The Auction Ring



            We made the long trek to the Northern Livestock Market (all of 4 miles from our hotel) and arrived there at 10am- well before the market was swinging into action.  The sale didn’t start till 2:30, but producers must unload their animals and get them checked in before it begins.  In order to unload animals, producers (or hired shippers) must have proper paperwork that shows where the animals came from and that they are up-to-date on any required TB testing.  This market is a little different than any other in the state because producers coming from TB areas do not need movement permits to take their cattle there.  They must have all their testing done, but they get to skip this added restriction by coming to this market.  In addition, all cattle must have RFID tags to move in Michigan, but this market allows producers to simply bring the tags in-hand as opposed to tagging them all before arriving.  It puts added work on the market employees to have to do all the work themselves, but it saves the producers another chore.



Tagging and matching back-tags at the market



          Danielle and I hung out in the office for a while seeing how cattle get checked in.  Producers bring all their information to the window and a market employee gives them “back-tags” for their animals.  These yellow stickers are glued onto the sides of the animals and matched with their RFID number so where they came from and where they are going can all be tracked electronically.  In addition, the TB testing requirements for each farm is checked.  If a producer unloads a cow that is not in TB-compliance than the cow must be sold for slaughter-only, meaning it must be killed within 5 days of the sale.  The technician also ensures that every back-tag gets matched with an RFID number so all the cattle can be tracked.  



Trying to wade through a sea of calves



            After seeing the office side of things, we actually got on the market floor to help match the tags and put IDs on the cattle.  Basically, we have a wand that you swipe near the RFID tag on the cow’s ear and it shows up on a PDA.  You then manually enter the matching back-tag number and the cow is off to the sale ring.  It sounds easy enough, but trying to do a pen of 20 calves that refuse to be sorted is more difficult than it sounds. 

 

      This whole process of tracking animals only applies to cattle.  Sheep and goats need “scrapie” tags, but those are handled by USDA and are not tracked the same way.  Pigs aren’t required to have the same identification because any pig that enters the market must go to slaughter—a mandate that was created to prevent psuedorabies. 

            After helping check in cattle, Danielle and I went to the auction to watch the sale for a bit.  It’s awfully tempting to want to raise your hand or nod when the bidding gets really heated, but we refrained.  The sale is quite the event in Gaylord.  The whole parking lot was packed when we left and the little diner attached to the sale ring was filled with kids buying candy and farmers discussing their latest purchases and sales.  



Risk*A*Syst

         We woke up in Atlanta and did not need to be anywhere until later in the afternoon, so we went running and then we had breakfast at a nearby coffee shop.  After recognizing the state emblem on our car, the shop owner vented to us about the baiting ban that still exists in northeast Michigan and how much the TB eradication program hurts producers in the area.  We sympathized with him about added regulations, but stressed that producers in the northeast lower peninsula only make up about 2% of the cattle industry in Michigan—if TB ever really started spreading, those producers would be put out of business by the rest of the cattle producers.  Regulations have to be better than unemployment, in my opinion.

Evidence of deer on the farm

         We drove to the USDA Service Center in Alpena to go on a Risk*A*Syst with Emily, a USDA employee.  MDA is trying to shift its TB program model from being reactive (trying to contain TB infections) to proactive (stopping infections from even occurring).  Most new TB infections in Michigan are not from cattle-t0-cattle spread, but from white-tailed deer.  The deer are reservoirs for bovine TB and when they either come into contact with cattle, or more frequently, come into contact with cattle feed and leave their saliva behind for cattle to ingest, new infections start. 

Feed that is secured from deer

        A Risk*A*Syst is where a trained USDA or MDA employee goes to a producer’s property and highlights risky management practices that will increase the likelihood of deer infecting cattle.  So in this case, Emily went to a nearby property and looked at how feed is stored, where cattle are fed, water sources, and where cattle are allowed to graze.  The idea is that no one can ever keep deer off their property, but producer’s can mitigate the risk of deer infecting cattle through certain practices.  For example, these producers fenced off their thick woods to keep cattle from grazing in places that are likely being grazed by deer.  Obviously, deer can come into cattle pastures, but they are less likely to remain in open fields for long and sunlight kills the bacteria, so open fields are less risky than dense, dark woods. 

Fence keeps cattle out of the woods and the wetlands

        If a producer passes their Risk*A*Syst, they can become “Wildlife Risk Verified.”  This certification makes it easier for producers to move cattle in Michigan and it reduces their testing requirements.  The property we visited already had management practices in place to reduce their risk, so their verification was pretty simple.  They only fed what their cattle could eat in a single day, they fenced off their woods, and their feed was stored either inside or had wildlife security fences surrounding it.  Emily said other farms are often not as progressive as this producer and it can take months for producers to make necessary changes in order to be verified.  In addition, there is a lot of resentment by producers that feel that the government doesn’t have the authority to tell them how to manage their property.  Emily stresses that this verification is not required and it’s only there to help producers.  As we mentioned to the coffee shop owner, making changes is better than being out of business.
            We ended the day driving back to the Holiday Inn in Gaylord. 

Feeders that are kept indoors and fed daily are
at low risk for TB infections

"Elk Capital of the World"

            Danielle and I drove up to Atlanta, MI today (basically we went to Gaylord and then an hour east) in order to visit MDA’s field office.  I’ve seen small towns before, but nothing quite like that.  For example, when we arrived at the office, we were a little early so we suggested that we would get lunch and then return.  Our suggestion was met with a good deal of laughter—“Where do you think you’re going to eat, there’s no place to go.”  That statement turned out to be a bit of exaggeration, but it did take a good amount of searching to find a tiny little diner that offered food.

Chute for testing deer

            Upon returning from our lunch, we get a brief tour of the building.  The Atlanta Field Office is one of those places that you could drive by without ever giving a second look or even having it register that someone is in there.  It looks like a warehouse along a country road.  As often is the case, looks are deceiving. The building has its own laboratory, offices, conference rooms, and even a wash bay for all the equipment.  The parking lot behind the building has row after row of chutes and gates just waiting to be trailered off to some farm for testing.  There are even special chutes designed for testing bison and deer.  Our tour guide, Steve Maniaci, explained that 90% of the equipment that MDA owns for TB testing is sitting in the parking lot of this building.  It just shows how much testing goes on in the northeast lower peninsula in comparison with the rest of the state.                                        

Chute for testing bison- has bars in the front to stop the bison
when they try to charge right through.



         After working in the office a bit learning how we schedule and stay on top of producers for testing and how we track animals in Michigan, Danielle and I checked into the Win-Sands Motel (not the finest of places to stay, but quite comfortable).  Atlanta is the “Elk Capital of Michigan” (I kept trying to say “of the world”, but everyone corrected me when I tried to pass that by them—I don’t think giving the town an ego boost could hurt).  We went looking for elk in a nearby state park, but struck out.  At least the town had a stuffed one on  display just to prove that they do exist here. 



Two Unlucky Suspects

        Home late and up at 5am to head back to Ithaca and bovine TB testing.  We had CCTs (Comparative Cervical Test) to check so that this producer would be free to move his entire dairy to Indiana (this producer was required to test by Indiana before they would allow his cattle into the state).  We were back with both teams of vets because by USDA rules the same person that injects the sites must be same person that reads them.  So Dr. Baer and I were off to locate all 17 cows that we had injected three days ago (a specific 17 out of 1200 cows).   

            It took a few hours to locate and check all of them, but we managed with the help of the farm workers.  Two out of the thirty that we checked were “suspects” meaning they had a greater reaction to the bovine tuberculin than to the avian tuberculin.   Sadly the two were immediately loaded onto a trailer and taken to DCPAH to be necropsied for possible lesions.  In general, CCT suspects are just re-tested in another 60 days and the farm is released from quarantine when that test comes back negative.  In this case, with the producer wanting to move within a week, the animals didn’t get any possibility of reprieve.

One of the CCT Suspects- We tagged her with pink USDA tags for shipment to the lab.

Hunting for Wild Pigs

         We left the world of bovine TB for the day to visit feral swine farms.  If you aren’t up-to-date on feral swine issues (cause I can’t imagine who wouldn’t be), there is major debate currently in the legislature on whether to heavily regulate this formerly  lawless industry or to just declare feral swine an invasive species and ban anyone from owning them.  Those that want to eradicate feral swine cite the risk of these animals getting loose and possibly spreading pseudorabies to domestic pigs.  On the other hand, feral swine breeding and hunting operations are quite the business for those involved and I can’t imagine anyone in the legislature is exactly jumping chomping at the bit to wipe out businesses in Michigan.  There is one more side to this debate—that of the actual industry—which is anti-regulations and anti-bans.  This industry has largely been untouched by government, and producers do not see any need or right for the government to change that mentality.  With this knowledge in mind, we set out to visit some of these swine operations (we being “the government”).



A Russian Boar (the kind of pig we were looking for).

We set out for the first farm knowing that our presence might not be welcome.  Dr. Baer had placed multiple phone calls to these farms with no answer, so we were showing up on their property without warning.  The goal of these visits was to get an idea of whether or not these farms were still in operation and the number of animals. 

            The first property was just south of Grand Rapids and seemed to be in a rural, but upscale area (farms with large mansions interspersed).  We drove up to some pretty formidable-looking gates, which Dr. Baer stayed outside of out of respect for private property.  We could see an ostrich on the back property, but no sign of wild pigs.  It took some searching by Dr. Baer, but we finally located the owner, who turned out to be a very friendly man.  We struck out on finding wild pigs as this owner had gotten rid of them a number of years ago, but found ourselves in an entire zoo.  Although busy, the owner did give us a quick tour, showing us his water buffalo, Ankole cattle (African breed), and gazelles.  The only thing missing were some lions and tigers, but this zoo-owner was skipping out on the hassle of all the paperwork and permits required to maybe own a large carnivore.  I guess it is next to impossible to get permission to have one due to the Large Carnivore Act.

Couldn't take a picture of the actual Ankole cattle, but here's an idea of what they looked like.

          The next farm took us north into Muskegon.  It again took some searching, but we found the producer who again turned out to be an incredibly welcoming man.  It turned out that despite our records showing his property was quarantined for pseudorabies, he had never owned pigs, feral or domestic.  I guess with all the paperwork and mixture of government agencies, mistakes happen. He did have about 30 captive deer, including a white buck named Blanzy that they had bottle-fed as a baby.  The producer did explain that for CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) surveillance he has to submit one out of every 4 heads from deer that he kills or that die naturally.  The brains are examined for CWD lesions as that is the only way to “test” for the presence of the disease.

Blanzy- the white buck

          Last farm of the day took us to Dorr, Michigan (bet you’ve never heard of that town) and we finally found some feral swine, along with sheep, kittens, chickens, deer, and one lone elk.  We had been warned that this producer was incredibly difficult to work with, but as before, reputations don’t always match with reality.  He welcomed us onto his property and encouraged Danielle and I to take pictures and ask questions.  Unfortunately, this producer was getting out of the feral swine business because he couldn’t find a way to please the DNR.  Apparently, DNR officers liked showing up unannounced on his property and were constantly changing their minds about how he needed to manage his animals.  The producer already slaughtered his breeding stock and now only had a few remaining piglets that would be gone by this summer (pig roasts and such).  Feral swine can be distinguished from domestic pigs by the presence of stripes on the piglets (Feral swine are often purebred Russian boars or have bloodlines from that breed). 

Piglets on the Dorr Farm

          In addition to showing us his pigs, the producer took us on his back 30 acres to see the deer that he raises for game hunting.  People pay him to come onto his property and shoot his deer.  A hunt on his property can cost someone as much as $3000.  After seeing his deer, it quickly became clear why it would be so expensive.  His bucks still had velvet on their antlers, but all of them had 8+ points.  These were not like the captive deer at the other property that were clearly used to being pet and hand-fed.  We had to hide behind the truck to get these deer to even come close enough to take pictures.  Clearly, these deer were used to hunters and not going to be easily shot, even if it was only by our cameras.



Deer cautiously eating on the Dorr Farm (we're hiding behind the truck).



A White-tailed buck and a Sika Buck

           I had never been on a game hunting facility before and in my mind I pictured these owners as heartless businessman only raising deer that could be easily picked off.  What I found though, at least on this property, was that this man clearly loved his deer and was proud of how healthy they were.  In addition, he participates with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to allow kids that like to hunt to come onto to his property into a blind that is wheelchair accessible.  DNR might see a very different side of this man, but we were pleasantly surprised by this visit as well as the other two.  I didn’t make it home till after 9pm, but I certainly felt like I had gotten a whole course on feral swine and the people that participate in this industry. 

CCTs and the kitten that followed me home...

            After getting a firm grasp on Caudal Fold testing, I took a trip out to Freemont to see Comparative Cervical Tests.  For animals that are “suspects” on the caudal fold, producers have the choice of either doing a gamma interferon (blood test) or a Comparative Cervical Test (CCT).  Some producers elect to do CCTs because they tend to have less positive reactions than the gamma tests.  This particular producer wanted to move his entire 1200-head dairy to Indiana one week from today, so testing needed to be completed ASAP.  With Caudal Fold tests having anyway from 3-10% reaction rate, we were prepared to possible be doing CCTs on 120 animals so two teams of state field vets showed up for the job- I got to be on Dr. Susi Baer’s team.
            CCT tests are pretty simple.  Two area along a cow’s neck are shaved and then the skin thickness of each area is measured.  The first shaved area closest to the head is injected intradermally with Avian tuberculin, the second with bovine tuberculin.  After 72 hours the skin is measured again and we plot the difference in skin thickness along a USDA scattergram.  Basically, a cow can sometimes react on the Caudal Fold test because they have been exposed to Mycobacterium avium NOT Mycobacterium bovis.  The CCT shows what antigen the animal has been exposed to in its lifetime.  If the M. avium patch reacts more, the animal is in the clear; however, if the M. bovis reacts more than the animal is a suspect. 

Measuring skin thickness on a cow's neck (head is haltered and being pulled toward the right-side of the screen).

On this particular farm that suspect would be immediately shipped to the lab at MSU, slaughtered, and examined for lesions.  The State of Indiana doesn’t want to take any chances on getting a TB-infected animal and this producer doesn’t have the patience to wait out re-testing in Michigan (I guess a bad divorce will do that to you, so I heard from this producer).

We ended up with only 30 caudal fold suspects, but finding those 30 animals in a 1200-head dairy is not a quick process.  We brought along chutes and gates, but found it easier to work with the equipment in the dairy barn.  Some animals were tested in their stanchions, some in a chute meant for feet-trimming, and others just along the management rail.  Being flexible and not getting your fingers pinched against any rails are important aspects for being a vet—so I learned from Dr. Baer.

Dr. Schwarck was testing in the other team.  I learned from him that regardless of how long you are a vet and how many animals you’ve seen—you will still have a heart for a crying wet kitten.  I think you just get smarter and instead of taking it home yourself, you convince a vet student to take it home (that student being me). 

Stray kitten that I took home (so happy she found a new home with fellow FSF student Hannah!).

           

Raging Hormones

            Back to Ithaca we went, this time bringing along a fellow FSF student Jordan.  The reading day for the Caudal Fold Test is always faster than the injection day because we usually have the gates all set up, we know what to expect, and not every animal has to be caught in the headgate.  If we get 2 or 3 in a line, Dr. Schwarck can just walk down the row examining injection sites.  The producer took advantage of our “free labor” (tax-payed labor more accurately) and left us with some growth implants for all the weanlings—all the better for three vet students to practice with. 
            I didn’t know/remember a lot about growth hormones so I looked up a bit of information about them.  They release a constant low concentration of naturally-occurring hormones (often Estrogen) into the cow so that their rate of growth and feeding efficiency is improved.  An animal that is implanted will likely be around 15-30lbs heavier at slaughter weight which will bring a higher profit to the producer.  This practice has consistently been shown to be safe for consumers by the FDA.  Three ounces of beef from an implanted steer has 1.9 nanograms of estrogen, while 3 ounces of cabbage 2,016 nanograms.  So if consumers are concerned about hormone levels in their food, they might need to cut out cabbage along with eggs, soybean oil, and peas before beef!
            The process of implanting this small tube (around half the width of an eraser) involves driving the needle of the gun (about the size of a pencil) under the skin on the cow’s ear, tunneling it 2-3 inches, then shooting the implant into the tunnel and withdrawing the needle.  Slightly more painful than “ear piercing" but the animals seem unphased at the end.  I'm sure it's no worse than the actual holes people put into their ears these days.   Dr. Schwarck restrained the animals while we all took turns.  A few tries with that gun and you get to be pretty quick with it even with the animals moving a bit. 

Implanting growth hormones

            The day ended with 2 suspects, 148 negative animals, and 30 growth implanted weanlings.