Disease prevention hot topic at symposium

Disease prevention in cattle turned out to be a major topic among guest speakers and about 60 ranchers and farmers Wednesday and Thursday during the Southwest Beef Symposium at the Tucumcari Convention Center.

Marcy Ward of New Mexico State University, one of the hosts of the annual program that alternates between venues in Texas and New Mexico, said the event tries to address current issues that affect beef producers.

Speakers also talked about water management for cattle and the use of social media and technology. But keeping cattle healthy and thriving proved to be a chief concern.

That included Tucumcari native John Heckendorn, who raises about 170 head of cattle as part of his J-C Angus operation near his hometown and Moriarty. He said the event was informative.

"Having the proper vaccination protocols is important, plus the nutritional and mineral supplementation ... all of those things are important to optimize the production of your cattle herd," he said. "The weather, feed prices and cattle prices, we don't have a lot of control over, so we have to control what we can."

Cole Wenzel, a veterinarian at Southwest Veterinarian Clinic in Deming, talked about differences between modified live and killed vaccines. He said modified live vaccines are more effective in disease prevention but killed vaccines are safer.

He said vaccines are a crucial preventative, especially against the dreaded Bovine Virus Diarrhea that can sicken entire herds and cause abortions in pregnant cows.

"Vaccinating cows is not optional," Wenzel said. "I believe vaccines pay for themselves over time."

Greta Krafsur, a veterinarian at South Dakota State University, talked about cases of congestive heart failure that afflict a small but worrying number of young cattle in feedlots just weeks or days before they're butchered.

Krafsur said the disease resembles High Mountain Disease that afflicted cattle with congestive heart failure, pneumonia and an enlarged brisket in lots above 5,000 feet. However, Krafsur said this disease is emerging in low-altitude feedlots, with 1 percent to 7 percent death losses.

Krafsur theorized the disease exists among a small subset of cattle amid genetic improvements and fortified feeds that led to faster weight gain. She said she's confident scientists soon will find the disease's genetic markers so beef producers can minimize the risk.

Elaine Blythe, a veterinary pharmacist at West Texas A&M University and a Fort Sumner native, said cattle producers started using less antibiotics in 2015 because bacteria were developing resistance to such drugs. She advocated the drugs' "judicious" use and that ranchers use less broader-spectrum antibiotics.

With water management, Mitzi Miller of Miller Angus in Floyd advocated floating shade balls to lower evaporation loss in stock tanks. The black plastic balls, each about the size of softball and half-filled with water to add weight, saved an estimated 60,000 gallons of water from evaporating from a 20-foot-diameter tank over a three-year period.

Miller said the shade balls also help keep birds away, reduce the amount of debris in tanks and lessen ice buildup in winter. The Roosevelt Soil & Water Conservation District is offering cost-share grants to help buy the balls.

Kenneth McKinzie of McKinzie Land & Cattle in Santa Rosa urged ranchers to use reverse-osmosis systems on poor-quality water wells. He said his filtered water - once high in sulfates and magnesium - has led to better weight gain and less disease. McKinzie said setting up a reverse-osmosis system will cost thousands of dollars initially, but "it's well worth it."

Kendal Wilson said he uses solar-powered water pumps at his ranch in Carrizozo. He said such systems are becoming more efficient each year, and their pump motors are reliable and user-friendly.

One theme that kept emerging during the symposium was the disconnect between beef producers and urban dwellers, especially tech-savvy young people.

"As an industry, we've done a horrible job communicating to these millennials on where their food comes from," said Gary Sides of Zoetis Animal Health.

Yet efforts to bridge the gap exist. Matt Davis of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association noted the increasing adoption and acceptance of the Beef Quality Assurance program that issues guidelines for the care and handling of cattle. Krafsur and Blythe, noting consumers' wariness of drugs and hormones in food, advocated using less drugs in cattle.

Ward said beef producers need to use more social media but often are too busy.

"They're not out there in front of their customers, so there's a communication gap still," she said. "But I think we're getting better at telling our story in part because of social media. The producers want to resonate in front of consumers and educate them on what they do. If they're given an opportunity, they do it."