In this episode, Dr. Mark Hilton suggests that veterinarians stop doing two things – stop chasing bugs and stop telling producers what to do! We discuss what it means to chase bugs, why veterinarians get trapped into doing this when working up herd disease outbreaks or production problems and how veterinarians are equipped with the expertise and knowledge to holistically evaluate a herd problem. Dr. Hilton suggests that you ask the producer what the problem is and then listen. Write down what they say and then offer suggestions. We walk through the steps to investigate calf scours and bovine respiratory disease outbreaks and some possible herd management solutions. We can often find the solution by focusing on the environment, calving area, management of the cows and heifers, and nutrition. We discuss how veterinarians can get involved in nutrition and utilizing the resources and networking of AABP to develop these skills. Dr. Hilton recommends finding a pilot herd and focus on that one herd to develop your consulting skills and charge for your service and expertise.  

If you are not an AABP member, please join us at this link so that you can develop a network of experts and utilize our CE resources. You can find Dr. Hilton’s webinar and spreadsheets for beef cow-calf practice on the AABP Committee Resource page. Find the 2018 AABP Recent Graduate Conference proceedings paper from Dr. Dale Grotelueschen on designing management and prevention strategies for neonatal calf diarrhea in beef systems at this link. AABP members can listen to the presentation on the BCI CE portal by clicking the purple cow-head logo at the bottom of any AABP website page.