Flexibility Should Fuel a Feedyard’s Implant Program

Efficient performance comes from keeping it simple and appropriate for the stage of growth

When choosing a cattle implant, take an approach that proves true in the feedyard and beyond: Keep it simple.

Today’s implant market contains so many options that trying to set up a simple program can be overwhelming. However, if the implant program is too complicated, it becomes impossible to properly administer in the feedyard.

“Implant strategy doesn’t have to be complex to get the most return,” said Gary Sides, PhD,

Beef Strategic Technical Services, Zoetis.

Dr. Sides advised sticking to a handful of basics when choosing an implant to meet your goals.

The first step is to match the potency of the implant to the animal’s:

•  Stage of production: suckling calf, stocker, feedlot (arrival/grow/finish)
  •    Energy availability of forage or feedlot ration
  •    Estimated days on feed

Zoetis offers an implant finder to help match your answers to these questions with the appropriate implant, because management needs differ throughout an animal’s development. As an example, Dr. Sides identified four different opportunities for using an implant as the animal grows from a 40-day-old calf nursing its mother to eventually moving on to its last 100- 200 days in the feedyard.

“We can identify the right implant for a specific feeding situation throughout the implant potency staircase to achieve the optimal response from the animal,” Dr. Sides said.

“As an example, use the lowest potency implant for a suckling calf and the highest potency implant for the last 80-100 days on a feedlot ration prior to slaughter,” Dr. Sides also said.

“If you don’t match the dose of an implant with an animal’s age, weight, maturity and the energy density of the ration, then you may experience negative effects such as bullers or lower quality grade,” Dr. Sides said.

The guiding principle throughout should be one of flexible simplicity, and it has led Dr. Sides to identify an implant that stands out for feedyards looking to manage efficiently.

“I think Synovex Choice^® is a flexible, all-around valuable implant in the marketplace,” Dr. Sides said. “We also have long-duration implant technologies – Synovex^®  One Feedlot and Synovex One Grass– that offer 200-days of coverage to provide additional management flexibility.”

Labeled for use in feedlot steers and heifers, Dr. Sides said Synovex Choice it can be applied throughout a feedyard from five-weight calves to eight-weight steers – as an arrival or terminal implant based on market conditions and desired feedlot or carcass response.

“Synovex Choice really simplifies things,” Dr. Sides said.

As with any product, availability and service in the challenging conditions of 2020 can often make a difference. Dr. Sides encourages feedyards with implanting questions to contact Zoetis support and technical service staff to discuss potential implant strategies using Synovex implants.

Remember, there are no cookie-cutter answers to a feedyard’s needs. The Zoetis field force has a deep knowledge of beef markets and can apply that knowledge to make strategic recommendations.

Visit NoStressSynovex.com to find the implant to fit your needs or visit with your veterinarian.

Do not use SYNOVEX products in veal calves. Refer to label for complete directions for use, precautions, and warnings.