Raising cattle without antibiotics or artificial hormones requires commitment and attention to detail.
“People make the biggest difference in managing cattle in this kind of system,” said David Saretsky of the family-owned cattle marketing company Cantriex Livestock, based at Ponoka, Alta.
The company selects and raises cattle for beef programs that re-quire that animals are not given antimicrobials or growth-promoting hormones.
As export and niche markets grow, these programs will become more important, he said at the recent beef cattle health conference sponsored by the University of Calgary’s faculty of veterinary medicine.
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Each link in the beef value chain has to be committed to the end goal and people must be trained to adopt the system.
The first link, the cow-calf level, is where the stage is set because calves need to be treated with a higher level of animal husbandry from birth until they are sent to a feedlot.
Vaccinations are emphasized in this system to help build immunity and the ability to fight off bugs that may attack and sicken the animals later in life.
Preweaning vaccination should be considered two to six weeks before weaning.
Low-stress weaning is encouraged and calves need to be ex-posed to a new diet, learn to eat from a feed bunk and drink from a watering bowl.
“You are not teaching the calf how to eat but you are teaching the calf that when that feed wagon rolls by that good things are going to happen,” he said.
If they are not eating or drinking, they are more likely to get sick.
Feedlots that raise cattle for these niche programs must ensure consistent quality. But not all lots are created equal so owners must be committed, and employees and owners must understand the protocols, audits and end goals of the programs.
Veterinarians, nutritionists and consultants also need to understand the process and challenges to find solutions if animals get sick.
Products like Draxxin are not allowed.
“Draxxin is such an incredible technology and it changes the way feedlots are managed today,” Saretsky said.
Without Draxxin, feedlots must work to reduce stress because it can cause sickness.
Animals arriving at the feedlot undergo minor stress during processing, vaccination, movement, feed change and exposure to new cattle.
Major stresses are things like living in muddy pens, transportation and weaning.
“Major stresses will result in treatment. Minor stress will result in a loss of efficiency,” he said.
Growth promoting implants and beta agonists are not allowed in these programs.
“By default we are losing efficiencies because we are not using those growth promotants so we need to get every little advantage we can,” Saretsky said.
