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Have You Herd? AABP PodCasts
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Have You Herd? is brought to you by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, an international association of cattle veterinarians and veterinary students dedicated to the health, productivity and welfare of cattle.
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Epi. 289 – Beef Heifer Development Strategies for Reproductive Success and Lifetime Productivity – Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim
2w ago00:42:07Tap to summarizeAABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Nicky Oothuizen, Reproductive Specialist and District Sales Manager for ABS Global, and Dr. Lee Jones, Cattle Professional Services Veterinarian for Boehringer Ingelheim. Heifer retention and reproductive longevity are increasingly top-of-mind for beef producers; veterinarians play a central role in shaping development programs that set heifers up for long-term success. This episode will explore how early-life management decisions, disease prevention and parasite control influence reproductive timelines, calving distribution and lifetime herd performance. Our guests discuss important factors to evaluate to ensure heifers are ready for the first breeding season. This can include an adequate body weight and body condition score, appropriate vaccination programs, managing parasites with a sustainable parasite management program, and ensuring heifers are cycling prior to the first breeding season. Delayed puberty and low reproductive tract scores can result in later breeding and first calving which will put heifers behind for future breeding seasons. It is not only important that retained heifers get pregnant, but that they conceive at the start of the breeding season to allow for growth during the first lactation cycle and success for the second breeding season. Preventing reproductive diseases is an important part of a reproduction program. Veterinarians should discuss biosecurity, especially if purchasing pregnant heifers, and also review the vaccine program to determine where a modified live or a killed virus vaccine should be incorporated. For more information about the Boehringer-Ingelheim portfolio of products, including vaccines and anthelmintics, visit www.cattlefirst.com
Transcribe →Epi. 288 – ICR Change Ruler
4w ago00:26:49Tap to summarizeAABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Monika McConkey who is a counselor in Minnesota providing mental health services with a focus on rural agricultural communities. McConkey grew up on a 5th generation farm in Minnesota. This podcast was developed by the AABP Mental Health and Well-Being Committee. If you are interested in the work of this committee, please consider joining to provide resources on this topic to AABP members. Find the committee page at this link. McConkey discusses some of the unique challenges with mental health services in rural communities including access to care, access to a virtual mental health counselor, financial barriers, and the barrier of the stigma especially in small rural areas where anonymity is lacking. The AABP Mental Health and Well-Being Committee strives to remove the stigma associated with mental health by bringing the conversation to the forefront and providing resources to our members. The ICR Change Ruler comes out of motivational interviewing techniques as a behavioral health tool to help clients make change happen and identify why change is not happening. ICR stands for importance, confidence and readiness. McConkey discusses how veterinarians can use this tool to help clients accept change based on veterinarian recommendations. McConkey reviews some of the reasons change is difficult for many people and how we can help them accept change. McConkey reviews some questions that veterinarians can ask clients to help them through a change. This can include asking them what they are looking forward to, how they think change could work for them and what do they need to do to make change happen. Asking questions that target the disadvantages of not changing and maintaining the status quo is another method to encourage change based on your recommendations. McConkey also recommends prioritizing a list of stages and steps vs. overwhelming clients with many suggestions can result in small positive changes steps to help clients achieve a goal. We close the podcast with a discussion about how veterinarians can apply the ICR Change Ruler to take steps to apply change to our own life. Identifying the change needed, understanding its importance, being confident you can be successful with change and being ready for the change can have a positive impact on our own mental and physical health.
Transcribe →Epi. 287 – The Veterinarian’s Role in Special Needs Pens for Feedlots
Apr 1300:41:04Tap to summarizeAABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Brian Warr, veterinarian with Telus Cattle Professional Services in the Animal Health Module based in Alberta, Canada. The discussion for today is the role of the veterinarian in overseeing and providing guidance for feedlot cattle in special needs pens. Warr begins by describing the routine health care provided on feedlots to ensure that each individual animal is observed daily and interventions based on the treatment protocol provided by the veterinarian are administered. After an animal is treated, options may include moving back to the home pen or moving to a special needs pen. Warr reviews the care that should be provided by the caregivers for each special needs pen. This can include the treatment or hospital pen, where animals are given daily treatments before returning to the home pen. The hospital pen may also include animals that need daily close observation or that may need separated from the home pen while recovering. Warr also provides some guidelines for managing the chronic pen and railer pen to ensure that welfare is not compromised for animals that may not be able to return to the home pen or achieve the finishing weight goal. He suggests moving these animals through the treatment area once a week to assess their condition and record a weight with a general goal of 1 pound of gain per day for 30 days before returning to the home pen. Warr also cautions that veterinarians should be realistic when assessing the welfare needs of special needs animals. Veterinarians should provide humane euthanasia protocols and provide the oversight to ensure that animals that do not meet the guidelines for continuing in the feedlot are humanely euthanized. We also discuss some of the general needs for biocontainment of infectious diseases on feedlots and nutritional and pen requirements for special needs animals. Watch Warr's presentation from the 2026 Recent Graduate conference by going to this link. TAYLOR L, BOOKER C, JIM G, GUICHON, P. Epidemiological investigation of the buller steer syndrome (riding behaviour) in a western Canadian feedlot. Aus Vet J. 1997;75: 45-51. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.1997.tb13830.x Pollock CM, Campbell JR, Janzen ED, West K. Descriptive epidemiology of chronic disease of calves in a Western Canadian feedlot. Proceedings of the 33rd AABP Annual Conference. 2000. https://doi.org/10.21423/aabppro20005394 Sundman E, Millman S, Erickson S, Silva G, Thomson D, Johnson A, Schwartzkopf-Genswein K, Dewell R, Dewell G. Are there opportunities to strengthen animal welfare through improved management of feedlot chronic pens? Proceedings of the 56th AABP Annual Conference. 2023. https://doi.org/10.21423/aabppro20238907
Transcribe →Epi. 286 – The Veterinarian’s Role in Calf Consultation Programs
Mar 3000:58:03Tap to summarizeAABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Jon Richardson, associate veterinarian overseeing the professional services team at CalfCare in Manchester, Ind. He graduated from Purdue University in 2021. His professional work is focused on dairy-sourced calves and providing services to these operations. We start by discussing the differences between an audit and a calf progress evaluation program to improve client satisfaction and compliance with these services. Richardson walks through each part of his progress evaluation and what he provides to his clients. Steps of the evaluation can include housing, bedding, ventilation, weaning, flies, body condition scoring, feeding, water, sanitation, inventory and health records. Each step of the progress evaluation can include the use of tools to make quantitative assessments as well as general observations that can assist the client and management team with improving calf health and performance. Richardson also discusses the importance of utilizing veterinary technicians for making the collection of data for the assessment to improve practice efficiency. Richardson gave a presentation at the 2026 AABP Recent Grad Conference and the recording of this presentation is available on the AABP Online CE Portal. Gingrich discusses the AABP Guidelines for Credentialed Veterinary Technicians in Bovine Practice which are now open for member comment period through April 17. References:A.R. Wolfe, P. Rezamand, B.C. Agustinho, D.E. Konetchy, A.H. Laarman,Effects of weaning strategies on health, hematology, and productivity in Holstein dairy calves, Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 106, Issue 10, 2023,https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2022-22738 Recommendations for Calf and Heifer Housing Dimensions for HolsteinsSummary of design suggestions for planning calf and heifer housing systems for Holstein dairy cattle; a starting point for the design process.
Transcribe →Epi. 285 – AABP Continuing Education Events for 2026
Mar 2300:43:20Tap to summarizeAABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich discusses upcoming CE events for 2026. The mission of AABP is to provide support, continuing education, and advocacy for current and future veterinary professionals and the cattle they serve. Our primary mission when the organization was founded in 1965 was to provide continuing education for cattle veterinarians and this remains our priority today. AABP also is involved with advocacy and supporting the initiatives of the AABP Foundation, but this does not take away from our CE mission. In 2025, we had 26 RACE-approved live and recorded CE events and we will have even more for our members in 2026! All CE opportunities can be found on the Continuing Education menu of the AABP website. Currently there are nine webinars scheduled that are RACE-approved for 1 hour of CE. Webinars can be found here. Gingrich also discusses AABP seminars which are small group meetings with a specific CE topic. We have four seminars scheduled for 2026 outside of our conferences which can be found here. The seminars include:Dairy Replacement Heifer Calf Seminar Birth to Weaning – May 1-2, Ashland, OhioFeedlot Medicine Seminar – June 12-13, Montezuma, Kan.Cow-Calf Consulting Seminar – July 8-10, Crossfield, Alberta, CanadaEdwin Robertson Beginning ET Seminar – August 3-5, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, Va. Gingrich also announces two upcoming conferences. The first AABP Virtual Conference will be on Emerging and Evolving Diseases June 24-25 with 11 hours of CE available. The conference will be virtual and open to current AABP members. The 59th AABP Annual Conference will be in Minneapolis, Minn. August 27-29. The conference theme is “Developing Practices of Excellence” and will feature dairy-beef sessions, general sessions, clinical skills, practice management, research summaries, student case presentations, mixed animal, dairy, beef and student sessions. We will also offer six preconference seminars on August 25-26. New this year will be the opportunity for AABP members to purchase a virtual option to expand the conference to those who may be unable to attend in-person. Registration for both the virtual and annual conference will open the second week of April. Gingrich also reminds listeners that all webinars and conference sessions are recorded and available as a free member benefit. CE certificates from recorded sessions are stored in the BCI CE portal and live CE certificates can be found by hovering over your name after logging in to the AABP website and selecting My CE Certificates from the drop-down menu. If you are not an AABP member, we welcome you to join us to not only take advantage of these many CE opportunities, but also to support the advocacy efforts of AABP for all cattle veterinarians, veterinary technicians and veterinary students. Join us by going to this link.
Transcribe →Epi. 284 – Staying Sane in the Truck – Hacks to Improve Mental Health on the Go
Mar 1600:45:57Tap to summarizeAABP District 1 Director Dr. Liz Brock is the guest host for this episode of the Have You Herd? podcast today. Guests for this episode are AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich, Dr. Earl Brady, owner of Cold Hollow Veterinary Services in Vermont, and Dr. Jennifer Kauf, owner of Legacy Livestock Veterinary Service in Pennsylvania. This episode of Have You Herd? is developed by the AABP Mental Health and Well-Being Committee. Our guests provide tips they utilize for staying sane in the veterinary truck. We all recognize that busy bovine practitioners often face stressful situations every day that are unavoidable in many circumstances. Each guest discusses how stress and burnout has presented itself to us in practice and how we addressed it. We also discuss the strategies we employ to regularly keep up on our mental health. It is also important for clients to understand the stresses and mental health challenges that their veterinarian may be experiencing. We talk about how to discuss this with clients, set boundaries while providing good services and care, and providing the space needed to not be a veterinarian during specific times. If you are interested in this topic, please consider joining the AABP Mental Health and Well-being Committee. We also encourage members to join our every-other-Wednesday peer discussion group. The information to join this one-hour virtual discussion group to share and support each other is found here.
Transcribe →Epi. 283 – Parasite Resistance and Sustainable Parasite Management – Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim
Mar 900:34:51Tap to summarizeAABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Christine Navarre, Extension Veterinarian at Louisiana State University Agricultural Center and Dr. D.L. Step, Senior Professional Services Veterinarian for Cattle and Boehringer Ingelheim. Parasite resistance is increasingly documented in U.S. beef herds and is influenced by product use and management decisions. In this episode, we explore what veterinarians are seeing in the field, how resistance develops and the role diagnostics, refugia, combination treatment and integrated herd and pasture management play in preserving long-term dewormer effectiveness. Veterinarians play a key role in assisting producers in managing resistance to parasites through effective treatment and diagnostic programs. Some strategies that have historically been used contribute to parasite resistance. Veterinarians can ask key questions to clients to mitigate this resistance pressure and provide guidance on effectively using the products not only to minimize resistance patterns, but also to ensure that cattle health and productivity are not being negatively impacted by parasites. For more information about sustainable parasite management options, visit this link.
Transcribe →Epi. 282 – Assisting Your Beef Producers with Bull Selection
Mar 200:43:09Tap to summarizeAABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by current AABP President-Elect Dr. Mark Hilton to talk about opportunities for beef cow-calf veterinarians to assist their clients with bull selection. Hilton emphasizes that the number one conversation starter for offering consultative services is to ask questions and listen to your clients. The first question is to ask your clients what are their goals? Veterinarians can assist producers, but having the client outline their goals is a way for the veterinarian to develop the programs to achieve those goals. The next question to ask is “would you like help with that?” Your clients may not be aware of your expertise on a topic which can be delivered in an unbiased manner to help the producer achieve their goals. When selecting a bull, the veterinarian should also help the producer identify disease risk. Asking the seller if you can discuss the herd with their veterinarian is a good way to identify any disease risks to the purchaser. The veterinarian can also ask specific questions about what they want to accomplish with their bull purchase. This can include identifying if the bull will be used in heifers or cows to identify where you want to rank calving ease of the bull. The bull should also optimize heterosis for the cow herd. Incorporating cross breeding has a potential value of $400 per cow due to increased longevity, increased pregnancy rate and increased weaning weights. The veterinarian should also evaluate if the herd is retaining heifers and ask how they market calves. Hilton reviews the EPDs and selection indices that he ranks as important for bull selection. When looking at the calving ease differential EPD for bulls used in heifers, this trait is 9 times more accurate than actual birth weight of the bull, which can be influenced by other factors. It is also important to understand the breed differences in EPDs and to review EPDs and selection indices by breed. Veterinarians can play a key role in working with their clients on achieving their goals and how bull selection plays a part in that process. Hilton also mentions the AABP Cow-Calf Consulting Seminar which will be held in Alberta, Canada July 8-10, 2026. Registration is open and limited to 12 attendees. Bull selection and genetics will be one component of this seminar which will provide practical information on the pillars of beef cow-calf consulting practice. For more information on this seminar and to register, go to this link. The seminar is also held during the Calgary Stampede Chuckwagon Races and is close to the world-renowned Banff National Park for entertainment options while you are in the area.
Transcribe →Epi. 281 – The Role of Copper in Ruminant Nutrition - Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim
Feb 2300:49:25Tap to summarizeAABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Bob Van Saun, professor and extension veterinarian at Penn State University. He is also a member of the AABP Nutrition Committee. If you are interested in beef or dairy nutrition, consider joining the committee by visiting this page. This episode of Have You Herd? is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and the PYRAMID(R) Line of vaccines, a premier choice to protect calves from BRD. Get relentless protection at PyramidVaccines.com. Van Saun begins by reviewing the important biologic role of copper for ruminants and why it is a critical mineral for ruminants. We also discuss some clinical diseases or conditions where a veterinarian may be triggered to look at a copper deficiency. This includes bleaching of the haircoat (achromotrichia), anemia, reproductive performance, growth, and disease consequences due to the role copper plays in innate and humoral immunity. Some of these syndromes may be clinically apparent, but a large portion may be subclinical, and the practitioner should evaluate the entirety of the mineral program to evaluate. Van Saun discusses the interplay between copper and other minerals and how this interaction can affect copper metabolism. We also discuss general guidelines copper in ruminants and diagnostic procedures for evaluating copper metabolism in a herd. Due to the impacts of copper on many production and disease issues in ruminants, veterinarians play a critical role in evaluating herds for copper deficiencies by performing a diagnostic work-up and evaluating potential interventions.
Transcribe →Epi. 280 – Beef Calf Colostrum Management and Replacement Strategies – Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim
Feb 1600:35:25Tap to summarizeAABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich discusses colostrum management programs with Dr. Lisa Gamsjäger, Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University. This episode of Have You Herd? is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and the PYRAMID(R) line of vaccines, a premier choice to protect calves from BRD. Get relentless protection at PyramidVaccines.com. According to research studies, approximately 30% of beef calves have failure of passive transfer and are below 10 g/L of IgG. These calves are 8x more likely to have a disease and 19x more likely to experience mortality. There may be some fundamental differences in colostrum for beef calves, and management strategies between the two production systems are vastly different which can present unique challenges for beef producers. Veterinarians are in a unique position to provide consultation to their beef clients to be prepared to intervene with assistance and/or providing a colostrum replacement product. We discuss a study that examined various feeding protocols of colostrum replacer and its impacts on passive transfer, morbidity, mortality and average daily gains. We also discuss areas for future research on beef calf colostrum management and replacement products. Veterinarians should prepare their clients for the upcoming calving season to ensure that calves receive appropriate passive transfer of immunity by proactively discussing these strategies. References:Gamsjäger L, Haines DM, Pajor EA, Lévy M, Windeyer MC. Impact of volume, immunoglobulin G concentration, and feeding method of colostrum product on neonatal nursing behavior and transfer of passive immunity in beef calves. Animal 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2021.100345 Mitman SL, Jenkins H, Chamorro MF, Mzyk DA, Foster DM, Gamsjäger L. Impact of 3 colostrum replacement strategies on immunoglobulin G absorption efficiency, passive immunity, health, and growth in beef calves. J Am Vet Med Assoc. July 2025. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.25.03.0139 Gamsjäger L, Haines DM, Pajor EA, Lévy M, Campbell J, Windeyer MC. Total and pathogen-specific serum Immunoglobulin G concentrations in neonatal beef calves, Part 1: Risk factors. Prev Vet Med. November 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2023.106026 Gamsjäger L, Haines DM, Pajor EA, Lévy M, Campbell J, Windeyer MC. Total and pathogen-specific serum Immunoglobulin G concentrations in neonatal beef calves, Part 2: Associations with health and growth. Prev Vet Med. November 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2023.105993
Transcribe →