​SUNRISE VETerinary SERVICES
​CATTLE  Producer ​NEWSLETTERS​

​CURRANT INFORMATION THAT YOU CAN USE
​TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS
REGARDING YOUR HERD'S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING.

​Sunrise Vet Services  February 2019 Producer Newsletter ​​   

      Great googly moogly it was cold the last few days! WOW, even my head got cold while I was talking.  That much hot air and I still couldn’t keep the noggin warm!  I did learn several things in the ultra cold weather.
1. The mighty Chevy diesel did just fine. It just ran for 72 hours straight without being shut off… not kidding.2. I set a new personal record of -40 degrees outside temp while I worked (outside that is of course!)
3. I never knew nose and ear hair would respond to such cold weather with such explosive growth! Too bad it’s not working for the top of my head!  :(

      Hopefully everyone got through the cold blast with minimal problems, i.e. frozen pipes, equipment breakdowns, etc.  If any of your cattle did get frostbite, it may take several days to a week to have the damaged tissue show up.  Unfortunately there is nothing we can do to correct frozen tissue.  A calf can live without ear tips or even missing some of its tail; however, they need to have 4 good feet to walk on and grow properly.  If the damage is too severe, the animal should be put down to ease its suffering.  
 
Producer Meetings Update:  

• We have a dinner meeting set for Tues. Feb. 19th at 6pm at the VFW that will be featuring a panel of the Sunrise Vet Doctors!!! They will be discussing Calves & Calving with information that you might not be aware of but that the doctors WISH everyone knew. This meeting is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and will also feature Dr. Curt Vlietstra discussing the 5 "C"s of calf care as well as vaccines. This would be a great meeting for both beef producers as well as dairy folks.
• We have a late lunch meeting set for Tuesday, March 19 at 12:30 at the VFW on 6 Factors of Dairy Financial  Success. We will review six specific dairy production factors that drive success on a dairy as measured by net farm income. This meeting is sponsored by Zoetis and will feature Dr. Matt Boyle as our speaker. This should be an especially great meeting for dairy producers!
• Please call to RSVP at least 2 days before each mtg so we can plan for food. (Jill thanks you!)

 
BQA: Beef Quality Assurance program.  
BQA promotes beef (all types beef and dairy beef) by several means. With added training, producers are making a quality product even better.  Beef consistency for eating, tenderness, cuttability, and taste is being improved.  Residues continue to be reduced with better record keeping. By having a better product I hope you get paid better.  Several sale barns/buyers are requiring BQA certification to be on file when selling cattle. You can take classes online (BQA info: https://bqa.beeflearningcenter.org/ ) and several counties are offering in person training also. The Sauk County Ag agent is hoping to have an in person class in April. You can call the Sauk County Extension office at 355-3250 and ask for the ag agent once we get farther into spring for more info on that class. I took the class online and it didn’t take very long. Once you finish, you can print your certificate and send or FAX it along with your consignment information to your sale barns of choice.
 
4-H Farm & Tractor Safety Course: Do you have anyone in your family between the ages of 12 and 18? If so, you might be interested in this 4-H program being offered. For under age individuals to be able to legally drive a tractor off farm, other than immediately across the road, they must have
received tractor certification.  Also, If you will be driving on the grounds of the Steam & Gas Show,
you have to be certified. So the Sauk County Extension program is offering a 4-H Farm & Tractor Safety Course which is open to anyone 12 years old and up.  The classes will
be held at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 325 Mill Street, Loganville every Tuesday evening from
4:30PM to 8:30PM February 5 through March 12, with the final driving test on March 16. You must attend all classes; 24 hours of education-training is a certification requirement. To register contact the Sauk County UW Extension Office at 608-355-3250 by January 28. (Cost is $25/ person with checks written out to Sauk County 4-H & mailed to 505 Broadway, Baraboo, WI  53913.
 
As a thank you to just OUR farm clients, Sunrise would once again like to offer low cost spays & neuters for your barn cats on Thursdays during the months of MARCH and again in AUGUST 2019. We will not be advertising this service to the public; It will only be available to you, our dedicated clients. If you’d like to bring in a cat or cats for surgery, just give us a call at the clinic so we can get them scheduled into a surgery slot before we get booked up. Because we will continue regular business at our small animal hospital during this time and because we need to assure that all of our clientele, staff, and patients stay safe and healthy, there are a few stipulations:

1. All cats must be in a carrier. Live traps are acceptable.
2. Any fleas or internal parasites noted at the time of the procedure will be treated at an additional cost to the owner. (Approximately $17/cat)
3. A surgical appointment is required to be made so we can save you a spot.
4. To keep costs low, no pain medications will be included in the price of surgery. Owners may elect to have their cats receive pain meds at an additional cost based on the cat’s weight.
5. Proof of Rabies Vaccine needs to be provided. If no vaccination has been performed, the cat will receive a Rabies Vaccine on the day of surgery at a reduced cost as part of this promotion. (See prices below)
6. If you choose, a Distemper Vaccine can also be administered to your cats on the day of surgery. If this is their first vaccination, a 2nd booster vaccine should be given 3-4 weeks later. The booster vaccine can be dispensed to you, for administration at home.
7. To receive this special pricing, payment for these services is required at time of service.

Special Prices for Farm Cat Surgeries:  Female Spay- $45.00    Male Neuter- $30.00
Vaccine Prices for Cats Participating in the Farm Cat Surgery Special:  Rabies $5.00   Cat Distemper $10.00
★Note: Bring in 3 or more cats on the same day & receive an additional discount of 10% off your cat’s surgical bill.
 
Thanks to all those who made and bid on items for the United Fund Radio Auction!!!  My sweet tooth has been satisfied for the next several weeks. Hats off to Gavin Bros. for trying to keep up with my auctioneering skills.  I thought I heard them saying something after the auction on how “special” my auction technique was.  If that’s not a complement, I don’t know what is!

 

Sunrise Vet Services  January 2019 Producer Newsletter ​​

​      Alas, 2018 has come and gone.  Well, what did I learn during this past year?  
Lesson 1:  Boy, I am just too damn good at the naked rain dance.  I think I may be in a 
league above “Supreme Professional” based on my results! 
Lesson 2:  When it rains for 6 weeks in the fall, it’s darn tough to make corn silage. ​
Lesson 3:  2018 was a tough year for everything in agriculture; dairy, beef, corn, beans, even for picking rocks it was a down year! 
Lesson 4:  In my many visits with farmers, no one is sad to see 2018 go into the history books.
Lesson 5:  We lost some good people and farms this year, but we also met new people and gained some fantastic farms, and we’ve enjoyed new babies coming into this world.

      Producer Meetings Update:
We are currently trying to nail down dates on two meetings, but this is what we are tentatively looking at: 

1. Thursday Feb. 28: Dinner Mtg on Calving: What We Wish You Knew & the 5 C's of Calf Care. From labor signs to watch for to delivery and afterwards. Sponsored by BI: Speakers will be Dr. John and Dr. Kurt Vliestra.
2. Tues. Mar. 12: Noon Mtg on Financial Benchmarks and Management Strategies of a  Successful Farming Enterprise Sponsored by Zoetis: Speaker will be Kevin Boyle.

      Just a Reminder:
As of Jan. 1st, we need to have all pet services paid for at the time of service in the clinic. If seen on the farm, you will receive an invoice right away that needs to be paid for separately from your farm invoice that is sent at the end of the month.

      Farm Transition Planning: Get started now! Don’t delay! I recently had a talk with a client about this.  Her parents are both in their early 90’s and have been living on the home farm.  The elderly wife had to go to a nursing home because of health reasons. Their out of pocket cost is $9,000 per month.  Yes that is $108,000 per year! In talking with her dad, he said, “I wish we had done something 5 years ago to help prepare for this.”  I believe nursing homes also have the right/ability to go back for up to 5 years to garnish your money that you have to pay for your stay at the nursing home. Your farm is the largest asset you will have in your lifetime.  It is well worth spending time with a lawyer and accountant to set up a plan for what will happen with the farm, equipment, cattle, etc.  If it costs you $1,000 for their time, but you save $30,000-$100,000 in the long run, then that is a fantastic return on investment. Please take the time to set everything up the way you want.  Once you’re gone, if you did not have your wishes written down and legally recorded, no one will be able to read your thoughts and fulfill your wishes.

      Even with the weather acting the way it has, pneumonia has not raised it ugly head lately. However, remember that your cattle live outside 24/7, and if they live on a bedding pack, the warmer the weather, the more the pack will break down and create ammonia.  And the presence of ammonia leads to pneumonia. Clean, dry, and fresh air helps keep the vet away. Manage your curtains daily to help control moisture levels in your buildings. It hasn’t been terribly cold this winter yet, so keep moving those curtains up and down as the temperatures change.  

      By the way, we will soon be launching our “Sunrise Attire Photo Contest” on Facebook so we encourage you to use your imagination and to post some interesting poses in some interesting settings while showing off your Sunrise Veterinary Services articles of clothing. Ham it up… Funny is good... And the winner will receive a free Kwik Trip dinner on John! (P.S. Don’t get too excited. It’s not an “all you can eat” dinner after all.)

      Oh, by the way; No one got me anything from my Christmas list, but I was lucky enough to get a lump of coal from everyone at the office.  I told them that with enough heat and pressure, I am going to turn that coal into a diamond! I’m thinking it will be about 12.75 carats when I am done with it.  So if you see me sitting in my truck with a serious look of concentration on my face, please don’t interrupt me as I am probably busy applying pressure and heat to my lump of coal! After all, everyone knows that I am but an unpolished diamond on the inside, right?