CALF_News_April_May_2019

CALF News • April | May 2019 • www.calfnews.net M erck Animal Health used the 2019 Cattle Industry Convention to introduce their new Cattle Care365® initiative. The program consists of a set of educational modules on cattle care and welfare geared to train owners, employees and operators who are hands-on with their cattle. It is an internet-based series. The company first ran a survey targeting all segments of the beef industry to determine the specific educational needs of the folks with boots on the ground. Included were topics such as health protocols and procedures, employee training, antibiotic stewardship, record keeping, and even Spanish pro- tocol translation and training. Employers may even learn how to better keep communication channels with employees open, maintaining a more productive workplace. Educate first The program is geared toward a holistic education or solu- tion arena, rather than simply selling animal health products. It began first with Merck Animal Health’s successful Dairy Care365 initiative, which covers all aspects of management, safety and well-being of employees and livestock. The success of Dairy Care365® has led to expansion into the beef cattle arena, where these modules are presented in both English and Spanish. Getting it done The beef program’s first module has been completed with cooperation from Dr. Tom Portillo with Friona Industries and is complementary to the Beef Checkoff ’s Beef Quality Assur- ance (BQA) requirements. The video was recorded at the Dalhart Cattle Feeders lot near Dalhart, Texas. Moving forward, packers will increasingly require BQA or other quality assurance audits from feedyards. Each packer may send their own auditors to inspect feeding facilities to determine if humane and professional handling practices are in place. The auditing process has already begun in some yards. Merck Animal Health has positioned their Cattle Care365 program to provide participants with a structured, easy-to-use process to be better prepared for these audits. Employee training includes modules by industry experts, interactive quizzes, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and certificates of completion to document training. Availability to all these may be found at www.CattleCare365.com. Participation in the program is free. Dr. Kevin Hill, a Merck Animal Health technical services veterinarian, described the program as an “umbrella to house all of the company’s cattle management tools.” Each module will offer certificates of completion. Using the proper channels Interestingly, the Merck Animal Health survey indicated the top issue focused on written cattle-handling and processing procedures, including product administration. Written proto- col, employee training documentation and individual-animal record keeping are important issues. It seems that documen- tation of all kinds is moving to the front burner in livestock production. In addition to their Cattle Care365 launch, Merck Animal Health announced sponsorship of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Stockmanship and Stewardship events in 2019. They include two-day programs educating stockmen on proper animal care, as well as issues tailored for the specific region where the event is held. Event sites and details can be found at www.stockmanshipstewardship.org. Let’s talk about worms Merck Animal Health has developed the world’s largest parasiticide efficacy database. Over the past 10 years, this data has documented a continued increase in resistance to many commonly used dewormers, indicating an urgent need to edu- cate producers on proper deworming protocol. The company’s fecal egg count database program, initiated in the early 2000s, has helped develop a way to check efficacy of dewormers. Participating producers in real-world settings take 20 fecal samples from their herd – one set at the time of deworming and another set two weeks after deworming. Fol- lowing these consistent guidelines, determination of wormer resistance takes on greater meaning when done in the field. Merck Animal Health Introduces Cattle Care365 ® By Patti Wilson Contributing Editor Continued on page 42 