Highly debated production practices

Many Practices in cattle production are highly debated. We will discuss a hot button topic and what we do here at the farm.

I’m going to address a HOT BUTTON question with livestock production.

Because husbandry is hand in hand with the grassfed production model.

What are the dangers to a farming operation?

What do conventional producers do?

And What do we do?

A. The dangers of producing livestock are that we are asking animals to live in close proximity, as if we all lived in town or a larger city. As animals concentrate, so does the risk. They are sharing a feed bunk, water supply, and forces of nature that they would not do in the wild. When left to their own devices, our cattle herd splits up into groups of about 30-40 head. They don’t really co-mingle much unless we as producers ask them to using fences, or confinement. This brings up several thoughts. In humans, shared water could contain cholera, or other contaminants. They developed water treatment facilities to deal with those issues. On a farm, the cattle share a fresh water supply from ground water, and surface water, like everyone using the same glass. One danger of the surface water is if the animals defecate in it, it can change the ph, causing minor illness in the herd. Like Pink Eye, Foot Rot, and increase parasite loads due to the ph imbalance.

Another danger is diseases that live in the ground. Clostridium is one of the most common and it’s almost everywhere cattle, buffalo, deer, elk, etc have ever roamed. Then there is pneumonia. Multiple strains of it. If it gets going in a herd, it can make a mess in a hurry. There is other diseases like tuberculosis, Leptospora, Vibriosis, Brucellosis, and others. Some of these are mostly dangerous to the animal itself. But some diseases can cause illness in humans if the meat or milk is consumed.

Then there is infections, some live in the ground, some are passed from animal to animal. A short list is E-coli, Coccidiosis, Salmonella, Bovine Viral Diarrhea, Tetanus, Anthrax, and others. Some of these infections are FATAL to the animal at certain stages of life from inutero to mature

Now this is just a snap shot of the list. I am sure you understand that there is more to it.

B. What conventional producers do: To mitigate these risks, veterinarians identified the strains and have developed vaccines for some of the diseases and infections. However, not all. Some diseases there is NO treatment. If an animal gets it, it must be culled, or die. For this, then farmers choose to vaccinate their livestock.

The most common practice (IN CONVENTIONAL PRODUCTION) includes a Clostridium/ black leg shot at birth. Tetanus will also be given if the calf is castrated at birth. Then the calf will be given a round of a 8, 9, or 10 way respiratory vaccines at about 5-7 months of age, ahead of weaning and pre-backgrounding for sale. Then a second round with deworming about the time of weaning. The calves will then go to a sale, and a backgrounding operation. IF they trust the farmer actually did the vaccinations, they won’t repeat them. The calves live there for 4-12 months before going to a finishing feedlot. Where the animals get more vaccinations as boosters for the previously given and the specific strains on their lots. Around 8 separate pokes PER animal at this point. Add in the Anthrax where that applies, and some other specifics in some areas, the total can be staggering. This is commonly what is so off-putting for consumers who want clean safe healthy meat, but are unaware of what it takes to get that.

C. WHAT WE DO HERE AT OUR FARM:

CATTLE: We do skip some animals completely. We are working with holistics to transition away from vaccination. Also keeping in mind that our herd isn’t just 10 cows. So going 100% vax free doesn’t come without risks. Million dollar risks. That’s a game we simply cannot afford to play. Antibiotics are harder to get, and some are not always available. They cost dearly, up to about $85 per dose per animal. We cannot be certified grassfed if antibiotics are ever used. Therefore, we MUST manage well so the herd does not get sick! We DO keep antibiotics on the farm. If an animal must have them, we must use it. The animal, like the OMRI certified organic rules state, must be treated, but removed from the herd when well and sold on the conventional market. We are held to husbandry standards. The same as if our family member became ill and needed treatment, it must be done.

On many animals intended for beef we use a ‘1 poke for it’s lifetime’ method at this point. It’s done before weaning, late in the fall at around 5-6 months of age. The same time we castrate the bull calves that will become our steers for beef. They only get wormed if their manure tests positive. And we use a product with a certified organic label on it.

Some animals we ear mark for rose veal, or plan to process younger won’t be poked at all. They won’t be wormed either. They just leave the herd as is. Herd immunity, the vet calls it, so we can skip some and reduce the risk to a manageable level. Generally, once animals get past the first year of life, they don’t easily get sick after that. That again can be attributed to management, and herd immunity.

HOGS: never poked, antibiotic free for lifetime, most are never wormed either. Our herd is small, and the risk is low.

POULTRY: while there are diseases that affect small flocks, we accept that we will loose a bird once in a while, and carry on. They are always vax free, antibiotic free for the lifetime. We can manage with holistics for the challenges that arise if they come.

Summary:

We have good knowledge of the ins and outs of vaccination of livestock. We also know the real risks. We continue to do what’s best for the herd. I have invested my entire adult life to my family and livestock. I have no intention of harming anyone. We will NOT use MRNA when/if it does eventually roll out. It is NOT currently used on cattle, and is NOT available. Organic prohibits use of MRNA. We follow the organic standards as well as the grassfed standards. That will not be compromised under my management.

Life is full of stepping stones. We are making changes yearly. There is some lines we will not cross. We are fortunate to live where there isn’t anthrax. We know people who do. I mentioned it to help you understand that there are things that are dangerous to you. We do not rabies vaccinate our cattle either. We have not ever had a known case of it. Life on the farm is complex.

All our meats are processed under inspection so that each animal is evaluated before and after slaughter to ensure it’s healthy and safe.

Don’t let the doom and gloom cloud the fact that we raise some of the best meat in the world. We really care, and we also really care about the wellbeing of our stock

We appreciate your support and trust in our honesty and integrity of our word, and products.