any treated animals
  • Review treatment protocols
  • Record all treatments and have withhold times recorded
  • Good animal identification
  • Work with your veterinarian(s) and milk handler about this program

Unfortunately, dairy producers are under increasing scrutiny by the public.  But we all need to work with the public and take any opportunity to be pro-active as producers continue to guarantee a safe milk supply.  We all want the dairy industry to have a positive image.

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ANIMART celebrates the Super Bowl with Super Calf-Kit.

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Administrator

Don’t let cold weather hold your calves back; use Super Calf-Kit to increase the caloric density of milk replacer or whole milk.

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ANIMART has solutions to your cows’ udder problems!

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Administrator

Are your cow’s udders irritated? Rundown? Listless? Do you have high somatic cell counts? Chapped teats? ANIMART has the solution for your udder problems. Join Gina and Stef as they describe the benefits of using udder topicals.

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