Think You Have A Closed Herd? Think Again.
Monday, April 20, 2020
A surprising proportion of producers believe they run a closed herd. The 2017 Western Canadian Cow-Calf Survey requested reasons why certain management practices were not employed on individual operations. Out of the approximately 25% of respondents who did not vaccinate their cows and heifers against reproductive diseases such as IBR and BVD, over half of those reported that their reason for forgoing those vaccinations was because they had a closed herd. Similarly, over 20% of respondents did not vaccinate their calves against respiratory disease (BRD), and 30% of those indicated having a closed herd was their main reason for not vaccinating. This high rate of mistaken belief in having a closed herd is not just a Canadian phenomenon.
Posted in:
Agriculture