After a busy season of breeding, pulling bulls, pregnancy diagnosis and weaning, we’d like to hope cows can turn on autopilot for a few months during the winter. However, that’s not the case; cows are always working for us, whether that means lactating, raising a calf, preparing to become pregnant or gestating next year’s calf. It’s our responsibility to make sure they are in the proper body condition to do so.

It’s no secret that the cow herd is at an all-time low. As producers start to build herds back, creating and maintaining a herd health plan will be immensely important.

Veterinarians are concerned that anaplasmosis, a noninfectious disease in cattle, is reemerging throughout the U.S. The initial cause is the transmission of bacteria from ticks and horseflies, especially during heavy tick and fly seasons.

The ionophore, monensin, is a class of antibiotics that can improve animal health, maintain body condition and increase feed efficiency, yet limit feed intake. This supplement may be beneficial during dry spells when ranchers scramble for additional feedstuffs.

When lameness issues arise, there are many things we can do as producers, and veterinarians, to help these animals recover and get back to a high level of performance.

As cow-calf producers and veterinarians evaluate options for pre-breeding vaccinations on heifers and cows, it is critical to think about the long-term effects of the disease pathogens that you are protecting against.

This year it is important for ranchers to prepare for upcoming changes to the rules regarding purchasing medically important antibiotics.

Digital dermatitis (DD) has been a problem in dairies for a long time and is becoming more prevalent in beef cattle, says Terry Engelken, a professor in the college of veterinary medicine at Iowa State University.

Most cows shed the placenta within two to eight hours after calving, and when a cow has not shed the placenta for 24 hours or longer, it is considered retained.