The Farmers Mart Jun/Jul 2015 - Issue 40 | Page 26

Butchery

Planning and
Prevention
to Improve
Profitability
»»In this the third guide
published by The National
Beef Association (NBA) to help
farmers protect the Health of
their Herd, Charlie Maclaren
(pictured), Chair of the NBA’s
Animal Health Committee looks
at Planning and Prevention to
improve profitability.
These guides compiled by the
NBA’s Animal Health Committee,
aim to provide beef farmers
with information about common
health problems, and to date
have covered movement of stock
and bio-security planning.
The NBA Animal Health
Committee, which was put
together late last year, provides
beef farmers with information
about common health problems
and their potential financial
impacts on beef enterprises.
Losses caused by disease
represent a major obstacle to
the profitability of many cow/
calf beef operations. Disease
results in animal death, failure
or decreased efficiency in
reproduction, and decreases in
growth and productivity. Some
diseases exist at “subclinical
levels,” meaning signs are not
observable so losses continue
undetected.
It is widely agreed that
PREVENTION rather than
TREATMENT is the most
economical approach to
keeping disease losses low.
Treatment of a disease after
its onset is not always effective
and is often costly. Production
losses often occur before
diagnosis and treatment can be

instituted. Herd health programs
are designed to provide routine,
planned procedures which will
prevent or minimise disease.
Many herd health programs
fail in their objectives because
too much reliance is put
on vaccinations and other
treatments. A comprehensive
herd health program recognises
vaccination as an important
tool, but not a cure all. Effective
programs integrate medicine
and management to prevent
disease.

‘recognises
vaccination as an
important tool,
but not a cure all’
There are three major factors
which should be considered
in attempting to keep disease
losses to a minimum.
1. Prevent Exposure
to Disease
• Purchase and quarantine
procedures should be
employed to decrease
the likelihood of disease
introduction into the
existing herd. In high
intensity operations,
increasing confinement
means increasing exposure
to disease-causing
organisms that exist in
all groups of animals.
Such operations need
more intensive preventive
programs.

26 Jun/Jul 2015 www.farmers-mart.co.uk

2. Keep Disease
Resistance High
• Nutrition, management,
and housing programs
should be designed
to keep resistance to
disease high at all times.
Preventing or minimizing
animal stress is a necessity
for maintaining good
resistance. In addition
to these measures,
resistance to specific
diseases can sometimes
be accomplished by
vaccination.
3. If Disease Occurs,
Prevent its Spread
• Segregate affected animals
immediately. Have a
diagnosis made, and take
recommended action as
soon as possible.
Herd health programs
must be tailored to each
individual production situation.
Performance of procedures
should be grouped b X