Are You Ready for Fall Calf Sales?

The discovery of a single case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in Alberta dramatically affected the Canadian cattle industry with the subsequent loss of export markets. Some of the impacts from this has not yet been felt by cow-calf producers. Those impacts will come during the run of fall feeder calf sales.

The BSE crisis will affect feeder calf sales this fall and it will be advantageous for producers to have detailed records when trying to market calves. Records that include processing, health and treatment information, feed and cattle inventory can vastly improve your marketing opportunities.
Processing records for both the animals sold and the cowherd at home, may include information on castration, dehorning, implants and vaccination as shown in example 1.

Example 1

Processing Records

Date Aug 26,2003						Initials JS
						Vaccination

Animal ID	Castrate (X)	Dehorn (X)	Parasite Control (X)	Implant (X)	Booster Date (d/m/y)	4-Way (L/K)*	Hemo (L/K)*	Clost (L/K)*	Past (L/K)*
9N	X	X	X	X	23-Sep-03	K	K	K	K

 

Hemo - Hemophilus
Clost - Clostridial
Past - Pasturella
* L - Live    K - Killed

Castration Method Knife
Dehorning Method Buddex
Implant Used Ralgro

Parasite Control Product Dectomax
4-Way Product Triangle 4/HS

Note: Consult your veterinarian to determine what products and procedures are best suited for your operation.

Health and treatment, feed and herd inventory records provide historical data as well as verification to buyers of feeder calves in the fall.

Health and treatment records document all events requiring treatment (see example 2). These records will keep track of the date the animal received treatment as well as what and how they received it.

Example 2

Health and Treatment Record

Date (d/m/y)	Animal ID	Diagnosis	Temp	Product	Dose	Route*	Injection Site**	With drawal Time (days)	Do Not Ship Before (d/m/y)	Comments	Initials
09-Jul-04	24J	Footrot	103	Penicillin	12 cc	IM	LN	10 days	23-Jul-04	1st treatment for footrot	MS
25-Aug-04	13N	Pneumonia	104	Nuflor	20 cc	SQ	10 cc RN 10 cc LN	38 days	08-Oct-04	Calf of cow 25E	JS

* IM - In the muscle    IV - In the vein      SQ - Under the Skin      M - In the udder
** LN - Left side of the neck     RN - Right side of the neck  Injections should only be given in the neck.

Note: Feed records may be as simple as keeping feed tags/labels from purchased feed or copies of invoices that list what products were purchased and where feed was fed (see example 3). Producers may be required to sign a document stating that they have abided by the Ruminant Feed Ban Regulations.

Example 3

Incoming Feed Inventory

Permanent herd inventory records will include information about your animals, such as: when they came into the herd, where they came from, when they left the herd and where they went (see example 4). All animals permanently leaving the farm are required to have a Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) tag; producers should keep a record of this number and the animal it is assigned to.

Example 4

	Herd Inventory				Disposal
Cow ID	CCIA #	Date of Entry (d/m/y)	Source	Comments	Date of Disposal (d/m/y)	Destination
3A	666666666	15-Nov-95	Bob Brown's Herd	Bought as 4 yr old bred cow in 1995	13-Oct-03	Joe's Auction
9M	88888888	01-May-02	Homegrown	8F An x Nova Sm

Providing a summary such as example 5 to potential buyers and auction barns prior to the fall calf sales may give producers an advantage when marketing calves this fall.

Example 5

Calf Sale Summary

Calf Information

Castration Method Knife	Castration Date Aug 26, 2004
Dehorning Method Buddex	Dehorning Date Aug 26, 2004
Implant Ralgro	Implant Date Aug 26, 2004
Weaning Date Sept 23, 2004	Feed Exposed to 16% Beef Ration - Co-op
Injection Site Neck

Vaccinations	Date	Live (X)	Killed (X)	Booster Date
Triangle 4/HS	26-Aug-04		X	23-Sep-04
One Shot	26-Aug-04		X	23-Sep-04
Dectomax	23-Sep-04

Cow Information

Vaccinations	Date	Live (X)	Killed (X)	Booster Date
Triangle 4/HS	02-Jul-04		X	16-Jul-04
Cattlemaster	16-Jul-04	X
Dectomax	23-Sep-04

Cow Herd Breed Angus

Sire Breed Simmental

This herd abides by the Ruminant Feed Ban Regulations and livestock have not been exposed to any prohibited feeds.

Signed John Smith	Date October 24, 2004
Address: R.R. #5
Somewhere, Ontario
N4Z 3L7
Phone: (545) 555-4564

Note: Consult your veterinarian to determine what products and procedures are best suited for your operation.

Producers need to review their record keeping system and determine what records are required to verify their management procedures. Complete record keeping systems will give producers an added advantage when marketing calves this fall and in the future.