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Clues From Bird Flu’s Ground Zero on Dairy Farms in the Texas Panhandle

By Amy Maxmen

In early February, dairy farmers in the Texas Panhandle began to notice sick cattle. The buzz soon reached Darren Turley, executive director of the Texas Association of Dairymen: “They said there is something moving from herd to herd.”

Nearly 60 days passed before veterinarians identified the culprit: a highly pathogenic strain of the bird flu virus, H5N1. Had it been detected sooner, the outbreak might have been swiftly contained. Now it has spread to at least eight other states, and it will be hard to eliminate.

At the moment, the bird flu hasn’t adapted to spread from person to person through the air like the seasonal flu. That’s what it would take to give liftoff to another pandemic. This lucky fact could change, however, as the virus mutates within each cow it infects. Those mutations are random, but more cows provide more chances of stumbling on ones that pose a grave risk to humans.

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The goal of a cow-calf operation should be for each breeding female to deliver a healthy calf to weaning each year. While this sounds simple enough, there is a long list of variables that must fall into place before that can happen. In this episode, we’re breaking down the key considerations to keep in mind when it comes to your beef cattle breeding program. From timing and nutrition to herd health and preg checking - to help you improve outcomes and boost productivity.