A new growth implant product, actually a new name, Encore, is being marketed by VetLife. This is an estradiol implant designed to last for 400 days. It has the same active ingredient and delivery system as Compudose, which works for 200 days. Both these products are cleared for suckling steers at castration and beyond, pastured growing steers, and feedyard steers and heifers. There probably are few instances where implant response without re-implanting is needed over a period of 400 days. The VetLife marketing group now has a range of implants, in addition to Encore and Compudose, called Component. This full line includes products that correspond to Synovex, Finaplix, and Revalor. Pfizer is marketing a new 7-way or 8-way clostridial vaccine called Fortress, a water-based product which reduces injection-site blemishes.
Arkansas workers have investigated over two breeding seasons feeding MGA and/or Chlortetracycline (CTC) to cows shortly after calving. Cows were fed MGA for 14 days and CTC for 20 days, beginning at an average of 42 days after calving and ending 3 days before bulls were turned in. Weaning weights of calves were not affected by treatment. In one year MGA increased calving rate, but this effect was reversed in the other year. The combination of MGA and CTC increased duration of calving season.
Iowa State University has investigated a novel approach for replacement heifers. A common strategy for commodities with cyclical price variation is to periodically invest fixed dollar amounts. Often implemented in stock market investing, this so-called "dollar-cost averaging" results in buying more when prices tend to be low and less when prices are high. Over time, the average cost, therefore, is lower. This Iowa study, over the years 1970 to 1994, compared saving the same number of heifers each year to saving the same dollars worth of heifers each year in a 100-cow herd. Over 25-years, the averaging strategy resulted in final net worth of $367,000 versus $268,000. However, because of variation in number of heifers saved in the averaging strategy, herd numbers ranged over the 25 years from 160 cows to 80 cows. Therefore, this strategy would be most lucrative to producers who can adjust resources to variations in cow numbers.
A survey by the National Animal Health Monitoring System shows the South Central and Southeast regions trail the rest of the US in management practices. Adoption percentages (South Central-Southeast vs rest of US) were: AI (8 vs 21), semen evaluation (32 vs 54), palpation (28 vs 47), body condition scoring (14 vs 35), BRD calf vaccine (25 vs 49), castration (64 vs 89). Weaning weights were 480 vs 519. While costs may be less in the South if winter nutritional expense is low, profit can be increased by implementing most of these practices.
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