AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich provides a report on the 59th AABP Annual Conference held in Minneapolis, Minn. August 27-29. This episode is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and the Pyramid line of vaccines. 

When it comes to bovine respiratory disease — BRD — your calves need protection as soon as possible. Because calf health is everything, choose a vaccine as premier as your herd.

PYRAMID® vaccines deliver relentless protection against the primary viruses and bacteria that lead to BRD — like BVDV Type 1b, BRSV and Mannheimia haemolytica — even in the face of maternal antibodies. Get Relentless Protection at PyramidVaccines.com.

Gingrich reports that there were 909 attendees at the conference including 269 students, 8 registered veterinary technicians, 56 accompanying persons and 18 families utilizing the childcare room. There were 79 exhibits in the trade show with nearly 300 booth representatives. Overall ratings and feedback for the conference was excellent with 90% of respondents reporting a great or good conference experience. 

AABP members will have access to the recordings from the conference within the next few weeks through our members-only free CE portal found here. All upcoming CE events from AABP can be found under the continuing education menu of the AABP website. Attendees of the conference can still take the survey to provide suggestions for the 60th AABP Annual Conference held in Louisville, Ky. September 16-18, 2027. Planning will take place on November 14.

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Meredith Jones, a 2008 graduate of North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. After spending time in emergency practice, Jones is now a certified financial planner and student loan consultant.

 This episode of Have You Herd? is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, manufacturers of Pyramid ® vaccines.  On a beef operation, risk is everywhere. When it comes to bovine respiratory disease — BRD — your calves need protection as soon as possible. 

Because calf health is everything, choose a vaccine as premier as your herd. PYRAMID® vaccines deliver relentless protection against the primary viruses and bacteria that lead to BRD — like BVDV Type 1b, BRSV and Mannheimia haemolytica — even in the face of maternal antibodies.  Get Relentless Protection at PyramidVaccines.com.

Jones discusses the first decision for borrowers to make is if they will enroll in a traditional pay to zero repayment plan or a loan forgiveness plan called Income Driven Repayment (IDR). There are several IDR plans and recent federal legislation changed these plans and we walk through each of them. Jones also offers financial advice such as saving for a potential tax liability on the forgiven portion of the loan, saving for retirement and not delaying major life plans while on a loan repayment program. She also offers advice for how to lower your monthly payment and how your tax filing status can also influence your monthly payment. Jones also discusses the opt mistakes she sees borrowers make when they are enrolled in a loan repayment program. 

Borrowers should consider utilizing the expertise of a loan consultant and financial planner to help the navigate the plan best suited to their needs as well as receiving the benefits of financial planning. Jones can be contacted at one of the links below or search for the Veterinary Financial Podcast or the Facebook group Debt Free Vets. 

Links:

https://allvetfinancial.com

https://vinfoundation.org/resources/student-debt-center/

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich provides details and logistics for attendees of the 59th AABP Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minn. August 27-29, 2026. This episode of Have You Herd? is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, manufacturers of BOVIKALC ®. 

Is your fresh cow calcium supplement protecting dairy cows’ full potential? BOVIKALC® bolus contains the two critical forms of calcium for immediate and lasting performance with no filler ingredients. For more than 20 years, BOVIKALC has consistently delivered what fresh cows need — right when they need it most. Talk to your Boehringer Ingelheim representative to see why BOVIKALC boluses are designed for milking greatness. For more information, visit this link. 

The theme of the conference, created by the program committee working under the leadership of AABP President-Elect Dr. Mark Hilton, is “Developing Practices of Excellence”. Gingrich provides information on the CE sessions and events that will take place at the conference. He also provides information on how to travel from the airport to the downtown hotel area, which is about 12 miles. Registration and conference sessions will be in the Minneapolis Convention Center. Committee meetings, clinical forum breakfast meetings, and preconference seminars will be in the Hilton Minneapolis downtown hotel. 

Make sure to download the YAPP app before arriving to view the conference schedule and session descriptions or you can find them online under the Continuing Education menu at this link. The city of Minneapolis has also created an attendee information webpage found here. This includes information about taking the light rail to the hotel area and a restaurant guide. 

Thank you to all our sponsors, volunteers and the AABP staff for your work in planning this conference. 

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Juan Piñeiro, Department of Animal Sciences at Texas A&M University and Dr. Gustavo Schuenemann, Department of Preventive Medicine at The Ohio State University, to discuss their paper published in the Journal of Animal Science in September 2025. This episode of Have You Herd is sponsored by Merck Animal Health, manufacturers of Resflor Gold®. Find out more information about Resflor Gold® at this link. 

Our guests discuss the rationale for this retrospective study to evaluate the effects of transportation times on newborn calves and the importance of this subject to our current industry practices. The study involved 15 farms, nearly 400,000 calves and evaluated transport durations of 0.5, 8, 17 and 24 hours in both dairy breed and beef x dairy calves. Data collected in the evaluation included birth weight, dystocia events, dam parity, gestation length, colostrum practices, passive transfer in a subset of calves, diarrhea and pneumonia events, mortality and average daily gain in a subset of calves. 

One of the key findings in the study was that cofounders were important to evaluate morbidity and mortality. Transportation length alone did not explain the differences in groups when evaluating cofounders and the authors suggest that evaluating transportation length alone misses other factors that could improve calf health and productivity. To improve preweaning calf health, veterinarians should work with clients on prepartum management to optimize fetal programming and immunity, maternity pen management and colostrum program, transportation practices, and preweaning calf management such as nutrition and housing. Ensuring that all calves being transported are fit for transport is important to optimize welfare and health.

Find the AABP Transportation and Fitness-For-Transport Recommendations for Cattle at this link or the Spanish translation here. 

Reference:Schuenemann GM, Piñeiro JM. Short- and long-distance transport: Health, survival and growth of preweaned dairy and dairy-beef cross calves. J Ani Sci. 2025;103:skaf341. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf341

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Travis Arledge, Pioneer Veterinary Clinic, Drs. Val Baumgart and Boone Schmitz, United Veterinary Services, and Dr. Melissa Detwiler from Heritage Vet Partners. This episode of Have You Herd? is sponsored by Heritage Vet Partners, the sponsors of the childcare room at the AABP Annual Conference. Find out more information about Heritage Vet Partners at this link. 

Arledge discusses participation with the Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine and their role in the distributive program. He was awarded the Excellence in Practice Partner Service from more than 150 participating clinics. Arledge discusses the benefits to his practice for finding associates from the students who complete their externships with him.

Baumgart was recently highlighted in Bovine Veterinarian Magazine for being the first female veterinarian at United Veterinary Services. She discusses her experiences and how it has shaped current relationships with students and associates, as well as the benefits of having a multi-generational team of veterinarians. Schmitz joined United Veterinary Services after graduating from the University of Minnesota in 2026. He describes his experiences as a student and how that developed his interest in joining this practice after graduation.

Detwiler discusses her experiences with students and the importance of identifying barriers for students in gaining rural practice experiences. Ensuring your practice is welcoming to all levels of backgrounds and experiences will improve recruitment and sustainability of rural veterinary medicine. 

Our panel encourages veterinarians to welcome students to their practice, demonstrate rural practice as a career path, and use externships to develop relationships with students to recruit your next associate.

Find out about the AABP externship grants here and list your practice on the AABP website by going to this page. AABP also asks members to serve as mentors in our mentorship program. You can sign up to serve as a mentor on this page. 

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Jess McArt, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Jen Roberts, Senior Associate Director Professional Services Veterinarian for Boehringer Ingelheim. This episode is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim. Find more information about the product portfolio for cattle at www.cattlefirst.com. 

This episode explores the widespread, often invisible, impact of subclinical hypocalcemia on dairy herds, with a focus on economic consequences and fresh cow health. The conversation explores how veterinarians can guide producers beyond reactive treatment toward proactive calcium strategies during the critical fresh period. 

On average, 30-40% of multiparous cows in a herd have dyscalcemia during the transition period, but this varies significantly between herds. McArt explains that after calving, the demand for calcium doubles from what the cow typically requires. Roberts discusses how this affects cow performance and health. Suclinical hypocalcemia is often unrecognized and underestimated because it is silent but can have health, production and economic impacts downstream. We discuss strategies for veterinarians to screen cows for dyscalcemia and proactive solutions to this problem in fresh cows.

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Travis White, Chief Veterinary Officer for Endovac Animal Health. Endovac is the sponsor of the student reception at the 59th AABP Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minn. Find information about Endovac and their portfolio of animal health products on this page. 

Gram-negative diseases remain a major challenge across beef, dairy, calf ranch and feedlot systems. White discusses these challenges and why the focus should not necessarily be on the organism itself, but thinking about endotoxin, immune stress and animal resilience. Endotoxin exposure drives the clinical signs associated with these disease challenges leading to inappetence, depression, fever and leukopenia. 

White reviews core-antigen technology and how this approach differs from a conventional multi-antigen bacterin. He also discusses Immune Plus from Endovac and how veterinarians should think about immune stimulation. This technology can fit into existing vaccine and herd health programs vs. replacing currently used tools. White also reviews a challenge study with Salmonella Dublin and the take-aways from this study to help veterinarians who want to build stronger Gram-negative disease control programs.

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Lisa Greenhill, Chief Organizational Health Officer for the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC).

This episode of Have You Herd is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and Bovikalk. Is your fresh cow calcium supplement protecting dairy cows’ full potential? BOVIKALC® bolus contains the two critical forms of calcium for immediate and lasting performance with no filler ingredients. For more than 20 years, BOVIKALC has consistently delivered what fresh cows need—right when they need it most. Talk to your Boehringer Ingelheim representative to see why BOVIKALC boluses are designed for milking greatness. Find out more information about BOVIKALC boluses at this link. 

Enrollment at veterinary schools has doubled over the last 20 years and currently there are approximately 17,000 veterinary students in U.S. schools and another 3000-4000 U.S. students in foreign schools. Demographics of students has changes during that time period as well with females comprising 86% of students and 30% of students are non-white. Students now fill out a common application and each student applies to 5-6 schools. The national applicant:seat ratio is currently 2.4 but each institution applicant:seat ratio varies.

Greenhill discusses the gender disparity in veterinary schools and explains that the issues of fewer men in veterinary schools is due to fewer men obtaining a bachelor's degree. Only 37% of men in the U.S. complete a bachelor's degree compared to nearly half of women. Men also take longer to complete the degree compared to women. 

Students from rural communities comprise about 20% of veterinary students. AABP membership data indicate that 70% of our members grew up in rural communities. Nationally, 23% of adults in rural communities have a bachelor's degree or higher. Greenhill discusses some of the challenges and barriers for students in rural communities to seek out a veterinary education including changes to loan regulations and Pell Grants, lack of educational opportunities, and evaluation of rural mixed animal versus urban companion animal experiences. 

Find AABP survey information under the Member Resources page of the AABP website at this link. 

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Jessica Sperber, Beef Technical Services Manager on the ruminant nutrition team at Merck Animal Health. This episode of Have You Herd? was developed by the AABP Nutrition Committee. If you are an AABP member interested in cattle nutrition, consider joining our Nutrition Committee by going to this link.

Sperber reviews the main active ingredients in implants and how they work inside the animal and when they should be used during the production cycle. She also reviews the variables that matter most when selecting an implant. Veterinarians should be aware of FDA regulations on re-implant strategies and timing of implants. Find information about these regulations here and a list of all FDA approved implants for use in the U.S. here. 

Veterinarians play a key role in consulting producers on what implants to use and when to use them, but also in assisting with implant quality control. This includes training, monitoring and auditing implants for correct administration to ensure all cattle receive the benefits for maximum returns. 

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Sierra Guynn, Clinical Associate Professor at the Clemson University College of Veterinary Medicine. Guynn is a recognized expert and researcher on this emerging disease and invasive tick. She also is the chair of the AABP Beef Health Management Committee. 

This episode of Have You Herd is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and Bovikalk. Is your fresh cow calcium supplement protecting dairy cows’ full potential? BOVIKALC® bolus contains the two critical forms of calcium for immediate and lasting performance with no filler ingredients. For more than 20 years, BOVIKALC has consistently delivered what fresh cows need—right when they need it most. Talk to your Boehringer Ingelheim representative to see why BOVIKALC boluses are designed for milking greatness. Find out more information about BOVIKALC boluses at this link. 

The Longhorn tick is the biological vector for Theileria orientalis. The tick is an invasive species, first appearing in West Virginia in 2010 based on retrospective identification, and has spread across a large portion of the US. The tick is parthenogenetic, meaning it can reproduce asexually and produce over 2,500 eggs per day. 

Theileria spp. are eukaryotic protozoans, therefore antibiotics are ineffective. Antiprotozoals are ineffective based on studies in other countries and the medication buparvaquone has been used in other countries to decrease mortality when anemia is severe; however, it will not prevent the carrier state. The meat withhold on buparvaquone is 18 months and milk withhold is 42 days in other countries. 

The acute syndrome results in intravascular hemolysis and clinically is not distinguishable from anaplasmosis in cattle. Guynn discusses the diagnostic criteria for determining if an animal has died or is affected by clinical theileriosis. A positive PCR does not indicate clinical disease due to the lifelong carrier state. Guynn also describes expected morbidity and mortality but cautions that this is highly variable between countries and individual farm operations.