Dairy Mgt. Conference
iutchinson
Penn State Extension Veterinarian
Residue Avoidance
Pennsylvania has one of the
highest contamination rates for
drug residues in bob veal calves,
according to Hutchinson. About 47
percent of the Northeast’s sulfa
drug contamination cases occur in
Pennsylvania, although some of
these animals come from out of
state for slaughter.
“We need to address this
problem (of drug residues) and get
our act cleaned up.” Hutchinson
cautioned dairymen.
Most slaughter plants now test
for drug residues in meat by
performing the STOP test (Swab
Test On Premises). The most
commonly occuring residue
problem is sulfa drugs in bob veal
calves. Bob veal calves are dairy
calves sent to slaughter at less
than one month of age. Sulfa drugs
generally require a 20-30 day
withdrawal period for drug
residues to clear.
The LAST test (Live Animal
Swab Test) is now available. It
provides the producer with a quick
method to detect the presence of
bacteria-inhibiting substances in
the urine or milk of the live animal
before it is marketed.
Research has shown that calves
MAKE MORE MILK.
CUT FEED COST.
OR BOTH!
ASK ME TO BALANCE YOUR
MILK COW RATIONS BY COMPUTER.
ON YOUR FARM. IN MINUTES. FREE!
Formulating dairy rations by computer
makes sense.
A properly programmed compute can
make complicated calculations in a second
or two. It can take into consideration
nutritive values of all the things cows eat
and tell you how much of each ingredient
to feed to answer your cows' body
maintenance and milk production needs.
But, a computer is expensive. It takes
skilled, trained nutritionists to set up
the program and a specialized operator
to make it work.
Manufacturers of quality premtxes for dairy cattle, beef cattle and hogs
fed milk from a cow that has been
treated with antibiotics will have
residues of the drug in their meat.
Therefore, Hutchinson recom
mended not to feed milk from
treated cows to calves that will be
sent to market until the milk is free
of drug residues. He reminded
dairymen to read the drug label for
the recommended withdrawal
time. There is no apparent
detriment to feeding milk from a
cow treated with antibiotics to a
calf that will remain in the herd.
Hutchinson suggested avoiding
the use of antibiotics as a
preventive measure in newborn
calves. To keep calves healthy he
recommended:
-Get colostrum into calves im
mediately.
-Calve cows in a clean, dry area.
-Provide claves with clean, dry
bedding and good ventilation to
avoid scours and pneumonia.
Vaccination Programs at Calving
Time
Hutchinson also spoke on
establishing and updating effective
vaccination programs. Because
there are new vaccines available
for cattle diseases, he urged
dairymen to review their present
vaccination program.
He recommended using the
following vaccines in all herds;
IBR-PI3, Brucella, and Lepto-5
strain.
He recommended using the
following vaccines if your herd is
at risk,(if the disease is in your
herd or in the area): BVD, Vibrio,
Pinkeye, Coli, and Haemophilus
pneumonia.
He said he would probably not
recommend the use of vaccines
for: Clostridia, virus calf scours,
Chlamydia, and Staph.
Effective use of vaccines can be
made by following these pointers:
1. With your veterinarian,
develop the right vaccination
program for your farm.
2. Review and update the vac
cine program at least twice a year.
3. Don’t use unnecessary vac
cines.
4. Buy fresh, refrigerated
vaccine from a reliable source.
5. Keep vaccine refrigerated
until use.
6. Follow the label directions
exactly.
7. Use sterile, disposable
syringes that have not been used
for othe drugs.
8. Discard outdated vaccine or
opened bottles that cannot be used
right away.
9. Don’t mix two vaccines unless
so indicated by manufacturer’s
directions.
10. Don’t vaccinate sick or
stressed cattle.
Linda Scibilia, graduate student,
dept, of dairy science
Dairy Calf Energy Needs in Cold
Ms. Scibilia, a native of New
York State, has been researching
the affect of energy in the ration on
average daily gain of calves under
one month of age that are exposed
to cold weather.
The calves in her experiment
were fed milk replacer with
varying levels of fat. They were
measured for average daily gain
(ADG).
Research has demonstrated that
calves need extra dietary energy
in winter if they are housed in the
cold, in order to maintain a
desirable ADG.
The National Research Council
recommends 10 percent fat in milk
replacers or 1.71 megacalories of
metabolizable energy per pound.
Ms. Scibilia’s research suggests
that this level may not be adequate
in cold weather.
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Weather
tancftw Farming, Saturday, February It, IM4-A37
Jerry Jones, dairy Extension
specialist, VPI
Dry Cow Care and Management
Problems occuring during the
dry period tend to show up later
during the following lactation,
according to Jones. For this reason
dry cow care is extremely im
portant.
“Length of the dry period has a
definite affect on production of the
following lactation,” said Jones.
“The ideal length is 50-70 days.”
Jones proposed that cows should
be fed on an individual basis
during the dry period just as they
are during lactation. Each cow has
different nutritional needs that
should be met. Cows that are over
condition should be fed to reduce
weight before calving to avoid the
problems associated with the “fat
cow syndrome.”
Body condition during the dry
period also affects production.
Diseases associated with the cow
at calving are, milk fever, ketosis,
retained placenta, metritis,
displace abomasum and in
digestion.
Jones outlined nine points for
unprove dry cow care:
1. Separate from milkers.
2. Balance ration.
3. Avoid diet changes at calving.
4. Restrict com silage and grain.
5.50 to 70 day dry period.
6. Keep cows open 100 to 120
days.
7. Provide exercise lot.
8. Provide good water supply.
9. Worm if needed.
Larry Muller, professor of dairy
science
Feeding the Dry Cow for Daylight
Calving
Muller is conducting research
that may allow dairymen to sleep
easier at night. He is trying to
determine if it is possible to induce
cows to calve during daylight
hours by controlling their feeding
during the dry period.
Most farmers under normal
feeding conditions have an even
distribution of calving times,
Muller reported. Some research
indicates that you can increase the
percentage of daylight calving by
restricting feeding to one time per
day during daylight hours.
Muller reported that his
research has found that, one time
per day feeding of dry cows bet
ween 5 - 7 p.m., starting two weeks
before calving will result in a 10-15
percent increase in daylight
calving.
Muller said, he is looking for
dairymen in Pennsylvania who
would be willing to cooperate with
him on research in their herds on
this subject.
Look for more informaton from
the Penn State Dairy Herd
Management Conference in next
week’s issue of Lancaster Far
ming.