AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Luciano Caixeta, associate professor of dairy production medicine at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Jen Roberts, senior professional services veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim. 

This episode of Have You Herd is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim. Most producers focus on lactation for milk yield and udder health. But as veterinarians, we know that many of the most critical decisions happen around dry-off. This episode will explore dry cow strategies and what veterinarians can do to help clients drive better outcomes during the dry period.

We should approach the dry period as the beginning of lactation, not the end of lactation, to set cows up for a successful milk production period. Dry-off is a critical window for mastitis prevention and use of internal teat sealants and coliform mastitis vaccination are important tools that should be considered by the veterinarian. Veterinarians should also discuss with clients how to prepare for drying off high-producing cows and why it is important to address them proactively. Bovikalc Dry ® is an acidogenic bolus given to cows at dry off to decrease milk production and udder engorgement. It works by causing a transient decrease in dry matter intake and a decrease in glucose transport to the udder which leads to a decrease in milk production. 

The veterinarian of record is also an important resource for developing and monitoring protocols. Monitoring dry-off protocols and conducting audits of the dry-off procedures and dry pen are important services that veterinarians can provide to clients. Ensuring that protocol drift is not occurring, dry pens are clean and not overstocked, ventilation and cow cooling are appropriate, and access to feed and water is adequate are important areas to audit to ensure a successful dry cow program. 

For more information about mastitis prevention programs from Boehringer Ingelheim, visit this website. A summary of the Bovikalc Dry product can be found here. 

Publications on Bovikalc Dry:

Randomized clinical trial evaluating the effects of administering acidogenic boluses at dry-off on udder health, milk yield, and herd removal

J Dairy Sci

https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2023-23757

A randomized clinical trial evaluating the effects of administration of acidogenic boluses at dry-off on rumination and activity behavior in the 14 subsequent days

J Dairy Sci Comm

https://doi.org/10.3168/jdsc.2022-0366

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. A.J. Tarpoff, Beef Cattle Extension Veterinarian, Kansas State University, to discuss what you need to know about flies to help your clients with treatment and control programs.

This episode of Have You Herd? is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and the Choose360Coverage mastitis portfolio. Bacteria can strike udders from any angle. The dairy health portfolio that rises to the challenge is Mastitis 360 by Boehringer Ingelheim. It offers powerful solutions for lactation through dry-off. Manage udder health with the ultimate to tools at your disposal. Find out more information by visiting the Choose360coverage.com today. 

Diagnosis of the type of fly is an important first step in managing treatment and control programs. The three main flies affecting cattle are horn flies, face flies and stable flies. Horn flies spend the majority of their life on the animal, typically along the withers, are blood feeders, and lay eggs in fresh manure. Face flies feed on eye secretions, damage the cornea, are not found in the hot southern regions of the U.S., and lay eggs in fresh manure. They do not spend most of their time on the animal. Stable flies are biting flies and a nuisance pest that lays eggs in decaying organic matter such as spoiled feed. 

Tarpoff walks through the basic treatment and control methods for flies which include insecticidal ear tags, pour-ons or sprays, dusters/oilers, and feed through products that are insect growth regulators. We discuss best management practices to improve effectiveness of these products as well as mitigating resistance to ensure efficacy. 

It is also important for veterinarians and producers to be aware of the threat of New World Screwworm which is a fly that is threatening introduction into the U.S. If you suspect a case, Tarpoff recommends immediately contacting your state animal health official and to collect the larvae for identification.

AABP will host a webinar on August 14 on New World Screwworm and members can access upcoming webinar information on this page. The Have You Herd? episode on New World Screwworm can be found here. You can also access New World Screwworm resources on this page of the AABP website. 

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Rick Naerebout, executive director of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association to discuss the impacts of immigration raids on dairy and beef operations.

Veterinarians play a key role in working with their clients on a variety of labor issues. Helping clients prepare for a potential ICE raid is a conversation that veterinarians may consider having as they work with the caregivers on these operations. The intent of this podcast is for general advice and discussion purposes and not be construed as legal advice which should come from a licensed attorney specific to your needs and circumstances. Veterinarians should encourage clients to reach out to an attorney who specializes in immigration law and review the links provided for further resources and contact information.

Immigrants are not only important on farms, but also constitute a significant portion of the labor force in meat processing facilities. Labor shortages in any part of the supply chain could have negative impacts on beef and milk prices for our clients. Naerebout discusses that the majority of the volume of fluid milk in the country is harvested by immigrant labor and it is estimated that at least 50% of the workforce does not have legal status. The utilization of immigrant labor is also regionally influenced in the U.S. and therefore in some areas of the country, these figures will be higher. 

Naerebout discusses some of the challenges immigrants face in securing legal documentation to work on beef and dairy operations or meat packing facilities. H2A visas are for seasonal work and TN visas require a degreed position, neither of which may qualify for many of the employment opportunities on our clients' farms. 

Preparing your clients is important. Discussing with employees and managers what they should do in the event of an ICE raid is an important part of preparation, along with securing legal counsel. Naerebout also recommends signage at the entrance to the facility as well as signage that delineates public vs. private areas is critical. An administrative warrant does not authorize agents to enter private areas and therefore signage should be visible identifying such areas. 

For more information, visit these links:

National Immigration Law Center

American Immigration Council

American Immigration Lawyers Association

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Callie Willingham, AABP President Elect and chair of the 2025 AABP Annual Conference program. The theme of the conference is “Focus on Value” which was taken from the Warren Buffet quote, “Cost is what you pay for something, and value is what you get.” The conference will be held at the CHI Convention Center in Omaha, Neb., September 11-13.

The keynote speaker is Natasha Nicholes from “We Sow, We Grow”, an urban garden collective on the south side of Chicago. Nicholes will present “Bridging Fields: Aligning the Values of Urban Agriculture and Bovine Practice”. After the presentation, the candidates for the 2026 AABP Vice-President Election, Dr. Eric Behlke and Dr. Daryl Nydam, will introduce themselves to the attendees and the ballot will open at the conclusion of their talks.

Continuing education sessions at the conference will include small ruminants, mental health topics, beef cow-calf and feedlot, dairy, joint beef/dairy, clinical skills, practice management, hot topics and students/new grads sessions. The research summaries presentations will include 10 student case presentations and 12 grad student presentations for the annual competition with cash prizes awarded to the top presenters. 

Willingham also invites attendees to register for a clinical forum breakfast on Thursday morning from 7 am to 9 am which will provide 2 additional hours of continuing education plus a breakfast. These sessions are small-group discussions based sessions led by an expert facilitator. 

Gingrich also discusses the meals and social events available to attendees, as well as thanking the sponsors of the conference. In addition, the conference will host a trade show with vendors from across the veterinary and cattle industries. 

Early bird registration closes on July 31. Register for the conference at this link and book your hotel from this page which includes a description of each hotel in the AABP block. View the session descriptions from this link and the full conference schedule here. 

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by AABP Vice President Dr. Mark Hilton. In his role as vice president, Hilton manages the preconference seminars for the 2025 AABP Annual conference.

Preconference seminars are small group sessions with a focused continuing education topic. Each seminar is approved for eight hours of continuing education per day. The advantages of seminars include additional continuing education for attendees, teaching a specific set of skills on topics relevant to bovine practitioners, and networking and engaging with faculty and attendees who are interested in the same subject. Seminars are in-depth and can elevate your practice to teach a new skill or advance a skill for your clients. The goal of seminars is to teach practitioners skills to add services that help the practice, the client and their cows. Preconference seminars will be held on Tuesday, September 9 and Wednesday, September 10 prior to the conference in Omaha, Neb. All seminars will be held at the Hilton headquarters hotel.

Registration for the 2025 AABP 58th Conference is open. Earlybird registration closes on July 31. Any seminar with an inadequate number of registrations is subject to cancellation and your fee will be refunded or can be applied to another seminar registration. Seminars can be added to your registration if you are an AABP member veterinarian, veterinary technician or veterinary student.

Register for the conference at this link. View the schedule and description of the preconference seminars on this page. Clicking on the links for each seminar will provide a description, faculty list and schedule of presentations. Book your hotel at the following link. 

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Sarah Wager, Professor of Pharmacology and Assistant Dean at Texas Tech University College of Veterinary Medicine. Wagner is the principal investigator for a survey of bovine veterinarians and the results of this research were published in the AABP peer-reviewed journal The Bovine Practitioner. 

 This episode of Have You Herd? is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim. Bacteria can strike udders from any angle. The dairy health portfolio that rises to the challenge is Mastitis 360 by Boehringer Ingelheim. It offers powerful solutions for lactation through dry-off. So, manage udder health with the ultimate tools at your disposal. Because you’re more than a veterinarian. You’re... a hero of the herd. For more information, visit this link. 

The objectives of this study were to find out what bovine veterinarians earn, what factors affect incomes, and what factors affect job satisfaction. Out of 900 respondents, 600 were private practitioners and this paper provides the results from the private practitioner responses working 40 or more hours per week. The overall mean income reported was $150,000 per year and the median income was $120,000 per year with a range of $40,000 to $1,000,000. Sixty-two percent of respondents were compensated via salary only, 25% were a mix of salary and production, and 6% were production only. Factors that are positively associated with increased income include years since graduation, prac­tice ownership, type-exclusive practice (beef or dairy only), and a production-based compensation structure.

 Wagner discusses the gender disparity in salary with women reporting lower earnings than men for all graduation year decades. We also discuss the interaction between practice ownership, gender and pay structure. The only situation where women earned the same as men were when they were compensated on a production basis vs. straight salary basis. 

 Wagner also reports drivers of job satisfaction. Income transparency is positively associated with job satisfaction, while being on call and working increased hours are nega­tively associated with job satisfaction.  It has been reported that only 17% of private sector jobs (vs. 80% of public sector) have income transparency. In this study, 55% of respondents were aware of how much other veterinarians at their workplace were paid. Only 10% of respondents reported leaving a job primarily due to income. 

 To find out more information about the AABP Veterinary Practice Sustainability Committee, visit this page. AABP members can view the presentation from Dr. Wagner at the 2023 AABP Conference in Milwaukee by going to the online CE portal found here. 

 Incomes and satisfaction among bovine focused veterinary practitioners in the United States and Canada. (2025). The Bovine Practitioner, 59(2), 17-25. https://doi.org/10.21423/bpj20259256

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by AABP members Dr. Jackie Graber, chair of the AABP Mental Health and Well-Being Committee, Dr. Gabe Middleton and Dr. Alissa Wilhelm. This podcast is brought to you by the AABP Mental Health and Well-Being Committee. Graber discusses the importance of this committee for AABP members and committee resources and activities. Find AABP committee resources on this page and information about the committee here. Volunteers are needed for this committee, and our guests encourage any members interested in the committee to go to the committee page and click on the email committee link to join! The committee has completed a survey on mental health which can be found here.

The committee has sponsored two presentations at the 58th AABP Annual Conference. The presentations will be delivered by Andi Davis, a registered veterinary technician from Flourish Veterinary Consulting. Find out more information about the conference schedule at this link. Registration is now open for the conference and can be found on this page. Reminder that all AABP conference sessions are recorded and available for members at no charge.

It is important for veterinarians to understand what challenges students and recent graduates face so that we can provide them with resources and opportunities. Mentorship is an important part of training veterinary students, but also for ensuring a successful transition as a recent graduate. Our guests discuss how to provide that mentorship and support, which will have positive impacts on mental health. This includes offering regular feedback, providing counseling resources, allowing them ample training opportunities in their areas of interest, and being proactive with reaching out to associates. 

AABP has a mentorship program to connect recent graduates to other AABP members. We encourage AABP members to sign up to be a mentor and recent graduates to request a mentor. Information about the mentorship program with links to sign up for the program can be found here. 

The Mental Health and Well-Being also has support group meetings every other week. All are welcome to attend the discussion. The AABP Virtual Discussion Group meets every other Wednesday night at 8:00 pm Eastern time. Upcoming dates are June 18; July 2, 16, 30; August 6, 20 and              September 3, 17.

Join the conversation by using the new link at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85054147503?pwd=qCCY826nOiUmDYaXm51oa4sK3iNehl.1

Do you want to support the initiatives of the AABP Mental Health and Well-Being Committee? Consider a donation to the AABP Foundation mental health fund at this link. 

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Linda Tikofsky, Senior Associate Director, Cattle Professional Services with Boehringer Ingelheim, and Dr. Amy Vasquez, Assistant Professor of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Services at Cornell University with the Quality Milk Production Services (QMPS). This podcast is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim as part of their sponsorship package of the 2025 AABP Recent Graduate Conference opening dinner reception. 

For years, common mastitis treatment decisions have focused on resolving visible inflammation rather than targeting only the infection which often leads to overtreatment. This episode explores the evolution of mastitis treatment, the latest research on protocol trends and producer decision making and the benefits of short-duration treatment.

The average case of clinical mastitis lasts 4-6 days, which is beyond the labeled duration of therapy for mastitis intramammary tubes. Utilizing a protocol with a specified duration of therapy and based on pathogen profiles and culture data from the farm, can significantly decrease antibiotic use, decrease milk discard times, prevent violative residues, and be economically advantageous to the producer. Our guests also discuss steps for success in implementing short-duration therapy on farms. This includes appropriate case selection, identifying expectations, review of culture data and records, taking small steps with a culture-based treatment protocol, and ensuring compliance with the written protocol. 

For more information, visit https://bi-animalhealth.com/cattle/. Further information about mastitis management can be found at https://bi-animalhealth.com/cattle/dairy/mastitis-management. Learn about the Mastitis 3600 initiative from Boehringer Ingelheim at https://bi-animalhealth.com/cattle/dairy/mastitis-portfolio.

 Links to papers discussed in this episode:

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Bill Croushore and Dr. Greg Schueller to discuss the upcoming AABP embryo transfer seminar. The seminar will take place at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., July 28-30, 2025. The seminar has been approved for 24 hours of continuing education in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval.  

This seminar will include didactic lectures to introduce concepts of embryo transfer including scheduling donors, physiology of superovulation and synchronization, non-surgical embryo collection, cryopreservation, recipient synchronization, non-surgical transfer and principles of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The group will then be provided with a demonstration of embryo collection, searching and evaluation, embryo washing, handling and freezing. This will set up participants to perform embryo collection, searching and transfer and freezing embryos on their own with donor cows. 

This course will prepare the novice practitioner to be able to go home and immediately incorporate embryo transfer into their practice. This will provide a new service to their clients or enable practitioners who are performing embryo transfer to brush up on these skills with an expert faculty. Each participant will perform the procedures from start to finish with the faculty providing assistance, feedback and instruction.

AABP member veterinarians are welcome to register for this seminar. Participants are provided with a one-year complimentary membership in the American Embryo Transfer Association (AETA) and one free registration to the AETA annual conference as part of their registration fee. 

To find out more and register for the course, visit this page. To donate to the Edwin Robertson Memorial Scholarship Fund to provide financial assistance to AABP students seeking advanced reproductive training, visit this donation page. 

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Renee Dewell and Dr. Grant Dewell to discuss a paper published in the Bovine Practitioner Vol. 29 No.1. The objective of this paper was to validate the effectiveness of a penetrating captive bolt when positioned behind the poll as a single-step method for humane euthanasia of cattle.

We start by reviewing the three main methods of humane euthanasia for cattle which include gunshot, penetrating captive bolt and chemical. Chemical euthanasia does not just include pentobarbital, but can also include general anesthesia followed by the administration of a cardiotoxic agent such as saturated potassium chloride. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each method. The poll shot method has been approved for a secondary step after a frontal shot; however this study evaluated the poll shot method as a single-step method of euthanasia.

The authors discuss the methods of the study, including sagittal section evaluation of the brain postmortem which demonstrated destruction of the medulla in the majority of the animals. The time to cardiac death was within 12 minutes with a median of eight minutes. We discuss the importance of ensuring confirmation of cardiac death as a necessary step in euthanasia protocols. The authors also describe why cardiac death is longer than respiratory arrest due to the continual beating of the heart via the sinus-atrial node until the body exhausts its supply of ATP. Monitoring for muscle fasciculations is one way to determine when the ATP supply has been exhausted in a euthanized animal, and to then check for a heartbeat via auscultation. Younger animals may have a longer time for cessation of heartbeat. 

Veterinarians should make sure that farms are implementing approved euthanasia protocols, that a written protocol is provided, training for authorized staff is completed with the veterinarians, and monitoring for compliance is performed.

Clinical and electrocardiographic evidence of death following use of a poll shot with a penetrating captive bolt as a single-step method for euthanasia of cattle. (2025). The Bovine Practitioner, 59(1), 9-16. https://doi.org/10.21423/bpj20259048

AABP Humane Euthanasia of Cattle Guidelines