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THINKING ABOUT ample: Lutalyse®) can be given The Midwest Cattleman · October 22, 2020 · P25
continued from page 20 to the heifers once they have ing program. Other available ers with an emphasis on genet-
usually 30 days or longer (Lon- been away from the bull a mini- programs often include restric- ics. This certification is reserved
gRange is an extended duration mum of 10 days. These injections tions on use of growth promot- for cattle A) sired by bulls that
product of 120+ days). A drench work best in early pregnancy ing implants, treatment with have successfully completed a
anthelmintic or ‘white deworm- so do not delay administration antibiotics (feed grade or inject- recognized Performance Test
er’ is given by mouth and has a if needed. Often “guaranteed able), and have not been fed any Program or B) that have Year-
short duration but very effective open” means pregnancy checked animal derived protein. These ling Weight (YW) and Weaning
clean-out of internal parasites. by a veterinarian by rectal pal- more restrictive programs such Weight (WW) EPDs ranking in
Examples include Safeguard pation or “sleeved by a vet”. as GAP, NHTC, Verified Grass- the upper 50 percentile as pub-
(Merck), Synanthic (BI) or Val- 7. “Weaned” Fed, Organic Certified and Beef- lished by the breed association
bazen (Zoetis). A second product Explanation: For home-raised Care, require a third-party on- for sire’s birth year.
is often required for external calves, this usually means at site audit and the seller must In summary, adding value
parasite (lice/flies/ticks) control. least 45 days prior to delivery. be approved prior to offering the through preconditioning and
5. “Steers-Knife cut, band- In addition to precondition- cattle for sale. For example, pro- other practices can only re-
ed (at birth or at weaning) or ing programs, calves can also ducers marketing “All Natural” capture the extra investment
Clamped” be pooled in “value-added” pro- cattle as Global Animal Part- in time and money if the buy-
Explanation: Castration grams according to further cri- nership (GAP) certified must ers know what was done to the
method may be either surgical teria for a marketing advantage. have specific documentation to calves prior to arrival at the
(knife-cut) where the scrotum Most programs issue a visual verify the “All Natural” claim. sale. Health programs are de-
is opened and the testicles re- ear tag for buyers to recognize “NHTC” cattle are non-hormone sired because they substantially
moved; non-surgical banding participating calves. Some pro- treated cattle (no implants) and reduce the risk of disease and
with an elastrator rubber band ducers may choose to market are eligible to be exported to the death at the next production
placed around the scrotum and their cattle in programs requir- European Union. The NHTC level, but they are not a guaran-
above the testicles; or clamped ing source and age verification program is a USDA approved, tee of perfect health. In addition,
with a Burdizzo Clamp to crush such as CPH45. To be eligible for third-party audit that verifies very restrictive value-added pro-
the testicular cords. No matter the program, producers must be the source, age and non-hor- grams have difficulty enrolling
which method is used, the steer Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) mone treated status of calves enough calves similar in frame
should be completely healed by certified, have a registered prior to the cattle being sold. and weight to create uniform
sale day. premise identification, and must NHTC cattle must be sold to an loads. However, knowing the
6. “Heifers Guaranteed Open” be able to provide birth dates for approved NHTC location and language used by the industry
Explanation: If heifers have source and process verification. the buyer must also be NHTC will help producers understand
been allowed to stay with the Calves must be managed under approved to retain their NHTC what practices are considered
herd bull until weaning, most BQA protocol, be tagged with of- approval status. Alternatively, most important for buyers at the
likely some are pregnant. A ficial EID tags, and follow a pre- there is Performance Advantage yards.
prostaglandin injection (for ex- scribed health and precondition- Certification, or PA, for produc-
®
Hammer
shown with
optional NitroGrit ™
Carbide.
