Outbreaks of selenium
deficiency and pinkeye will quietly
rob many beef and dairy farmers
of their profits in 1986, predicts Dr.
Harlan Bigbee, veterinarian with
Schering Animal Health.
Both problems can undercut
meat and mUk production in cattle
and reduce their market value, he
says. In addition, selenium (Se)
deficiency has been associated
with white muscle disease and,
according to university research,
serious reproductive problems
such as retained placentas and
cystic ovaries.
“These two underrated cattle
health problems sneak up behind
the farmer and steal his profits,”
Bigbee adds. “By acting now to
correct Se deficiency and prevent
pinkeye in the herd, he can stay
one step ahead of these pick
pockets.”
Selenium deficiency strikes
Cattlemen from coast to coast
should be wary of Se deficiency, he
notes. At one time, only the Nor
theast, Ohio Valley, Southeast, and
the Pacific Northwest regions
were targeted with Se shortages.
Now, however, marginal areas of
Se deficiencies are showing up-in
areas all across the country.
The transfer of Se from soils, to
plants, to livestock is cyclical, so
where soils lack this essential
element, crops can also be
deficient. Ultimately, livestock
consuming Se-deficient crops
suffer from the imbalance too.
High crop yields and intensive
irrigation and fertilization have
added to Se shortages in crops.
“The higher the crop yield, file
smaller the concentration of
selenium in each plant,” says
Bigbee.
He adds that even cattle
producers who live in areas with
adequate supplies of selenium in
Distributed By
Ryder supply
Beware these two cattle profit pickpockets
the soil must be wary of the
problem. If they are buying grain
or forages from Se deficient areas,
their cattle could also be lacking.
Extensive research in the past
few years has connected
inadequate levels of Se with a
number of severe health problems
in cattle. Initially, Se deficiencies
were associated with white muscle
disease, but further research at
several major universities has
documented the link between low
Se levels and higher incidence of
retained placentas and cystic
ovaries, ill thrift and poor weight
gain, and immune system
deficiencies.
Recent findings at Ohio State
University have also revealed that
Se and vitamin E supplementation
has reduced the incidence of
coliform mastitis in dairy cows.
Se and vitamin E have similar
actions in the body, explains
Bigbee. They each join in
respective enzyme systems to
protect body cells, and together
they have an additive effect.
“Selenium and vitamin E each do
some good separately,” he' says,
"but put them together and they
help maintain optimum growth
and performance.”
The Se deficit problem is really a
matter of balanced nutrition for
cattle. But supplementing the diet
does not simply mean adding Se to
the cattle feed, cautions Bigbee.
“Adding selenium directly to the
diet is a slow, somewhat inef
fective procedure,” he says. To
bring low Se levels up to normal,
he adds, a farmer often needs to
feed a lot more of the element than
is currently allowed by law.
Beef and dairy producers can
obtain FDA-approved injectable
Se from their veterinarian to
prevent and correct deficiencies.
Mu-Se Bo-Se are two in-
Selenium deficien
jectables that combine Se and
vitamin E to protect cattle and
calves.
To detect a potential Se im
balance, producers can wdrk with
their veterinarian and do a blood
or serum analysis on a
representative sampling of Jhe
herd. One common standard, adds
Bigbee, is to test at least six
animals or 10 percent of the herd,
to get a good picture of the herd’s
status.
Pinkeye: $l5O million problem
Like Se deficiency, pinkeye is
another subtle, yet serious, health
condition that can silently snatch
away a cattleman’s profits.
Cattle suffering from pinkeye,
says Bigbee, experience severe
reductions in weight gain and milk
production. “In a cow/calf beef
operation, that’s really a two
pronged effect. The cow doesn’t
milk as well for the calf, and the
calf in turn doesn’t gain as well,”
he notes. “And when a dairy cow
goes down in production because of
pinkeye, she never regains enough
to make up for that loss.”
Beef and dairy farmers must
also remember, Bigbee says, that
pinkeye causes sparring of the eye,
which reduces the market value of
the animal. Purebred breeding
stock can easily drop 10-20 percent
in value, he estimates.
All together, pinkeye robs cat
tlemen of some $l5O million a year,
according to USDA estimates.
The pinkeye season reaches its
peak during the summer, when hot
dry air carries dirt and pollen that
irritate the eye and increase its
susceptibility to Infection. Keeping
down weeds and controlling the
face fly, which carries the M bovls
bacteria that cause pinkeye, are
good disease management
practices. To fully protect their
inkeye;
Lancaster Farming Saturday, March 22,1986-D3
cattle, though, farmers can vac
cinate in the spring as part of their
usual herd health program.
Bigbee suggests a two-step
vaccination schedule. Vaccinate
once with Piliguard Pinkeye +7,
which also gives immunity to
clostridial diseases such as
blackleg, and vaccinate again in
one to four months with straight
Piliguard Pinkeye. This program,
he adds, gives the farmer a nr>T»we
Grassland FFA names
“Members of the Month”
NEW HOLLAND - The
Grassland Environmental FFA of
Garden Spot High School has in
stituted a program to recognize the
outstanding first-year
(Greenhand) members and second
year (Chapter) members within
their organization. This
recognition program known as the
“Member of the Month” was
developed by the Environmental
FFA’s Scholarship Committee.
According to committee
chairperson, Gretchen Frederick,
“the program was developed to
recognize those students who have
displayed outstanding leadership
in the FFA, scholastic
achievement in school, and in
volvement in activities throughout
the school and community. ”
The program is designed so that
a member must be nominated by
one of his peers. Upon nomination,
the candidate is then selected by a
vote of all the other members in
file chapter.
The first member of the month
from the Chapter Degree group is
sophomore Jim Shirk. -Tim, the son
flompi itemed H m
Drive fi
vaccination schedule, yet fully
protects the cattle against out
breaks of pinkeye.
“A pinkeye vaccination program
is really a sound insurance
program. For each dollar invested
in vaccination, the farmer can
save the $lO or $2O it costs to treat
the disease and to feed cattle that
are not producing milk or meat,”
Bigbee concludes.
of Mr. and Mrs. William Shirk,
East Earl, was given special
recognition for the outstanding job
he has done promoting the chap
ter’s Building Our American
Communities program. He has
exhibited leadership ability as co
chairman of the BOAC Committee
and is currently serving as vice
president of the chapter. He is also
an honor student who is involved in
numerous activities in his school
and community.
This month’s Greenhand
member of the month is Phil
Homing. Phil, a freshman, is the
son of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey
Homing, RDI, Denver. He is
currently serving as second vice
president of the Environmental
FFA and is active on several
committees. He is a member of the
football and track teams at Garden
Spot. Phil’s supervised oc
cupational experience program
(SOE) includes work experience at
Weaver’s Orchard, market hogs,
and a wildlife conservation project
in which he plana to raise and
release ring-necked phesants.