Volume 28, No. 4, December 2021 - wcabp

The newsletter of the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners

Volume 28, No. 4, December 2021

Canadian publications mail agreement no. 43528102

The dates have been set for the 2022 WCABP Conference !For program highlights and other information, see page 7.

Volume 28, No. 4, December 2021 3

contents

See our Advertising Indexon page 4

3 President’s Report

5 Secretary-Treasurer’s Report

5 Administrator’s Report

6 Canadian Feedlot Animal Care Assessment Program

7 31st WCABP Annual Conference

12 CAHSS Supporting Information Sharing and Establishing Connections Across Canada

16 Dust a Risk Factor in Calf Pneumonia

19 CABV/ACVB Report

19 Member-to-Member Classifi ed

20 UCVM Report

22 WCVM Report

23 WCVM Production Animal Club Report

24 Always Look a Gift Cow In The Mouth

25 Draft Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle

26 Upcoming Events

26 Notice of WCABPMembership Renewal

27 Member News• WCABP Member Receives

Alberta Order of Excellence

• WCABP Member ReceivesJames A. Jarrett Award for Young Leaders

Hard to believe

winter has arrived so

soon. When, in all

actuality, it’s much

later than usual and

we all had plenty of

extra time to prepare. If you are like me,

no amount of extra time seems adequate

to complete all the tasks one wishes to

achieve ahead of deadlines such as the fi rst

snowfall. I suppose I still have not learned

my grandmother’s lesson to avoid biting

off more than I can chew. Perhaps in

some ways she was wrong as getting most

of a large list completed can be far more

productive than completing a small but

achievable list.

With big aspirations in mind the

WCABP Board of Directors enjoyed

success with our digital format of the 10

& Under Conference. Th e virtual only

format ran smoothly with fears about

the format diminished by a full year of

Zoom practice. Th e last year has taught

us many lessons and provided its share of

challenges and opportunities to learn and

adapt. Many of the lessons and effi cien-

cies learned from 2021 will stand the test

of time. Some, however, cannot leave

soon enough. Beers with old friends over

Zoom, just isn’t quite the same as around

a table.

Writing my last “President’s Report”

for the newsletter has made me think

about why I look forward to the confer-

ence, and what draws my attendance.

What diff erences or similarities draw my

colleagues? Can I obtain an equal value

from attending digitally? I think these are

important questions for current and future

board members to consider when guiding

the organization forward. Th is year we

elected to plan a hybrid type of conference

to off er the best of both worlds. I’m not

sure most members are aware, but this is

the most expensive option to host. Th e

digital avenue adds considerable cost to

the conference, but with the ever-present

President’s Report

cloud of Covid-19 above our heads,

hybrid seemed to be the best option.

I, and many like me, are sadly a little

“zoomed out.” Upon writing this I am

looking forward to the in-person con-

ference, rather than digital, but I’m not

sure exactly why? I can absorb the same

material virtually, I can avoid a fl ight, I

can listen along in my PJ’s, I could even

use a ridiculously small cup to drink my

coff ee at home if I so choose. With all

the benefi ts of staying home, will people

come? Only time will tell, or maybe Phyl-

lis will a few weeks before.

When I look forward to any conference,

it’s usually because the lineup of topics

and speakers off ered by the venue fosters

my interests. However, WCABP is so

much more than just excellent continuing

education—there is much, much more

that sets us apart. Th is year marks the

return of our student mixer hosted by Dr.

Eric Behlke. Th is is always an exciting

event for members and students alike.

I believe it lays the foundation for the

organization and welcomes students to it

a way no other organization does. Helping

to connect students with prospective

employers in a fun light-hearted atmos-

phere is not something that can be easily

achieved via Zoom.

While attending in person, I often fi nd

the hallway coff ee discussion after a lecture

is where I learn what I’m actually going to

take back and implement in my practice.

After dissecting the speakers’ points with

colleagues and learning about their experi-

ences with the subject, we gain a collective

knowledge we can apply. In my opin-

ion, this is the true value of continuing

education, the discussion on how to apply

what we have just learned, vetted with our

peers. Sometimes, however, the hallway

discussion has nothing to do with the last

speaker. It’s just catching up with an old

friend and realizing that you may live hun-

dreds of miles apart, you still have more in

continued on page 19 . . .

newsletter4

The WCABP Newsletter is published by the association as a service to its members. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of WCABP. Correspondence concerning the Newsletter should be directed to the WCABP Offi ce.

WCABP BOARD

OF DIRECTORS

2021

newsletter

PRESIDENTEric MaguetBeausejour Animal HospitalBox 368Beausejour, MB R0E 0C0Phone: 204-268-2177Cell: 204-268-5413Email: [email protected]

PAST PRESIDENTDavid DykshornAbbotsford Veterinary ClinicUnit 200 – 33648 McDougall AvenueAbbotsford, BC V2S 1W2Cell: 604-850-4426Email: [email protected]

PRESIDENT ELECTTim NickelBovine Technical Services VeterinarianBoehringer Ingelheim4514 – 45th AvenueSt. Paul, AB T0A 3A3Phone: 780-646-3685Email: [email protected]

DIRECTORCollin LawrenceWestlock Veterinary Center 10004 – 94 A AvenueWestlock, AB T7P 2M9Offi ce: 780-349-3663Cell: 780-349-0391Email: [email protected]

DIRECTOR Keith ImmerkarSwan Valley Veterinary ClinicBox 388Swan Valley, MB R0L 1Z0Phone: 204-734-0720Email: [email protected]

DIRECTORAnne RogersEdson Veterinary Clinic4403 - 2nd AvenueEdson, AB T7E 3P1Phone: 780-723-3354Cell: 780-725-2663Email: [email protected]

DIRECTOR Dr. Klea-Ann WasilowMaple Creek Veterinary ServicesBox 1119Maple Creek, SK S0N 1N0Work: 306-662-2724Email: [email protected]

DIRECTORLaurie ZemlakWestern Veterinary Services790 A Lillooet Steet WestMoose Jaw, SK S6H 8B4Phone: 306-692-4800Email: [email protected]

4

Advertising IndexThank You for Supporting WCABP

ADVERTISER PAGE

Beef Cattle Research Council 25

Ceva Animal Health 6, 18, 21

Elanco Animal Health 14–15

Grober Nutrition 2

IMV Imaging 18

IntriQuip 17

Partnar Animal Health 24

Phibro Animal Health Corporation 28

Solvet 2

WDDC 13

EX-OFFICIO DIRECTORDISTRICT XIII, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF BOVINE PRACTITIONERS (AABP)Ryan RademacherFeedlot Health Management ServicesBox 140Okotoks, AB T1S 2A2Phone: 403-938-1257Cell: 403-710-2103Email: [email protected]

SECRETARY-TREASURERMurray Jelinski310 Swan LaneSaskatoon, SK S7J 5B5Phone: 306-270-9118Email: [email protected]

ADMINISTRATORPhyllis Mierau226E Wheeler StreetSaskatoon, SK S7P 0A9Phone: 1-866-269-8387Email: [email protected]


Th e past three months were busy

with hosting WCABP’s virtual “10

& Under” Conference. We were

pleased with 60 individuals regis-

tering and making a slight profi t.

As well, we are busy with prepara-

tions for the 2022 Conference which

will be held as a hybrid event on

January 13-15 at the Sheraton in

Calgary. Th is has included secur-

ing sponsorship, coordinating the

design of the Conference brochure,

etc. Remember that new grads are

eligible to register for the Confer-

ence at student rates! We welcome

undergraduates and veterinary tech-

nician / animal health technologists

to register if they are employed in

the clinic of a WCABP member. As

well, any WCABP student member

enrolled in a Canadian veterinary

school will have half of their confer-

ence registration fees reimbursed by

the WCABP Butler Fund!! Contact

us for more information.

Th e Conference brochure was

mailed out mid-November. Confer-

ence information is available on the

WCABP website (www.wcabp.com).

Remember you can register and pay

online.

We have coordinated the audit of

the Association’s June 30, 2022,

fi nancial statements and prepared

the 2022–23 budget. Th ese materi-

als will be distributed to members

mid-December in preparation for

the AGM to be held on January 14.

And on top of all this, we moved to

a diff erent offi ce on November 20!

Have a wonderful holiday season

and hope to see you in Calgary!

Phyllis MierauAdministrator

Administrator’s Report

Th e 2022 Annual

Conference is fast

approaching, and I

am pleased to report

that Dr. Tim Nickel

(conference chair)

has pulled together an exciting lineup of

speakers. Th is year’s conference will be a

hybrid aff air, allowing members to attend

both in-person or virtually. Some may

wonder why the registration fee is the

same for both means of attending, and

the answer is simple. We will be incurring

signifi cantly higher IT costs to provide the

online remote access. While we hope as

many people as possible will attend in-per-

son, we are also watching the slow rise in

Covid-19 cases and the latest modelling

predictions showing a potential surge in

cases early in the New Year. Th e concern,

of course, is that the Alberta govern-

ment would limit the capacity for indoor

gatherings. Should this happen, then the

Sheraton is willing to make allowances to

our contract so that we are not saddled

with room and hospitality charges that are

out of our control. So far, only two speak-

ers have opted to provide their presenta-

tion remotely. Th is, however, could change

depending on Covid-19 infection rates.

Th e books are closed on the 2021 “10

and Under” Conference, which was

held remotely in September. We had 60

registrants, which was good considering

the amount of continuing education that

is available online, and in many cases

free-of-charge. Th e Conference made a

small profi t of ~$600, which again was

a nice surprise. We are already looking

forward to next year when we can go back

to off ering this conference in-person. Or

perhaps not—what remains to be seen

is whether Covid-19 will have irrevoc-

ably changed the delivery of continuing

education. Will a signifi cant number

of members prefer to have continuing

education delivered to the comfort of their

own home or offi ce? We should know the

answer to this soon enough. But for now,

the Board is assuming that members will

want to engage with their colleagues on a

more personal level (live and in-person).

I will be providing a full report on the

Association’s fi nancial position at the

Annual General Meeting on January

14th. However, I will say that despite the

challenges of the last 18 months the Asso-

ciation’s fi nancial position has remained

solidly intact. Last year’s virtual Confer-

ence was a huge success, which not only

booked a healthy profi t, but also made us

rethink how members may want to receive

continuing education in the future. As of

October 31st, we had total cash reserves

of ~$90,000, and this is after making the

fi nal payments to 2WebDesign for the

breeding soundness evaluation (BSE) soft-

ware, and our reserves typically increase

going forward as membership renewals

start coming in. In addition, we have

about $35,000 in the Ray Butler Fund,

and access to over $75,000 in the OMR

fund. Given the many challenges we have

faced, the Association remains in a strong

fi nancial position as we look to emerging

from the pandemic.

Respectfully submitted, Murray Jelinski

Secretary-Treasurer’s Report

www.wcabp.com

Visit us online to keep tabs on your association and your industry:

• Conference Information• Vet Advice columns• Online resources

newsletter6

Th e National Cattle Feeders Association (NCFA) developed

a national feedlot animal care assessment tool (audit tool) for

Canadian feedlots fi ve years ago, and it has been maintained and

recertifi ed annually.

Th is audit tool can be used by feedlot producers and feedlot vet-

erinarians in self- or second-party audits or by processors or retail-

ers in second- or third-party audits. Th e audit tool is an objective

method to determine if a feedlot meets the requirements of the

Canadian Beef Code of Practice, as well as additional animal

health, welfare, and food safety requirements defi ned by NCFA’s

Animal Care Advisory Committee.

Th is feedlot audit tool has been certifi ed annually by the Profes-

sional Animal Auditor Certifi cation Organization (PAACO)1 and

is recognized by the National Farm Animal Care Council

1 https://animalauditor.org/

(NFAC) as meeting the requirements in the Canadian Beef Code

of Practice and following NFAC’s assessment process. As well, the

health and welfare indicators have been fully recognized by the

Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB).2 Next year,

Tyson Foods will be using this PAACO feedlot audit tool when

doing random audits of feedlots in Canada that export fed cattle

to Tyson plants for processing.

To fi nd out more about the PAACO-certifi ed Canadian Feedlot

Animal Care Assessment Program, visit the NCFA website.3 On

the site, you will fi nd up-to-date program documents, communi-

cation pieces, and a link to the eLearn Training Program certifi ca-

tion for feedlot veterinarians and their feedlot clients.

2 https://crsb.ca/

3 https://nationalcattlefeeders.ca/feedlot/

Professional Animal Auditor Certifi cation Organization (PAACO) Certifi ed and National Cattle Feeders Association (NCFA) Recognized

Canadian Feedlot Animal Care Assessment Program

7

WESTERN DRUG DISTRIBUTION CENTER LIMITED

“Your success is our business”

31ST ANNUAL CONFERENCEWestern Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners

2022JANUARY 13–15In CALGARY, AB& VIRTUAL

newsletter8

Thursday, January 13

The fi rst day of the Conference will take the form of two con-current sessions – Beef and Dairy. This traditional approach has been well received by our conference attendees and encourages speakers to provide in-depth presentations for each discipline.

Beef Session

Dr. Amelia Woolums (Mississippi State) will give two presentations:1) What’s New with Viruses

and Bacteria in BRD2) Pre-weaning Pneumonia

in Beef Calves: Risk Fac-tors and Management

Dr. Pierre-Yvon Mulon (Tennessee State University) returns to provide two short surgery presentations:1) Tracheotomy and

Tracheostomy for Calf Diphtheria

2) Managing Deep Pedal Infection

Dr. Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein (Lethbridge Research Center) will provide Updated Information on Cattle Transport in Canada.

Dr. Gabriel Ribeiro (U of S) will discuss Ergot Alkaloids in Beef Cattle Feedlot Diets – How Much Is Too Much?

Student Presentations of UCVM-led research related to beef. (See page 10.)

Dairy Session

Dr. Cassandra Reedman (OVC) will present recent research on disbudding in dairy calves.Dr. Brandon Treichler (Oneida, WI) will give two presentations:1) When Our Robot Intel-

ligence Becomes Artifi cial and Quality Becomes Theoretical

2) Transitioning Cows in Robotically Milked Facilities

Dr. Pierre-Yvon Mulon (Tennessee State University) returns to provide two short surgery presentations:1) Teat Surgeries –

Dos and Don’ts 2) Umbilical Infection in

Calves

Dr. Sam Rowe (University of Sydney) will discuss Decision Support Tools and Econom-ics for Selective Dry Cow Therapy.

Student Presentations of UCVM-led research related to dairy. (See page 10.)

Friday, January 14

Dr. Murray Jelinski has orga-nized an impressive panel of speakers for Friday’s pro-gram. The following speakers are confi rmed.

Brian Perillat (Canfax) will give his perspective on Beef Cattle Markets – Now and in the Future.

Cynthia Beck (University of Regina) will discuss Mental Health of Self, Staff , and Clients.

Dr. Phil Meadows (Mitchell, ON) will discuss Meaningful Mentorship.

Dr. Reynold Bergen (BCRC) will present Decision-Making Tools Available for Your Team and Beef Clients.

Dr. Jillian Carr (Steady Gait Planning) will discuss the Life Cycle of a Veterinarian.

WCABP’s 2022 AGM will be held over lunch.

Dr. Eric Behlke returns to end the day with the popularStudent / Practitioner Mixer!

Saturday, January 15

The following speakers are confi rmed for Saturday:

Speaker TBA The BC Floods and Its Impact on Dairy in the Aff ected Areas

Dr. John Gilleard (UCVM) dis-cussing Worms – Impact on Production, Recent Data, and Current Diagnostic Trends.

Dr. Phil Meadows (Mitchell, ON) will discuss How to be Successful When Off ering a New Service to Your Producers.

Clinical Rounds Dr. Eugene Janzen (UCVM) returns to lead a discussion on the following topics:

• Salmonellosis in an Early Calving Cow Herd Dr. Robert Lawrence

• Downer Replacement Cattle in a Feedlot Drs. Deborah Johnson & Dayna Goldsmith

• Unusual Presentation of Bovine Interstitial Pneumo-nia Drs. Travis Marfl eet & Christian Scott

31ST ANNUAL CONFERENCEWestern Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners

The dates for the 2022 WCABP Conference have been set! Thursday, January 13, to Saturday, January 15, at the Sheraton Cavalier Hotel, Calgary, AB.This will be held as a “hybrid” event that follows all provincial guidelines to create a safe environment for our in-person registrants. Those who do not wish to attend in person may watch the presentations live or watch the recordings at a later date.

For more information, contact the conference coordinator:

WCABP Administrator (Phyllis Mierau)847 - 57th Street East, Saskatoon, SK S7K 5Z2

Email: [email protected]

Phone:1-866-269-8387 | Fax: (306) 956-0607


CE CreditsThursday 6 hoursFriday 5 hoursSaturday 5 hours

Total 16 hours

The conference will be a hybrid event. Those who do not wish to attend in person may watch the presentations live or watch the recording at a later date. WCABP will follow all provincial and local regulations in place at the time of the conference to ensure the safety of all attendees.

For updated information on the 2022 Conference, visit www.wcabp.com.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 13 FRIDAY, JANUARY 14 SATURDAY, JANUARY 15

7:00 am Hot Breakfast | Sponsored by SolvetSolvet’s Canadian Research - 2020-2021

Registration desk opens 7:30 am

DAIRY SESSIONS BEEF SESSIONS O.M.R. SEMINARS SCIENTIFIC SESSIONS

8:20 to 8:30 am INTRODUCTORY REMARKS – CONFERENCE CHAIR

Morning session sponsored by SCCL

Morning session sponsored by Elanco

Morning session sponsored by Zoetis

8:30 to 9:30 am

Recent Research on Disbudding in Dairy CalvesDr. Cassandra Reedman

What’s New with Viruses and Bacteria in BRD?Dr. Amelia Woolums

Beef Cattle Markets – Now and in the FutureBrian Perillat

The BC Floods and Its Impact on Dairy in the Aff ected AreasSpeaker TBA

9:30 to 10:30 am

When Our Robot Intelligence Becomes Artifi cial and Quality Becomes TheoreticalDr. Brandon Treichler

1) Tracheotomy and Tracheostomy for Calf Diphtheria

2) Managing Deep Pedal Infection

Dr. Pierre-Yves Mulon

Mental Health of Self, Staff , and ClientsCynthia Beck

Worms – Impact on production, Recent Data, and Current Diagnostic Trends Dr. John Gilleard

10:30 to 11:00 am

REFRESHMENT BREAK

11:00 am to 12 noon

Transitioning Cows in Robotically Milked FacilitiesDr. Brandon Treichler

Updated Information on Cattle Transport in CanadaDr. Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein

Meaningful MentorshipDr. Phil Meadows

How to be Successful When Off ering a New Service to Your ProducersDr. Phil Meadows

12:00 noon to 1:00 pm

LUNCH BREAK

Sponsored by Grober Nutrition

Sponsored by Zoetis Sponsored by WDDC

WCABP AGM(12:15 to 2:00 pm)Afternoon session

sponsored by MerckAfternoon session sponsored by Partnar Animal Health

1:00 to 2:00 pm

Student Presentations of UCVM-led research related to dairy(See details on page 10)

Preweaning Pneumonia in Beef Calves: Risk Factors and ManagementDr. Amelia Woolums

CLINICAL ROUNDSLed by Dr. E. Janzen

• Salmonellosis in an Early Calving Cow Herd Dr. Robert Lawrence

• Downer Replacement Cattle in a Feedlot Drs. Deborah Johnson & Dayna Goldsmith

• Unusual Presentation of Bovine Interstitial Pneumonia Drs. Travis Marfl eet & Christian Scott

Afternoon session sponsored by Ceva

2:00 to 3:00 pm

1) Teat Surgeries: Dos and Don’ts

2) Umbilical Infection in Calves

Dr. Pierre-Yves Mulon

Ergot Alkaloids in Beef Cattle Feedlot Diets: How much is too much?Dr. Gabriel Ribeiro

Decision-Making Tools Available for Your Team and Beef ClientsDr. Reynold Bergen

3:00 to 3:30 pm REFRESHMENT BREAK | Sponsored by HIPRA CONFERENCE CONCLUDES

3:30 to 4:30 pm

Decision Support Tools and Economics for Selective Dry Cow TherapyDr. Sam Rowe

Student Presentations of UCVM-led research related to beef(See details on page 10)

Life Cycle of a VeterinarianJillian Carr

4:30 to 5:30 pm

SESSION ADJOURNS STUDENT / PRACTITIONER MIXER Led by Dr. Eric BehlkeSponsored by Partnar Animal Health

5:30 pm SESSION ADJOURNS

6:00 pm DINNER & PRESENTATIONSponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Canada Inc.

RECEPTIONSponsored by Vetoquinol / Solvet / BVR Vet Supplies

newsletter10

HeyStudents!

Half of the confer-ence registration fees for WCABP student members who are enrolled in Canadian veteri-nary schools will be covered by the WCABP Butler Fund!

Join today — www.wcabp.com/student-member

(Student membership fee is $15 + GST)

Techs Welcome at WCABP Conference

Any veterinary technologist / animal health technologist (VT/AHT) who works in the practice (or institution) of a WCABP member is permitted to attend the lecture portion of our annual conference. They can register for the conference at our "member rate.”

On the registration form, simply indicate that you are a VT/AHT and provide the name of the WCABP member you are affi liated with.

Do You Have a

2021 Grad?

Did you know that a new grad in your practice can become be a WCABP member at student rates ($15 + GST)?

AND, they can attend the annual Conference at the student rate ($255) for the fi rst year following graduation?

Encourage them to join today —www.wcabp.com/student-member

Notice of WCABP’s 2022

Annual General MeetingFriday, January 14, 202212:15 p.m.

The agenda for this year’s meeting will include:

• executive reports• election of offi cers• award presentations

The AGM package will be sent out via e-blast in mid-December. Watch for it in your in box!

Related to DairyThursday – 1:00 to 2:00 pm

• Developing and Testing Live-Attenuated Vaccine against Johne’s Disease (Razieh EshraghiSamani)

• Eff ect of Selective Removal of Cattle with High Pro-viral Load on the Herd-Level Prevalence of Bovine Leukosis (Sulav Shresta)

• Adopting a Selective Dry Cow Therapy or Clinical Mastitis Treatment Protocol – What Can I Expect? (Ellen de Jong and Kayley McCubbin)

Related to BeefThursday – 3:30 to 4:30 pm

• Contrasting Preconditioned vs Conventionally Raised Cattle from Spring Processing to 40 Days on Feed: An Analysis of Feeding Behaviour and Antibody Pres-ence (Abby Hodder and Morgan Louden)

• Antimicrobial Resistance Risk Fac-tors in Canadian Beef Production: The Use of Integrated Assessment Models in Evaluating a One Health Problem (Kayla Strong)

• Impact of Digital Dermatitis on Beef Cattle Behaviour, Locomotion, and Pain Threshold (Anice Thomas)

Student Presentations of UCVM-led Research

For updated information on the 2022 Conference:• visit www.wcabp.com• Call the conference coordinator (Phyllis Mierau) at 1-866-269-8387 • Email [email protected]


Honorary Life MembershipHonorary Life Membership can be awarded to

individuals who

• are 65 years of age and

• have made an outstanding contribution

to either the association or the veterinary

profession.

Consider nominating a deserving individual for Honorary Life Membership. Nominations should include an outline of

the nominee’s achievements and describe

why they deserve to be recognized with

the Honorary Life Membership. Send

them to WCABP’s secretary-treasurer,

Murray Jelinski ([email protected]).

Awards will be presented at the 2022 WCABP AGM.Nomination must be passed by a majority

vote (⅔) at the AGM.

Past recipients:Dr. Lavern Clark

Dr. Neil Cory

Dr. Morrey Lehmann

Dr. Robert Ostrander

Dr. Alan Raymond

Dr. Gordon Atkins

Dr. Dave Dempsey

Dr. Bill Frischke

Dr. Larry Frischke

Dr. Pete Knight

Dr. Robert Laing

Dr. Doug Allen

Dr. Albert Barth

Dr. Ron Brandow

Dr. Ray Butler

Dr. Kenneth Cadieux

Dr. Paul Christiansen

Dr. Edward G. Clark

Dr. Ron Clarke

Dr. Ted Dupmeier

Dr. Brian Edge

Dr. M. Joseph Gregory

Dr. Eugene Janzen

Dr. Richard Krauss

Dr. David Lightfoot

Dr. Ken Little

Dr. Reuben Mapletoft

Dr. Leonard Martin

Dr. Ed McCall

Dr. Dick Nitschelm

Dr. Raymond Peno

Dr. Lyall Petrie

Dr. Blaine Pickard

Dr. Larry Potter

Dr. Dave Pratt

Dr. Otto Radostits

Dr Grant Royan

Dr. Wayne Sereda

Dr. Janice Sopatyk

Dr. Rodney G. Sydenham

Dr. Robert Tremblay

Dr. Sye Van Maanen

Dr. Rich Vanderwal

Dr. Glenn K. Weir

Dr. Kenn Wood

Call for Nominations

CONFERENCE HOTEL

Sheraton Cavalier2620 – 32nd Avenue NE

Calgary, AB

The Sheraton Cavalier Calgary

offers complimentary airport shut-

tle, plenty of free parking, a water

slide and swimming pool, and

is just 10 minutes from both the

airport and downtown. Bring the

whole family for a winter getaway!

A block of rooms at the hotel has

been reserved at a special rate of

$149 (plus taxes) for a standard

queen room (single or double

occupancy). To get the confer-

ence rate, you must book before

January 3, 2022.

Call 403-291-0107 and ask for

the WCABP conference rate.

Mark your calendars now!

Plan to attend the

2022 WCABP Conference.

Watch for more information on the

WCABP website:

www.wcabp.com/events/

2022-conference-information

Cynthia BeckUniversity of Regina

Dr. Reynold BergenBeef Cattle Research CouncilCalgary, AB

Jillian CarrSteady Gait PlanningSt. Albert, AB

Dr. John GilleardUCVM, Calgary, AB

Dr. Dayna GoldsmithUCVM, Calgary, AB

Dr. Eugene JanzenUCVM, Calgary, AB

Dr. Deborah JohnsonFeedlot Health Management Services, Okotoks, AB

Dr. Robert LawrenceWestlock Veterinary CenterWestlock, AB

Dr. Travis Marfl eetBow Valley Livestock HealthBrooks, AB

Dr. Phil MeadowsMitchell Veterinary ServicesMitchell, ON

Dr. Pierre-Yves MulonUniversity of TennesseeKnoxville, TN

Brian PerillatCanfax, Calgary, AB

Dr. Cassandra ReedmanOntario Veterinary CollegeGuelph, ON

Dr. Gabriel RibeiroCollege of Agriculture and Bioresource, USask

Dr. Samuel RoweUniversity of SydneySydney, Australia

Dr. Karen Schwartzkopf-GensweinLethbridge Research CenterLethbridge, AB

Dr. Christian ScottMorden Veterinary ClinicSt. Claude, MB

Dr. Brandon TreichlerSelect Milk ProducersOneida, WI

Dr. Amelia WoolumsMississippi State UniversityMississippi State, MI

List of Speakers:

newsletter12

Animal health surveillance brings together

the information needed to demonstrate

the health of animal populations and to

quickly respond to disease events.

In Canada, Th e Canadian Food Inspection

Agency and provincial regulations direct

management of certain regulated (e.g.,

reportable) diseases. For other diseases

and issues, surveillance reporting is less

formalized. However, coordination and

information sharing about all animal

diseases events and health concerns is valu-

able to rapidly detect emerging diseases,

track endemic disease impacts, and protect

livelihoods for Canadian farmers and

other animal health and food production

workers.

What Is the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance System (CAHSS)?Th e Canadian Animal Health Surveil-

lance System (CAHSS)1 is a division of

the National Farmed Animal Health and

Welfare Council (NFAHWC).2 CAHSS’s

role is to

• facilitate sharing of data-driven ani-

mal health information,

• identify and make progress on surveil-

lance priorities, and

• raise awareness of the import-

ance of coordinated animal health

surveillance.

1 http://cahss.ca/

2 https://www.ahwcouncil.ca/

Who Does CAHSS Work With?CAHSS works with surveillance and ani-

mal health groups including commodity

organizations, federal government agen-

cies, provincial governments, regional sur-

veillance networks (e.g., OAHN, RAIZO,

WeCAHN, AtCAHN), diagnostic animal

health laboratories and veterinary schools,

CAHSS is designed as a “network of

networks.” Currently, CAHSS has several

species-specifi c networks, including beef

and dairy that share information each

quarter by web conference (Figure 1). For

information and priorities that impact

multiple networks, coordinated cross-net-

work planning is organized by CAHSS.

Supporting Information Sharing and Establishing Connections Across CanadaObserve-connect-detect-protectBy: Drs. Doris Leung and Theresa Burns, Canadian Animal Health Surveillance System

Figure 1: Species-specifi c and special topic networks with CAHSS.

Figure 2: Example of episode from CAHSS’s “Animal Health Insights” podcast series.


that can be quickly searched by

animal type and region (federal and

provincial).

In addition, CAHSS produces a podcast

series called “Animal Health Insights” that

introduce listeners to the partners and

organizations that work to support animal

health in Canada (Figure 2).

Episodes that may be of interest to bovine

practitioners include:

“Dealing with Salmonella Dublin”4 with

Dr. Simon Dufour discussing the epidemi-

ology and challenges of diagnosing the

bacterial pathogen

“Biosecurity Beefs”5 with Dr. Trent

Wennekamp going over biosecurity related

risk factors of diff erent diseases within beef

cow-calf herds in western Canada

4 https://cahss.podbean.com/e/animal-health-

insights-ep-7-dealing-with-salmonella-dublin-

with-dr-simon-dufour/


insights-ep4-biosecurity-beefs-with-dr-trent-

wennekamp/

“Coughing Conundrums”6 with Dr.

Cheryl Waldner outlining the use of

genomics testing for respiratory disease

management to improve the health of

feedlot cattle.

Since the podcast launch, there have been

over 300 podcast episode downloads by

listeners! Visit CAHSS’s website7 to access

both the tools and podcast episodes.


insights-ep-2-coughing-conundrums-with-dr-

cheryl-waldner/

7 http://cahss.ca

What’s Useful for Practitioners?With the launch of the new website,

CAHSS has created a centralized informa-

tion hub with several tools that are useful

for bovine practitioners. Th ese CAHSS

tools are available in English and French,

and include the following:

• Resources Library – a searchable

library of surveillance reports and

resources from agencies across Can-

ada, including translated surveillance

updates from the RAIZO bovine

networks. Documents are quickly

searchable by animal, pathogen, and

region.

• Disease Alerts – a multi-species list-

ing of disease cases of interest across

Canada. Western disease alerts are

cross posted to WeCAHN.3

• Regulated Disease Table – table of

reportable and notifi able diseases

3 https://wecahn.ca/

newsletter14

newsletter16

When drought and the Great Depression introduced

the 1930s, the wheat market collapsed. Once the

oceans of wheat, which replaced the sea of prairie

grass that anchored the topsoil into place, dried up,

the land was defenceless against the winds that buf-

feted the Plains.

Th e term “Dust Pneumonia” originated through the

Great Depression when thousands of children died

from inhaling particles of silica from incessant clouds

of dirt and dust stirred by wind.

James Willford, in an article from Humanities, magazine of the National Endowment for the Human-ities, titled “Children of the Dust,”1 and Ken Burns’

documentary “Dust Bowl” both referenced dust

pneumonia, a human outcome of the worst ecological

disaster in American history.

Dee Griffi n, DVM, MS, Extension Veterinarian in

NebGuide, describes dust pneumonia as a sporadic

respiratory condition in feeder calves without a

well-defi ned cause. Th e veterinary term for feedlot

dust pneumonia is acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP).

Th e condition appears to result from a hypersensi-

tivity that can be associated with several causes that

result in similar tissue damage. Typically, the highest

incidence of dust pneumonia—hard breathers and

honkers in cowboy palaver—is in late spring, summer,

and early fall. Th e sporadic nature and uncertain list

of causes of these diseases in feeder cattle make pre-

ventive measures diffi cult to economically justify and

frustrating to institute but reducing known risks may

reduce the incidence.

Dr. Edouard Timsit, University of Calgary Faculty of

Veterinary Medicine, describes factors that contribute

to bovine susceptibility to pneumonia. Environment,

germs and immunity are top of mind when thinking

of all the risk factors that could set the stage for pneu-

monia in cattle. Th e forgotten factor is one beyond

producers’ control and the reason why pneumonia

will always be a problem—anatomy. Bovine lungs

1 Humanities, Nov/Dec 2012, Volume 33, Number 6

are very small relative to the animal’s oxygen require-

ments, explains Timsit.

Th e total lung capacity of an adult cow is only 2.5

times greater than that of an average man, yet its rest-

ing oxygen requirement is more than 10 times greater.

A cow’s lung capacity is 12 litres, its resting oxygen

requirement is 124 litres per minute, and it takes 30

breaths a minute to meet this demand. Compared to

a species of similar size and structure, a horse’s lung

capacity is 42 litres, and its resting oxygen require-

ment is 49 litres per minute requiring only 11 breaths

per minute.

Th e high airfl ow rate coupled with weaknesses of

the bovine lung structure itself leave ways for bac-

teria, viruses and other contaminants to penetrate

deep into the lungs where they trigger infection and

infl ammation.

A long list of names describes acute interstitial

pneumonia (AIP) in cattle. Th ese include dust pneu-

monia, atypical interstitial pneumonia, pulmonary

adenomatosis, acute bovine pulmonary edema and

emphysema, acute respiratory distress syndrome, fog

fever, lungers, and bovine asthma. An equally long

list of potential causes has been associated with the

disease. Feedlot employees refer to cases that develop

in late summer as dust pneumonia.

According to Griffi n, the term dust pneumonia has

always made a good deal of sense. Th e feedlot con-

dition occurs most often in the hot, dry, and dusty

part of the year. As the sun goes down on hot days

and the air begins to cool down, cattle stir or gather

in bunches on pasture in response to swarms of fl ies.

Cooler air is heavier than warm air and traps dust

stirred by cattle. Often, a type of “dust fog” appears to

develop over a feedyard or over a herd on dry pasture.

Dust particles less than four microns in size can travel

to the bottom of an animal’s lungs. Th e fi ne, talcum

powder like dust that settles on surfaces around a

feedyard is most likely small enough, if breathed, to

travel to the bottom of the lungs. Remembering that

dust, especially in feedyards, contains dried manure,

Dust a Risk Factor in Calf Pneumoniaby Ron Clarke

Volume 28, No. 4, December 2021 17Volume 28, No. 4, December 2021 17

it’s reasonable to assume that some particles carry bacterial endo-

toxins. Endotoxins, deep within the lungs, would damage lung

cells and potentially initiate severe respiratory conditions.

Factors that contribute to “dust pneumonia”:

• Heat stress—cattle are very susceptible to heat stress. Th e

thermoneutral, or comfort, zone for cows is an environ-

mental temperature range of 41°F to 77°F (5°C to 25°C).

• In feedlots, the association between AIP and elevated

ambient temperatures is due to the eff ect elevated ambient

temperatures have on the eating behaviour of cattle and

subsequent digestive disturbances.

• Th e amino acid tryptophan, when digested by Lactobacillus

(and other bacteria) in the rumen, can produce a chemical

(indole-3-acetic acid) that, when converted to 3-methylin-

dole (3MI), forms a very reactive chemical (3 methylenein-

dolenine) that, when absorbed, are toxic to the cells in the

lung.

• Estrus in feeder heifers can be associated with AIP. Research

has demonstrated that heifers are more commonly aff ected

by AIP than steers.

• Th e risk for an animal developing AIP is 5 to 10 times

higher if they have been treated previously for pneumonia

than if never treated for respiratory disease. One in-depth

study reported 30 percent of AIP cases also had concurrent

Mycoplasma bovis respiratory infection. Some cattle aff ected

with bacterial pneumonia fail to eliminate infection.

• Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV) is commonly

accused of being the cause of AIP in feeder cattle. BRSV has

been associated with outbreaks of AIP in weanling calves.

Extensive diagnostic testing has failed to link the virus to

AIP in feeder cattle.

AIP is a very diffi cult disease to treat. It is extremely import-

ant to identify AIP-aff ected cattle in the early stages of disease.

Care must be taken in handling these cases quietly and slowly as

exertion further compounds their respiratory distress. Supportive

therapy with anti-infl ammatory medications (steroids and anti-

histamines) and prolonged broad-spectrum antibiotic coverage

are frequently used. Th e outcome of treatment is frequently

disappointing. Th erefore, avoiding medications with slaughter

withdrawal requirements and salvage slaughter may be the best

alternative in uncomplicated cases.

Veterinary guidance regarding diagnosis, treatment choices (if

recommended), and respect of withdrawal times are a must for

producers.

Dr. Ron Clarke is responsible for writing WCABP’s articles for the Vet Advice column, which appears in each Canadian Cattlemenmagazine. Above is a recently published article.

newsletter18

Bull Evaluation Forms and Barth ManualsWCABP’s Bull Breeding Soundness App is up and running. Give it a try:

www.bullbreedingsoundness.com

Bull breeding soundness evaluation (BSE) forms

Single and multiple BSE forms are available through the

Western Drug Distribution Center (WDDC).

Edmonton, AB1-877-746-9332

Winnipeg, MB1-877-746-9332

Barth ManualsTh e 3rd edition of the Breeding Soundness Evaluation Manual, written by Dr. Albert D. Barth, may be purchased online

through WCABP.

For more information, see the WCABP website:

wcabp.com/about-us/bull-breeding-soundness-evaluation-manual


Oxytetracycline LP Injectable Product for Lactating Dairy Cows

Nothing new to report regarding the

arrival of an approved product. A com-

pounded product is available through

Solvet from Bow Valley Research Labs in

Calgary. In the Fall 2021 CABV/ACVB

Bulletin, Dr. Trish Dowling from Can-

adian Global Food Animal Residue Avoid-

ance Database (CgFARAD) provided

an article on the pharmacokinetics after

administration of long-acting oxytetracy-

cline intravenously in cattle.

Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Drug Licensing Fees—Impact on Drug Availability

Representatives from veterinary species

groups, the livestock industries, and

the Canadian Animal Health Institute

(CAHI) met by Zoom on September 27

to discuss drug availability issues in Can-

ada. A letter will be drafted to the Veter-

inary Drug Directorate (VDD) of Health

Canada (HC) indicating unanimous

support for a roundtable including both

industry and government representatives.

Each commodity was asked to provide one

example of a drug or medication in which

a regulatory barrier aff ects its availability

in Canada. CABV/ACVB submitted the

contrast in availability of intramammary

products in Canada versus the US.

A second letter will be prepared in con-

junction with CAHI that will outline the

three biggest hurdles to drug availability in

Canada:

• cost and time for new product

registration

• Canadian minimum residue limits

(MRLs) for antimicrobials

• small market size

Th e letter will also discuss the limitations

of programs such as the Emergency Drug

Release (EDR) program, minor use and

minor species (MUMS) challenges, and

the new Canadian GMP standards.

Humane Transport Regulations—Feed, Water, and Rest Provisions Update

Th e federal government is inviting feed-

back regarding the feed, water, and rest

CABV/ACVB Reportby Dr. Klea Wasilow, WCABP representative on the CABV/ACVB Board of Directors

provisions that are scheduled to come into

force in February 2022. Is the infra-

structure in place throughout the country

to comply with the new regulations? What

are you seeing?

Th e Canadian Food Inspection Agency

(CFIA) is planning an update for all

stakeholders later this fall that will discuss

the feedback they have received, how they

intend to monitor/police the regulations,

penalties for non-compliance etc. CABV/

ACVB will attend that meeting.

CABV/ACVB Membership Fees

After the presentation of the Financial

Report at the September 29 CABV/ACVB

AGM, it was suggested that the board

consider increasing the annual CABV/

ACVB membership fee. Th is sugges-

tion was in response to projected defi cit

budgets and declining cash reserves.

Th e board has asked the Executive Com-

mittee to thoroughly examine the fi nancial

health of the organization and report back

with their fi ndings.

common with them than your closest

neighbour. Th ere is some comfort in

knowing that your struggles are not

unique, and that others will share

their knowledge in how to overcome

them. Some of my best practice/staff -

ing/services tips came from hallway

coff ee time at WCABP.

Whether you’re planning to attend

virtually or in person, the WCABP

Board of Directors and myself are

looking forward to seeing you in

Calgary.

Respectfully submitted,Eric Maguet

President’s Report(continued from page 3

Kamloops Large Animal Veterinary Clinic is looking for two associate large animal veterinarians to join our team. We have opportunities for both bovine and equine focused veterinarians. We require a large animal veterin-arian who has a special inter-est in either, bovine or equine medicine and surgery. Our existing team includes 5 veter-inarians and 10 support staff . We off er a well-equipped

hospital that includes; mobile software, in house laboratory, and up-to-date diagnostic equipment.

We will be off ering this pos-ition to an enthusiastic, dedi-cated worker who is confi dent around cattle and horses of all disciplines.

Kamloops is located in the beautiful south central interior of British Columbia, Canada. Our clinic supplies

an excellent support team that enables success for veterinar-ians and their clients. A base salary with production bonus and benefi ts will be discussed with interested applicants.

For details about our practice, please visit www.klavc.ca.

For information about this position, contact Arron McKenzie by email at [email protected] or by phone at 250 374-1486.

Member-to-Member Classifi ed

2 POSITIONS:Kamloops Large Animal Veterinary Clinic

To place a newsletter or website ad, contact Phyllis Mierau, by phone at 1-866-269-8387 or email [email protected]

newsletter20

You Don’t Need Calculus to Calculate Your Cows’ Calcium Needs!Priyoshi Lahiri, Karin Orsel, John Kastelic, Eduardo R CoboDepartment of Production Animal Health, University of Calgary, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

UCVM Report

Digital dermatitis (DD) is a skin infl ammation (dermatitis) in

cows that occurs at the interface between hard and soft tissues

within the interdigital cleft of the hoof. Although the defi nitive

cause remains controversial, this disease involves several patho-

genic bacteria, with Treponema spp. spirochetes of particular

interest, as they are usually present deep within aff ected areas. If

left untreated, DD lesions develop into painful and erosive ulcers.

Th is disease, quite common in dairy and beef cattle, is a substan-

tial animal welfare concern, with potential to cause important

economic losses due to lameness, reduced weight, and body

condition, decreased milk production, premature culling, and

materials and labour for prevention and treatment.

Current therapeutics for DD have mostly focused on the likely

involvement of pathogenic microbes such as Treponemas spp.

Th us, DD lesions are routinely treated topically with caustic

chemicals and antibiotics (oxytetracycline) that may result in

development of thick scabs, but the bacterial infection and lesions

usually persist or do not heal, for reasons not well understood.

Frequent recurrence of DD lesions after antibiotic treatments

suggests the disease is not simply triggered by a microbe, but

Figure 1: An acute stage DD lesion, from which 4 mm punch biopsies were col-lected to determine infl ammation and macrophage population.

Figure 2: UCVM PhD student Priyoshi Lahiri processing DD lesions in the lab for fl ow cytometric analysis.


rather environmental conditions and immune defences in the

skin aff ect disease outcome.

Eduardo Cobo (associate professor), Karin Orsel (professor),

and the lameness team at UCVM have been studying the skin

immune response in DD-aff ected cows to understand why

wound healing is delayed in DD lesions and how normal healing

could be promoted (Arrazuria et al., 2020; Watts et al., 2018).

In the last few years, they determined that during DD’s active

infl ammatory phase, pro-infl ammatory macrophages (CD14high

CD16low) arrive and persist at the site of infection and produce a

plethora of pro-infl ammatory cytokines and proteolytic enzymes

that damage tissue, causing the observed skin lesions. Th is is in

contrast to what we would expect under normal conditions with

other diseases; after controlling the pathogens, the leukocytes stop

producing pro-infl ammatory molecules and initiate production of

a pro-healing microenvironment.

In this study, Priyoshi Lahiri, a PhD student in Cobo’s lab, deter-

mined that specifi c pro-infl ammatory macrophages (CD14high

CD16low) are abundant in acute DD lesions compared to healthy

skin in dairy cows. More importantly, these pro-infl ammatory

cells persisted after topical application of oxytetracycline. Pre-

sumably, antibiotic treatment is unable to mitigate the damaging

infl ammation of DD, consistent with post-treatment recurrence

being very common. We also reported topical oxytetracycline

reduced numbers of Treponema phagedenis in DD, but ulcerative

lesions were only temporarily alleviated (Watts et al., 2020).

As part of this study, Priyoshi developed a novel protocol to

identify various macrophage populations on bovine foot skin by

fl ow cytometry; this included digestion of bovine skin with an

optimized human skin tissue dissociation kit, previously used for

digesting gorilla skin.

Another important fi nding from the group was the higher activity

of matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) in active DD lesions. Th ese

MMPs are proteolytic enzymes, produced by neutrophils and

macrophages, that break down tissue proteins, but when over-

active can cause tissue damage.

Th e higher activity of MMPs in both acute and chronic

DD lesions, determined by quench fl uorescence assay using

fl uorogenic substrates for MMPs, could contribute to ongoing

tissue destruction. Furthermore, part of the short-term benefi cial

eff ects of oxytetracycline might be their inhibition of MMPs.

Following this discovery, the group is now testing novel MMP

inhibitors, including one known to promote wound healing in

treponeme-associated periodontitis in a range of animals. Th is

antibiotic-free treatment could mitigate dermatitis, reduce or

eliminate clinical signs of DD, and promote wound healing/skin

repair, regardless of the pathogenic bacteria.

Th is innovative technology may provide economic and welfare

benefi ts for the cattle industry, reducing lameness with less reli-

ance on antibiotics and caustic chemicals. It could also be useful

for treatment of other bovine foot diseases (e.g., foot rot) with

compromised skin healing.

A long-term goal of this group at UCVM is to determine why

DD lesions become chronic and how healing can be reinstated.

Th ey are generating new information and are optimistic about

developing non-antibiotic therapeutics to treat DD that can

benefi t the cattle industry.

ReferencesArrazuria, R., Knight, C.G., Lahiri, P., Cobo, E.R., Barkema, H.W., De

Buck, J., 2020. Treponema spp. isolated from bovine digital derma-

titis display diff erent pathogenicity in a murine abscess model.

Microorganisms 8(10): 1507.

Watts, K.M., Fodor, C., Beninger, C., Lahiri, P., Arrazuria, R., De Buck,

J., Knight, C.G., Orsel, K., Barkema, H.W., Cobo, E.R., 2018. A

diff erential innate immune response in active and chronic stages of

bovine infectious digital dermatitis. Front Microbiol 9: 1586.

Watts, K.M., Lahiri, P., Arrazuria, R., De Buck, J., Knight, C.G., Orsel,

K., Barkema, H.W., Cobo, E.R., 2020. Oxytetracycline reduces

infl ammation and treponeme burden whereas vitamin D3 promotes

beta-defensin expression in bovine infectious digital dermatitis. Cell Tissue Res 379(2): 337-348.

This work was supported by Results Driven Agriculture Re-search (RDAR; Alberta) and Alberta Milk, with thanks to the dairy producer Hansen family and No-Tilt Hoof trimming, Elbert Koster.

newsletter22

WCVM Report

Reducing Calves’ Castration Pain Drives Researchby Jessica Colby

Th e study’s other goal is to evaluate

the eff ects of a new castration tool that

includes extended-term delivery of a local

anesthesia drug.

Th e project focuses on testing pain

mitigation options in young calves at two

diff erent ages: castration at two weeks and

castration when the animals are fi ve and a

half months old.

“Th ere are two specifi c ages which are of

interest for the industry trying to provide

some analgesic (pain relief ),” says Moya,

this project’s lead investigator. “Up until

now, the … only prescribed solution is

Metacam, an anti-infl ammatory drug.”

Cattle producers have two pain-mitigat-

ing drug options for use on calves before

Reducing, or mitigating, the pain of

castration for male beef calves is one of the

main animal welfare concerns in the beef

cattle industry today.

Canada’s national codes of practice for the

care and handling of both beef and dairy

cattle recommend that male calves be cas-

trated within the fi rst few weeks of life.

“Th e younger the better,” stresses Dr. John

Campbell, a professor and beef cattle

veterinarian at the Western College of

Veterinary Medicine (WCVM). Campbell

has also led previous studies evaluating

pain mitigation options for calves.

While most cattle producers will cas-

trate their calves within a few months

of birth, current guidelines don’t require

the administration of any form of pain

mitigation when castrating calves under

six months of age.

However, Canada’s cattle industry is

searching for an eff ective and economical

way to mitigate the calves’ pain during

castration that addresses welfare concerns.

Th e industry’s need is driving a new

WCVM study involving Campbell and his

colleague Dr. Diego Moya, a specialist in

beef cattle behaviour and welfare.

One of the study’s goals is to develop a

standardized pain evaluation protocol to

help with the development and registra-

tion of future pain mitigation tools.

“[We are hoping to] kind of summarize

or fi lter the amount of tests that one

researcher has to do in order to evaluate

pain, because so far, it’s a little bit all over

the place,” says Moya.

Canada’s national codes of practice for the care and handling of beef and dairy cattle recommend that male calves be castrated within the fi rst few weeks of life. Photo: Christina Weese.

castration. Th ey can use a local anesthetic

drug such as lidocaine—the same medi-

cation used by dentists to reduce pain in

their human patients. However, local anes-

thetics must be given some time before

castration—plus they have a limited

window of eff ectiveness.

“Th e short duration of the lidocaine, along

with a diffi cult administration method,

actually doesn’t make it that relevant for

the industry to use it, so that’s why they

go for the Metacam, which is easier to

administer and has a longer-lasting eff ect

in the animal,” says Moya.

Metacam contains meloxicam, a non-ster-

oidal anti-infl ammatory drug (NSAID)—

the second drug option available for cattle

producers. Researchers have developed


WCVM Production Animal Club Report

Greetings from the WCVM Production Animal Club! It is my

pleasure to take on this role as the WCABP Rep for the PAC.

After a year with very limited in-person instruction, this semester

has been a welcome change for me and classmates! It has been

exciting to fi nally walk the halls, sit in a classroom with each

other and have a more “normal” vet school experience! We greatly

appreciate the eff orts of all the faculty members involved in mak-

ing this possible for the college.

Th e Production Animal Club has certainly taken advantage of

the opportunity to now have in-person events. Th is fall we hosted

an implanting lab at the Livestock and Forage Center of Excel-

lence using the University’s feedlot animals. Students had the

opportunity to check previous implantations and then practise

our skills on cadaver ears with donated implant guns. We want

to thank Dr. Nathan Erickson for taking the time to spend the

afternoon with us! Th is lab will be followed up with a lunch

talk from Dr. Lacey Fowler with Elanco discussing the use of

implants in cow/calf and grass-fed cattle production systems in

the coming weeks. Students also had the opportunity to take part

in two de-horning labs. Th ank you, Dr. Fritz Schumann, for your

assistance with these labs! We’re very fortunate the fall weather

has been in our favour for hosting these labs as well. All these

events have been well attended by several members and off er a

nice change from the books!

Th is semester we have welcomed several eager students from the

Class of 2025 to the executive as well. Th ey will be a great addi-

tion to our team!

• Robyn Yaremchuk – Junior Treasurer and Secretary

• Bailey Brazeau – Junior Public Relations

• Emma Schaeff er – Junior Swine Rep

• Julianne Braun – Junior Aquatics Rep

• Keegan King – First Year Class Rep

Th e next semester looks promising as we intend on having more

de-horning labs, lunch talks and cattle handling labs. We look

forward to the presentations at the WCABP Annual Conference

as well!

On behalf of everyone at the WCVM, we want to wish everyone

a safe and happy holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Take good care.

Alanna DudychWCABP representative

specifi c NSAIDs for cattle, and these

drugs tend to work better for managing

pain associated with castrating since their

pain-relieving eff ects can last anywhere

from 36 to 48 hours.

In their study, Moya and Campbell are

evaluating the pain mitigation eff ects of a

novel, lidocaine-infused castration band

developed by Alberta Veterinary Labora-

tories in Calgary, Alta.

“We don’t want to run the cattle through

the chute every two days to give them

more pain control. We’d like to just

give them pain control once,” explains

Campbell.

By using the band “that has some lido-

caine impregnated into it,” Campbell says

the technique has potential for providing

longer-term pain control.

“[Th e castration bands are] a good tech-

nique, especially in young calves—it’s

probably one of the least painful ones.

But it still causes some pain, so if this

technique would work, it would be a solu-

tion to one of the castration techniques

where the injectable products don’t work

terribly well because they don’t last long

enough.”

Producers can use castration bands in

younger and older calves. With this

method, producers can place a small, tight

band around the calf ’s testicles to restrict

the testicular blood supply. Th ree to six

weeks later, the testis and scrotal tissue

slough off .

In addition to testing the new castration

band, the researchers will evaluate the

calves’ pain after using a regular castration

band with either no pain medication or

with local injections of lidocaine.

Moya will evaluate several factors that

may indicate pain in calves, including how

often a calf kicks its belly and how much

it swishes its tail.

“Beef cattle in general [are] quite [a] stoic

species and some of them are very good at

hiding pain just because through evolu-

tion, they have been trained to hide any

pain or injury so they’re not the target of

predators,” says Moya, who will use a ser-

ies of video cameras to monitor the calves’

reactions to the procedure.

“I think the behaviour is going to be an

important component in capturing the

individual science of pain and coming up

with results on this problem.”

In addition to evaluating behavioural

factors that indicate pain, Moya and his

team will also evaluate blood samples for

signs of tissue damage and infl amma-

tion. In terms of stress, they’re looking at

cortisol levels in calves’ coat hair samples

to measure chronic stress and analyzing

saliva samples from the calves to monitor

acute stress.

As well, the team will analyze the testicular

tissues of calves that receive the new lido-

caine-infused band to measure levels of

continue on page 26 . . .

Th is year’s feed situation is forcing many

cow-calf producers to make very diffi cult

decisions. Th ose who are short of feed may

cull their herds harder than usual or look

for alternative feeding arrangements to

winter some or all their cows. Others with

feed carryover from previous years may

be tempted to custom feed other people’s

cows, or to expand their own herds. Th ose

who are selling cows this year may rebuild

their herds in a year or two when the

weather is more promising. In short, there

are potentially a lot of cows changing

hands, either permanently or temporarily.

Regardless of whether you’re buying

now, buying later or considering custom

feeding, remember that there’s more to the

decision than price alone. Some apparent

opportunities can bring signifi cant hidden

costs. Th is lesson was illustrated recently

in a project led by John Campbell and

Cheryl Waldner, with co-workers from the

Universities of Saskatchewan and Calgary.1

What they did:Th ese researchers surveyed 80 producers

in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba

who participated in the Western Canadian

Cow-Calf Surveillance Network.2 Th ey

asked 14 questions about what animals

had been purchased over the past four

years (bulls, cows, heifers, calves), where

they purchased them (directly from

another producer, from consignment sales

1 Biosecurity Practices in Western Canadian Cow-

Calf Herds and Th eir Association with Animal

Health; Canadian Veterinary Journal 62:712-718

2 www.beefresearch.ca/factsheet.cfm/

the-canadian-cow-calf-surveillance-network-261

featuring few sellers or from an auction

market), how they managed new cattle

after arriving on the farm and whether

they had experienced a scours, coccidiosis

or bovine respiratory disease (BRD)3 out-

break aff ecting more than 10% of their

animals.

What they learned:Th ere were no closed herds. Everyone

had purchased at least one bull, mostly

through private sales or directly from

other farms. Over half had purchased heif-

ers and nearly half had purchased cows,

usually from another farm.

3 www.beefresearch.ca/research-topic.cfm/

bovine-respiratory-disease-38

Always Look a Gift Cow In The MouthThis article was written by Dr. Reynold Bergen, science director at the Beef Cattle Research Council. It originally appeared in the November 2021 issue of Canadian Cattlemen magazine and is reprinted with permission.


Regardless of herd size, outbreaks of calf

diarrhea (22% of herds) and coccidiosis

(16%) were most common in herds that

purchased 10 or more bulls over four

years, leased or shared bulls with other

herds, or used community pastures.

Regardless of herd size, outbreaks of BRD

(20% of herds) were most common in

herds that had purchased 10 or more

bulls, used community pastures, bought

cowspurch or did not vaccinate newly

purchased animals.

So What Does this Mean. . . to Me? Introducing adult cows or bulls to an

existing herd increases the risk of calf

scours, coccidiosis and BRD outbreaks,

diseases that can carry signifi cant health

costs and death losses. A few simple

precautions can help protect the health of

your herd and next year’s calf crop.

First, remember that buying new animals

can be risky. Th ere is more mixing of

unfamiliar animals (and disease) at auction

marts but using consignment or direct

sales doesn’t eliminate the risk of bringing

diseases home.

Second, work with your veterinarian to

develop and implement an appropri-

ate vaccination program4 for your herd, if

you haven’t already. Vaccines work, when

they’re stored, handled and used correctly.

An earlier survey found that over half of

these herds vaccinated both heifers and

cows against scour pathogens like E. coli, coronavirus and rotavirus at least once.

Over 90% of cows and heifers had been

vaccinated once against BRD viruses like

BVD Types 1 and 2, BHV-1, BRSV and

PI3, but less than 5% of cows and only

around 25% of heifers were vaccinated

twice against any of these diseases. Th e

fact that scours and BRD outbreaks still

occurred in some herds doesn’t mean the

vaccines didn’t work. It’s likely more herds

would have experienced worse outbreaks

if vaccination rates had been lower, and

fewer outbreaks may have happened if all

the breeding females had been vaccinated

twice. Vaccines can still be overwhelmed,


vaccination-of-the-beef-herd-108

especially if animals aren’t fully vaccinated,

or if the incoming disease burden is high

enough.

Th ird, remember to vaccinate new arrivals

before mixing them with the rest of the

herd! Th is may be easy to forget if you

ordinarily vaccinate at a diff erent time of

year. Ask the seller about their vaccination

program. If they need to be re-vaccinated,

work with your veterinarian to make sure

that you are using a vaccine that is safe to

use in bred cows or heifers.

Fourth, remember that vaccines don’t take

eff ect immediately, and cattle can still

transmit disease in the meantime. Keeping

new arrivals segregated from the main herd

for two or three weeks after they’ve been

vaccinated will help protect both groups.

Fifth, remember that some diseases don’t

have eff ective vaccines, and are very diffi -

cult to eradicate once they’re purchased.

One well-known but often overlooked

example is Johne’s disease.5 Another is

digital dermatitis. Also known as “hairy

heel wart” or “strawberry foot rot,” this

very painful, highly contagious, and

diffi cult to treat form of lameness was fi rst

discovered in dairy cattle but is becoming

increasingly common in feedlot cattle.

Th e bacteria that cause this disease are

believed to survive in the soil and are very

diffi cult to eradicate. Breeding stock that

are being wintered in a commercial feedlot

may bring some unexpected diseases back

home with them.

Finally, remember that none of these

precautions are “silver bullets.” Th ey work

best in combination.

Th ese simple precautions can help

bargain cows from becoming costly in

the long run.


johnes-disease-51

Draft Code of Practice for Care and Handling of Dairy CattleTh e revision of the National Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle is

underway—the draft will be available for public comment until midnight on January 27,

2022. Publication of the fi nal version is expected in late 2022 / early 2023. Th is is a very

important opportunity for bovine veterinarians to have their constructive thoughts and opin-

ions on the Code of Practice heard.

Th e revised draft of the Code, the Scientifi c Report, and the commenting portal

is on NFACC website at www.nfacc.ca/codes-of-practice/dairy-cattle.

newsletter26

January 13–15, 2022 | WCABP Conference and Annual General Meeting | Sheraton

Cavalier Hotel, Calgary, AB, and

virtual | For more information,

phone Phyllis Mierau at 1-866-

269-8387, email info@wcabp.

com, or visit www.wcabp.com.

March 6–9, 2022 | 94th Annual Western Veterinary Conference | Mandalay Bay

Convention Center, Las Vegas,

Nevada. For more information,

visit www.viticusgroup.org/wvc-

conference.

September 4–8, 2022 | World Buiatrics Congress | Madrid,

Spain | For more information,

visit www.wbc-madrid2022.com.

UpcomingEvents

Mark your calendars now!

Plan to attend the

31st WCABP conference.

Find more information or register

on the WCABP website:

www.wcabp.com/events/

2022-conference-

information-2

Notice of WCABP

Membership RenewalIn an eff ort to be environmentally

conscious, this year we are sending

automated digital reminders to

renew your WCABP membership

online. (All memberships will

expire on December 31, 2021.)

First notices were sent November

15. Once you renew, kindly ignore

any further notifi cations received.

If you prefer to renew by mail,

download the Membership Form

from our website and mail it (along

with your cheque) to the WCABP

Offi ce. (Note: we’ve moved!)

If you have questions, email

Jacquie at [email protected].

WCABP Has Moved!WCABP has moved to a

new offi ce located at:

847 57th Street East (2nd Floor)Saskatoon, SK S7K 5Z2

Phone and email remain the same.

the local anesthetic in their tissue and to

ensure that the novel bands are working.

Castration is a necessary procedure that

protects the health and welfare of indi-

vidual cattle and the whole herd, and the

industry can’t compromise on that point.

“Once bulls are pubertal (reach sexual

maturity), they can be potentially danger-

ous,” says Campbell. “Th ey can also fi ght

with each other as they get older and can

be hard on facilities.”

He adds that in North America, people

don’t typically consume bull meat; con-

sumers prefer the quality and texture of

meat from steers. As a result, the carcasses

of bulls are usually priced lower.

“Castration still has to happen for diff er-

ent safety and meat quality issues—but it

has to happen … under the best condi-

tions possible,” says Moya.

Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development

Fund (ADF), SaskMilk, and the Beef Cat-

tle Research Council (BCRC) have pro-

vided funding for this study, along with

an in-kind contribution from Chinook

Contract Research and Alberta Veterinary

Laboratories.

Jessica Colby of Montmartre, Sask., is a University of Regina journalism student. She worked at the WCVM as a summer research communications intern in 2021

WCVM Report(continued from page 23


Member News

WCABP Member ReceivesJames A. Jarrett Award for Young LeadersDr. Elizabeth Homerosky, Veterinary

Agri-Health Services, Rocky View County,

Alberta, recently received the James A.

Jarrett Award for Young Leaders.

Th e award, named after AABP’s second

executive vice president, recognizes the

contributions of deserving AABP mem-

bers who have recently graduated from

veterinary school (within the previous 10

years). It is given to members who have

given extraordinary service to AABP in

a manner that signifi cantly enhances the

mission of the organization and have

made signifi cant contributions to ensuring

the current success and the future viability

of the organization.

Congratulations Elizabeth!

WCABP Member Receives Alberta’s Highest Award Alberta Order of Excellence

Dr. Mark Hilton (right) presented the 2021 Dr. James A. Jarrett Award for Young Leaders to Dr. Elizabeth Homerosky (left).

WCABP member, Dr. Merle Olson and

his wife Dr. Barb Olson were inducted

into the Alberta Order of Excellence.

After graduating from the Western College

of Veterinary Medicine in 1981, Merle

spent three years in a veterinary practice

in Pincher Creek, AB, later moving to

Calgary where he worked at the University

of Calgary for 20 years.

In 2004, Merle and Barb made a team

decision to take early retirement from the

university and jump to the private sector.

All of Merle’s experiences as a rural vet and

urban professor would combine to guide

the next phase of his life.

Merle and Barb resolved to launch made-

in-Alberta biotech ventures to serve the

livestock industry, based on the model

of talking to farmers and vets to identify

problems and then off ering solutions to

those problems. So they founded a pub-

licly traded biotech company, Innovotech,

which is now based in Edmonton and

provides products and services based on

the Olsons’ biofi lm research.

Alberta Veterinary Laboratories (AVL)

and Solvet Animal Health are devoted to

researching and manufacturing made-in-

Alberta livestock pharmaceuticals. Th e

Olsons built a state-of-the-art manufac-

turing plant in Calgary to make veterinary

pharmaceuticals. AVL has won widespread

praise from farmers and ranchers for

developing an economical parasite control

product for cattle. Comparable prod-

ucts were much more expensive, forcing

producers to reduce their profi tability or

compromise the health of their herds.

AVL’s Ivermectin Pour-On for Cattle

brought competition into the marketplace

and, since 2009, has saved the industry

an estimated $9 million annually while

improving animal health and welfare.

AVL has registered and begun sales of at

least one new veterinary product in each

year of its operations, and now has over 50

employees, including chemists, biochem-

ists, pharmacists, veterinarians, engineers

and accountants.

Merle and Barb have worked with Alberta

physicians and scientists to develop

human products, such as RhinoRinse (a

novel nasal fl ush solution) and Acticoat (a

silver antimicrobial bandage).

Merle and Barb learned of their selection

for the Alberta Order of Excellence on

their 40th wedding anniversary.

Congratulations!

Volume 28, No. 4, December 2021 - wcabp

Documents

Transcript of Volume 28, No. 4, December 2021 - wcabp