The Merck Herd Health Manager app connects vets and beef producers for the herd’s health treatment. Veterinarians and beef producers can work together to achieve an overall healthy herd.
Designed by Merck Animal Health, the app is a way to set up and strategically follow vaccination and treatment protocols.
To help implement the PrimeVac program, a program that focuses on maximizing health and revenue, the Herd Health Manager offers veterinarians a simplified and customized approach to herd health planning.
“I really like this app,” says Clint Hilt, veterinarian at Hilt Vet Service in Dutton, Montana. “We can develop a complete herd health vaccine program for the ranch. It covers the entire calendar year so things don’t get overlooked.”
The app provides a way to keep detailed health records and identify products to use during breeding, pregnancy, birth and weaning. It provides an easy way for veterinarians to document their suggestions as far as vaccinations, mineral analysis and parasite control, Hilt says.
It also documents the completion of vaccination and treatment protocols and creates a veterinary-certified health history that can be beneficial at sale time.
“When producers ship in the fall, we can print out a document for whoever is receiving the cattle. It is another service the vet can provide for the rancher as the cattle go out to the feedlot,” Hilt says.
Hilt says he has seen great responses from those buying the cattle. Having a health history is another validation to what was done with the cattle, he says.
Additionally, Hilt says the Herd Health Manager app is easy to use and is a great tool for those selling as well as buying cattle.
Merck Herd Health Manager is a free iPad app and can be downloaded on iTunes. 
