Cattle producer Gary Hill thinks conventional animal medicine can lead to over-treatment of cattle.
“It seems like the more and more we do to our cattle, the more and more we have to do to them,” said Hill, who runs a cow-calf operation near Langruth, Man.
Hill vaccinates his animals for blackleg but tries to do only what is absolutely necessary.
“I guess I’m a minimalist, use as little as possible,” he said.
Wayne Tomlinson, an extension veterinarian with Manitoba Agriculture, said cattle producers who practise holistic health management tend to fall into two categories.
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“There’s the group that is looking at this as a cost cutting measure. And then there’s the second group of producers, that are trying to get into the organic market,” he said.
“The guys who are jumping into this just to cut costs are a little different to work with,” said Tomlinson, who noted most producers are eager to work with their local veterinarian and create a cattle health strategy that works for them.
“They’re not abandoning the veterinarian community… (They) have to work closely with (their) veterinarian to design a program so they can have their minimal inputs, but maximize the health of the animals.”
John Carlisle, a cattle producer who switched over to organic in 2003, said he has a good relationship with his veterinarian.
“It seems like it used to be whenever anything was wrong with an animal, you’d grab the needle and give it something,” he said.
Although he now rarely uses needles or conventional treatments, his only source of conflict with his veterinarian is a refusal to use a pour on product to ward off parasites.
“Most vets think you’re silly not to (use it),” said Carlisle, who has a mixed herd near Carroll, Man.
He uses diatomaceous earth sprinkled on the backs of animals as a dusting powder.
Carlisle uses a blackleg vaccine approved by the organic certifier that doesn’t contain antibiotics.
Organic producers do use anti-microbial drugs for conditions like prolapse, he said.
“Then you’ve got to take her (the cow and calf) out of your organic list,” he said.
Tomlinson said producers who adopt holistic practices typically have to work harder to manage their herd. He gave the example of excessive rain in Manitoba’s Interlake last summer, which drowned out the hay crop.
“The hay was all leached out, so it was lacking minerals, it was lacking vitamins,” he said.
In that case, a conventional producer supplements with vitamins and minerals.
“Somebody who’s into (organic) management just can’t go and buy that stuff off the shelf. They have to go out and search and find some feed that’s natural and organic and will meet those needs.”
Tomlinson has seen increased interest in alternative animal medicine in recent years. Chiropractic treatments and acupuncture are now more common for small and large animals.
“Things that we don’t think of as traditional western medicine, some of these things are starting up in veterinary medicine,” he said.
Tomlinson doubts organic cattle management will become the dominant practice in future, saying organic management will remain a small component of total production.
“It’s a higher level of management… so I see some limitations in how much they can produce and how cheaply they can produce their product.”
