Cattle feeding facilities implementing new diagnostic program
Certified Sampler program designed to train feedlot personnel on techniques to obtain proper samples.
A new cattle health initiative has been developed by Production Animal Consultation. The Certified Sampler program was developed to train feedlot personnel to obtain ante-mortem and post-mortem samples from cattle for surveillance and diagnosis of pathogens that impact the health, performance and profitability of cattle.
The program is a day-long training session conducted at the participating feedlot where personnel enjoy classroom sessions augmented with bilingual video examples followed by hands-on sessions in the processing barn and at necropsy with PAC veterinarians and trainers. The morning session focuses on taking ante-mortem samples such as nasal swabs, blood samples, ear notches and more for disease surveillance, while the afternoon session focuses on necropsy techniques, gross pathology common to feedlot cattle and tissue sampling. The training concludes with proper sample preparation and how to get samples safely to the diagnostic laboratory.
“Implementation of this program gives timely and precise health assessments which will advance our disease management strategies and elevate our animal health in the short term,” says PAC Associate Veterinarian Taw Fredrickson. “In the long term, the PAC group is able to provide the most current recommendations and advancements which reflects our commitment to industry leading practices and sustainable livestock management.”
“This program will help our team be able to detect early disease, so we are better prepared to help our customers achieve better cattle performance,” said Francisco Rodriguez, manager at High Choice Feeders Yard 2 and program participant. “By detecting disease sooner, we ensure healthier cattle and sustainable practices within our facilities.”
The program mimics a similar program in the swine industry. The Certified Swine Sample Collector project was initiated by Iowa State University to train people on-site to sample in the case of a foreign animal disease outbreak. The goal is to have people already at the site prepared to take samples efficiently, improving response time to such a natural disaster while not requiring outside people to become contaminated on-site. While PAC’s Certified Sampler program for beef could be used for timely Secure Beef FAD sampling platforms, the focus today is surveilling and diagnosing common diseases that impact feedlot cattle health, food safety and food security every day.
Certified Sampler will be a collaborative project with the veterinary diagnostic laboratories at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Iowa State University. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Veterinary Diagnostic Center Director Dustin Loy, indicated, “One of the largest challenges in cattle diagnostics is the timely collection of proper samples to be submitted to a laboratory for testing. Having highly-trained personnel that are already heavily engaged with animal health be able to collect and submit those samples immediately allows for more prompt treatment and informed implementation of mitigation measures. Early identification and rapid response to diseases are key to ensuring healthy cattle.”
PAC has an elite feedlot database that has tracked animal health and performance for over two decades. As surveillance and diagnostic samples are submitted, PAC will be able to study potential correlations between the pathogens present and individual cattle and lot level data. Why is this important? The feedlot industry has tracked cattle health and performance, and feedlot veterinarians have sporadically diagnosed pathogens in feedlot cattle health outbreaks. However, it is time to combine surveillance and diagnoses with cattle health and performance outcomes. This will allow veterinarians and feedlot operators to better understand disease impacts which will lead to potential disease management interventions in the future.
One such intervention in the future could be the use of prescription vaccines. Therefore, a natural partner for this PAC initiative was Medgene, a vaccine company located in Brookings, South Dakota. Medgene’s technology allows them to take bioinformatics from currently isolated viruses and develop a prescription vaccine to match strains of pathogens encountered in the field today.
Medgene’s Executive Vice President Gary Bosch, stated, “We are pleased with our partnership with PAC and excited to support their industry-leading Certified Sampler program. Bioinformatics represent the engine in our prescription platform vaccine technology. Certified Sampler represents the fuel to ensure that the vaccines we provide to the veterinary community are timely and relevant, as opposed to vaccines based on viruses that occurred years ago that have long since mutated beyond effective treatments.”
While this is a long-term partnership between PAC, veterinary diagnosticians, feedlot operators and Medgene, the immediate results are promising. Samples are rolling into regional diagnostic laboratories from certified samplers in feedlots across Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado and Iowa. Much will be learned over the next five years towards understanding the impact of pathogens and better field diagnosis on cattle performance, health and profitability in our operations.
Production Animal Consultation veterinarians provide health and well-being services for cattle from birth to harvest. In addition to providing veterinary health services, PAC conducts cattle research and data analysis, hosts educational opportunities on animal stewardship and facility design, and provides bilingual consultation for livestock producers both domestic and international. PAC veterinarians strive to provide industry leaders with opportunities to improve their operations through collaboration and science. Visit the website to learn more about Production Animal Consultation.
