Vaccines can seem costly, and it’s not easy to see how or to
what extent they pay off. But cost-of-production analyses show that low-cost/profitable operations don’t cut corners when it comes to herd health. For example, the cost of a whole herd vaccination program for bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus in a 150 head cow herd (includes 157 breeding stock and 150 calves) is estimated at $8.20 per cow (assuming $4 per vaccine dose). If that herd wasn’t vaccinated and ended up with a persistently infected (PI) calf and 5% decreased conception due to BVD, they would suffer a loss of $45 per cow across the herd.
Kathy Larson, Economist at the Western Beef Development Centre, crunched those numbers for us during a recent BCRC webinar, illustrating that effective vaccination protocols developed for your herd with your veterinarian pay off.
Following her demonstration of the economics of vaccination, Dr. Nathan Erickson, Veterinarian at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine reminded producers that vaccines don’t eliminate disease completely but are able to significantly reduce the number of animals that get sick. Essentially, vaccines control disease, not prevent it.
Vaccines won’t be cost effective if they aren’t handled, stored, and administered properly.
Here are some of Dr. Erickson’s tips to help you make the most of your vaccine program
- Don’t store vaccines in the door of the frid
ge (41:40)
Vaccines are very temperature sensitive, especially modified live vaccines. When the door opens, items stored in the door fluctuate in temperature. The best place in the fridge to keep vaccines is on the middle shelves.
Last month I had the opportunity to attend the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference. As with similar events held across the country, the objective was to transfer current research and technology to beef producers. One of the most interesting aspects of this conference was a bear-pit session hosted by the Beef Cattle Research Council which focused on reproductive rates in spring calving cows. This session addressed the question: “Were producers who had moved to later calving experiencing a drop in their pregnancy rates?” What really got my attention was when the discussion turned to trace minerals. While I was not surprised to hear that trace mineral deficiency is associated with open cows, I was surprised about the wide range of questions and to some extent the confusion that producers had with respect to trace mineral nutrition. Questions included: 
Grain-based diets improve feed efficiency, but increase the risk of 
Advanced management of temperate forages ($60 value).
