Feed Lot

APR 2013

Feedlots and cow/calf operations in the beef industry who feed 500 or more has annually on grains and concentrates; maintain 500 or more beef cows; backgrounder, stocker/grower, preconditioner; veterinarian, nutritionist, consultant

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COW/CALF CORNER Transfer Factor Way to Prev BY HEATHER SMITH THOMAS Cattle producers deal with disease by vaccination for prevention, and anti-microbial drugs for treatment. The use of drugs is questioned today however, due to increasing numbers of drug-resistant pathogens, and the issue of drug residues in meat if drugs are not used appropriately. Some beef producers and veterinarians are looking at alternatives to antimicrobial use. A bright spot in this quest is immune system enhancement and the role of transfer factors. If the immune status of animals can be enhanced, disease is less likely to occur, and if they do get sick, severity and duration of disease can be reduced���without as much antimicrobial treatment. Dr. Steve Slagle, a veterinarian in Granite Bay, California, has been using a transfer factor product in his practice since 1999. ���This is a natural immune enhancer and derives its efficacy from a protein produced by the immune system���s T lymphocytes. This transfer factor is also found in cow colostrum. To create human and animal products, the protein is extracted from colostrum,��� he explains. The body���s immune system produces memory molecules whenever it is exposed to disease or receives vaccination. These bioactive peptides are transfer factors and passed from cow to calf via colostrum. This transfer educates the immune response cells of the newborn calf. Immunities can be transferred from one person to another by blood transfusions. In 1949, Dr. H. Sherwood Lawrence, a researcher working on tuberculosis Circle No. 128 on Reply 28 FEED���LOT April/May 2013

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