Campbell County farmers have been challenged with the task of finding a large animal veterinarian for the last fifteen years when the last large animal vet practice closed. This has created even more challenges than farmers already face from unpredictable weather and economic changes, including but not limited to lack of access to antibiotics, emergency veterinary care and preventative health recommendations.

In response to this issue, Campbell County ANR Agent collaborated with the Campbell County Cattleman’s Association to offer a Herd Health Update and Beef Quality & Care Assurance training at the annual meeting for the association. The annual meeting typically draws a large attendance so the ANR Agent was able to reach a larger audience than normal, 46 attendees were present in 2024. Dr. Michelle Arnold, UK Extension Ruminant Veterinarian, presented a herd health update discussing the differences between modified live and killed vaccines and specifically when to use which vaccine. Modified live vaccines are not labeled for use in pregnant cattle which limits when it is appropriate to use on cattle. Rick Schweitzer, Bluegrass Stockyards representative, also discussed the importance of vaccinations for capturing extra value when selling calves at the stockyards.

Following the program, several cattleman reached out to the ANR Agent for confirmation of the message that was presented- pregnant cattle should not be vaccinated with modified live vaccines. One stated that they had been having low conception rates, abortions and overall reproductive issues in their cattle herd and realized that night that they had been using modified live vaccines incorrectly and had been administering them to pregnant cattle. They had unintentionally caused the reproductive issues and loss of pregnancies for several years in their cattle herd because of the absence of a vet for advice and recommendations. It costs approximately $1,000 to overwinter a cow, regardless if she is pregnant or not. If she does not produce a calf (income), that is huge financial loss to a cattle operation. As a result of the herd health update, put on by the Campbell County ANR Agent, this family corrected their mistake and are currently using the correct vaccines on their herd and increased their conception and calf survival rate. . This management change saved this family thousands of dollars from lost income and increased the profitability of their cattle herd and farm.