Cattle farmers have a new set of tools to help manage vaccination programs for their herds, courtesy of the Beef Cattle Research Council.
“Vaccine schedules can be so overwhelming, and knowing when to use modified live or killed vaccines and the schedule for boosting them can be so overwhelming,” said BCRC member and Manitoba cattle farmer Melissa Atchison. “So these are so handy to have at a glance to guide you through the decision process.”
Why it matters: Vaccinations are the first line of defence to maintain a healthy cattle herd.
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The council initiated the project amid concerns about low vaccination rates in Canadian beef herds. There were no industry-wide, non-partisan extension tools available for veterinarians to demonstrate how to properly use newer or different types of vaccines.
Alberta-based veterinary consultant Dr. Joyce Van Donkersgoed led the team that developed the tools.
“There’s a lot of pressure on the beef industry to try to prevent disease and to reduce their use of antimicrobials because of concern over growing resistance,” she said. “Vaccination is probably our best method to try to prevent disease.”
The goal is to improve vaccine efficacy and safety, reduce waste through proper handling, improve the strategic use of vaccines based on specific disease risks and reduce overall disease threat.
To gather information needed for the materials, western Canadian veterinarians were surveyed to better understand why they recommend various vaccines to cow-calf producers and how they communicate that information.
The challenge for Van Donkersgoed was taking the complex information and reducing it to an easy-to-access and easy-to-understand format.
“There’s a lot of information out there, and veterinarians have a habit of using big words,” she said.
A large working group was dedicated to that effort, she noted. In particular, the work by Dr. Claire Windeyer of the University of Calgary and Dr. Barb Wilhelm from the Western Canada Animal Health Network was key.
“It’s important to have simple, clear messages and to include pictures or videos that get their attention,” Van Donkersgoed said. “So that’s what we tried to do. We developed a combination of things, from short fact sheets to infographics, podcasts and webinars, to reach different audiences in different ways.”
The tools are being well received by the industry.
“As livestock and land managers, we have a lot to consider year to year,” said Brodie Haugan, chair of Alberta Beef Producers. “Tools like the BCRC’s vaccine backgrounder, vaccine handling guidelines, and core vaccine list are invaluable as both quick references and training resources.
“These resources will help support conversations with our veterinarians and across the supply chain to ensure we are all doing our part to steward animal health.”
From her perspective, Atchison says producers are generally good at maintaining herd health programs, but these tools can improve planning.
“It might help guide decision-making for timing or for switching to different products,” she said. “It could lead to different routes of administration that might help increase uptake because it fits better into the time of year that you’re already handling the cattle.”
The tools are also getting good reviews from extension specialists. Karin Schmid, beef production and extension lead with Alberta Beef Producers, said it’s crucial that producers have the necessary vaccine information.
“Resources like these are quick and easy to understand,” said Schmid. “They can help producers have a meaningful conversation about herd-health protocols with their veterinarian, provide guidance to recognize potential disease issues, and remind us all about critical control points, such as vaccine handling, to make sure we are setting up our cattle for success.”
The tools can be accessed from the BCRC website through the “Animal Health, Welfare & Antimicrobial Resistance” section.
Producers can also find the tools through the Western Canada Animal Health Network website.
