Developing Healthy Heifers is the foundation of your future herd. Ensure their longevity by focusing on management, vaccination, and parasite control.
Nutrition
Animals with adequate feed and clean water are better able to fight disease and parasites. Proper nutrition can help improve BCS to achieve puberty at 12 months and reproductive maturity at 15 months.1
Stress Management
Stressors can compromise the immune system, overall herd health and reproductive performance. Stressors can include poor nutrition, parasites, disease, adverse weather, overcrowding and processing.
Body Condition Score
Body Condition Score (BCS) is connected to nutrition, stress management and fertility, and it is widely recognized as the single greatest factor affecting reproductive efficiency.2 Talk to your veterinarian about how to accurately score and record body condition in your herd.
Fertility
Reproductive performance is the most important economic trait in a beef cow herd.3 An open cow costs $800 a year, which makes breeding crucial to the economic success of your operation. In addition, a heifer bred earlier in the season has more time to recover after calving, and is more likely to be cycling at the beginning of the following breeding season. Ultimately, that heifer is a candidate for higher reproductive success.
Reproductive diseases threaten the success of pregnancy rates, heifer health and calf health.
Heifers can be affected by several diseases, including:
- Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV)
- Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR)
- Leptospirosis
- Vibrio
BVDV is particularly threatening:
- Infected heifers can pass BVDV to the fetus, resulting in the calf being born persistently infected (PI) with BVDV. BVDV also can result in:
- Infertility
- Abortions
- Birth defects
- Weak calves
PI calves often show no signs of infection, and will put the herd at risk by shedding the virus for the duration of their life. About half of PI calves will die before 1 year of age. In addition, BVDV suppresses the immune system, making calves more susceptible to other diseases.
Vaccinate with Express® FP to help prevent PI calves, and help keep BVDV and other reproductive diseases out of your herd. Before breeding, talk to your veterinarian about a vaccination protocol.
The LongRange® (eprinomectin) Difference
Greater Weight Gains7
Heifers treated with LONGRANGE dewormer gained an extra 56 POUNDS compared to heifers treated with generic ivermectin over 233 days on pasture.
Increased Pregnancy Rates7
When treated with LONGRANGE, heifers saw a 22% HIGHER RATE OF PREGNANCY than those treated with generic ivermectin.
Artificially inseminated heifers saw a 30% HIGHER PREGNANCY RATE in the same study.
Earlier Calving Distribution7
In a published study, heifers treated with LONGRANGE dewormer gave birth to 28% MORE CALVES DURING THE FIRST 21 DAYS of the calving season than those treated with generic ivermectin.
REFERENCES
1 Cardoso RC and Williams GL. Nutritional programming of puberty in Bos indicus–influenced beef heifers. J Anim Sci 2019:97(3):36–37.
2 Johnson S, Stevenson J, Jaeger J. Tips for a successful estrus synchronization and artificial insemination program. K- State Research and Extension. 2018. Available at: https://beefrepro.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/mf2574.pdf. Accessed Jan. 15, 2024.
3 Wiltbank JN, Fields M, Sand R. Challenges for improving calf crop. In: Fields MJ and Sand RS, eds. Factors affecting calf crop. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 1993;1–22.
4 Fulton RW, Ridpath JF, Saliki JT, et al. Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) 1b: predominant BVDV subtype in calves with respiratory disease. Can J Vet Res 2002;66(3):181–190.
5 Data on file, Boehringer Ingelheim and BVDVTracker.com. Data collected Nov. 1, 2018, through Nov. 1, 2020.
6 Dependent upon parasite species, as referenced in FOI summary and LONGRANGE product label.
7 Andresen CE, Loy DD, Brick TA, Gunn PJ. Case study: Effects of extended-release eprinomectin on cow-calf performance and reproductive success in a fall-calving beef herd. Prof Anim Sci 2018;34(2):223–229.
LONGRANGE IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION: Do not treat within 48 days of slaughter. Not for use in female dairy cattle 20 months of age or older, including dry dairy cows, or in veal calves. Post-injection site damage (e.g., granulomas, necrosis) can occur. These reactions have disappeared without treatment. Not for use in breeding bulls, or in calves less than 3 months of age. Not for use in cattle managed in feedlots or under intensive rotational grazing. Pregnant women should wear gloves and exercise caution or avoid handling this product.
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