Vaccinations and "residue free beef"

[cassiadawn]

The previous owner of my Dexter herd didn't vaccinate any of the cattle, his main goal was to have beef free of any antibiotics/hormones/vaccination residues. He wormed them, but that was all. (I have no idea if the owner before him vaccinated or not)

I'm wondering... if a person were to vaccinate their breeding stock, but not the steers, would the beef from the steers still be considered vaccination free?

Also, what about giving a tetanus shot when castrating? Is that something that changes the way you label your beef?

[kansasdexters]

Cattle vaccinations have "withdrawal" periods noted on them that apply to when the animals can be slaughtered for human consumption after an animal has been vaccinated. Many of us that raise beef will at least double the number of days on this withdrawal period. Vaccinations are necessary in many parts of the country in order to have a healthy herd. This is especially the case when neighboring farms have livestock animals directly across the fence from your herd and exposure to disease is a real concern.

In our herd, we vaccinate and castrate the steers (initial and booster vaccinations) in their first year and then we don't vaccinate them in their second year. Our second year steers are kept in complete isolation from the rest of our herd and away from any neighboring herds. They have no contact whatsoever with other livestock during the time they are being grass finished on pasture. Our finishing pasture is isolated and secured with 5-strand barbed wire fence and an electric fence wire. However, we do vaccinate our breeding stock cattle every year (annual boosters).

For steers in their second year, the year that they are harvested, we don't use any product that has a slaughter withdrawl period. Steers can be treated for internal/external parasites using pour-on products like Eprinex or Cydectine (no slaughter withdrawal period on these products) before being put out on their spring pasture. This keeps the worm load in that pasture at minimal levels. This group of steers can then be harvested in the Fall and they will not have residuals of anything in their system.

Patti

[Clive]

I'm no vet but I don't see how vaccinating would be any different to an animal that has been exposed to a disease and built up it's own resistance? In effect, that is a vaccination isn't it? We vaccinate what we need to vaccinate for. Next year we are starting to do Lepto vaccination because we know a farmer who caught it himself off his cattle, and it is extremely unpleasant we heard. Another farmer was so scared by the effect it has on his friend, that he vaccinates his 650 Angus's every year just to avoid him or his staff getting the disease, nothing to do with the cattle.

We try not to do anything to beef animals, and even avoid worming if we can.

Stick to withdrawals periods or double them if you wish. I would have thought that even the withdrawals period are already very cautious.

I have to say though, that if we have poorly lambs that have had to have a lot of injections, but then recover and do well, even though that might have been a year ago, we will not eat them ourselves, they go to the livestock market.

With sheep and lambs, if we didn't vaccinate, it would be horrendous, a lot would die and not in a very pleasant way.