Dairyside Veterinary Service

05/26/2024

May is Beef Month!

In continuing our theme of great chute systems that producers have put together, I would like to offer this gem recently used to collect a bull.

The chute is a purchased Tough Built with a palpation cage, but all the paneling is welded by a local fabricator. The system design was inspired by Temple Grandin blueprints and all the turns are left turns. Take special note of the excellent lighting that encourages the cows to move smoothly through the panels!

Working cows, calves and even the bull is now smoother and safer for all involved and enables the producer to do all the necessary preventative vaccines as well as treatments that may arise.

Also this producer has applied for the Beef Excellence Initiatives Grant from Center for Beef Excellence in hopes of receiving some funding to help pay for his improvements.

05/15/2024

May is Beef Month!

Having a good quality handling facility when working with beef cattle is extremely important to ensure the safety of everyone involved. The cost of a nice tub and chute system is often a deciding factor for many beef producers that do not have one on their farm. However, constructing a nice tub and chute system that works with the facilities you already have can be a cheaper option that meets the needs of your cattle working crew while promoting safety. During Beef Month, we want to showcase some of the homemade tub and chute systems we have encountered to give you some great ideas and building blocks for creating one that works well for you!

This homemade chute system utilized the preexisting barn, along with some wooden posts, paneling, and metal brackets, to create their own tub system. A small red gate was installed right before the chute as a safety feature for the veterinarian or anyone else working behind the animal. A chain was added between the chute and edge of the tub to help anchor the two pieces together. The cost of construction was only a couple hundred dollars! Stay tuned for next week’s featured homemade chute system!

05/14/2024

May is Beef Month! Did you know that PA is the top cattle producing state in the NorthEast?? Your veterinarians are here to help, but help them by keeping them safe. Check out this resource as well as the grant for handling equipment of your own!

Producers can use the equipment free of charge. Users must pick up and return the equipment to its original location by the end of the allotted usage time.

04/28/2024

Rotary Career Fair 2024
• Over 1200 10th graders from Blair (and Bedford) county
• 8 twenty minute sessions discussing the job of the veterinarian and veterinary technician
• 2 very tired professionals hoping they helped to inspire and build our future workforce!

04/19/2024

Developing an Every Day Biosecurity Plan is something that could benefit you, your animals, and your employees. Take advantage of this resource and prepare your farm!

The Dairy Team will be assisting in Bovine Influenza A (HPAI) Dairy Biosecurity Plan Writing Open Houses throughout the state on 4/22 & 4/29. This event is designed to help Pennsylvania dairy producers create effective biosecurity plans that align with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Guidelines to protect their herds from Bovine Influenza A.

04/04/2024

Do you have questions or concerns about avian flu (HPAI) in the dairy industry? The Center for Dairy Excellence has been diligently working to provide timely and accurate information regarding the situation. Please sign up to hear more and find resources to protect your farm.

The Center for Dairy Excellence assists dairy farm families in the decision-making process and serves as a catalyst for collaboration to strengthen the broader industry. The Dairy Excellence Foundation supports programs that cultivate and inspire that next generation of Pennsylvania dairy.

03/24/2024

These workshops are fun, educational, and help your team meet their continuing education requirements for the FARM program. English and Spanish sessions, free lunch, good networking opportunity AND local (April 9th)! Minimal travel needed! Don't miss this opportunity dairymen and women!

https://www.centerfordairyexcellence.org/about-the-center/upcoming-events/event/animal-care-workshop-mercer/

02/28/2024

‼️Attention: our phone line is not working properly today. We are working hard to get it back up and running, but in the meantime if there’s a time sensitive issue please continue to try calling until you get through or if possible stop by the office. We apologize for the inconvenience!

02/24/2024

‼️ Attention all Dairy Beef exhibitors: check out this awesome opportunity to learn more about rearing your projects for this summer!

A workshop for 4-H members with Dairy Feeder Beef projects will be offered Monday, February 26th starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Bedford 4-H Center on the fairgrounds. Dr Tara Felix, PSU Beef Specialist will present "What should my dairy feeder beef look like, and how do I get it there?" This workshop is also open to anyone interested in raising dairy beef. There is no cost to attend.

02/23/2024

Join us in March to add some tools to your calf care protocols and kits! After our meeting we hope you will be singing a different tune about scours and dancing a happy dance with healthier calves!

02/11/2024

This is a bit of a public service announcement. Many items that we all use on a daily basis are on manufacture backorder. This is extremely frustrating to us and we are diligently working at getting replacement products (if and when available) and reworking all of your protocols to adjust to the changes. Please practice some patience with our staff as we work through these trying times.

02/11/2024

A sweet moment after a long day. Today the team helped this lovely pair out after a difficult delivery (called a dystocia). Don't forget to prepare your delivery/newborn kits with gloves, l**e, and disinfectant soap!

01/21/2024

The key to success at lambing and kidding time is timely intervention by your veterinarian!

01/14/2024

We are a few days behind, but Happy National Milk Day! Let's celebrate these hard working farmers, cows, truck drivers, and milk processors that dedicate their livelihoods to bringing the rest of us delicious nutritious milk!

Take them a hot meal, a snack, plow their driveway, wave hello just remember where your food comes from!

History lesson: National Milk Day is an annual celebration that notes the Jan. 11, 1878, date on which the first milk delivery using sterilized glass bottles started.

01/02/2024

We hope you had a wonderful holiday season! Best wishes for the New Year and the health and safery of all during Calving, Lambing, Kidding, Farrowing Season!

09/23/2023

Stop by Dairyside Veterinary Service today (Friday, September 29th from 9-4 to wish her well on her next adventures!)

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
The Heart and Soul of Dairyside. Anyone who has ever darkened our door or rang our phone has interacted with Carolyn. For over 50 years she has been the glue that holds this veterinary practice together. She has worn the hats of secretary, technician, working mother, atlas, phonebook, therapist, fireman, historian, mediator, confidante, comic relief, advisor, and so much more. We will miss her dearly and be a little lost for awhile until the new team finds their way. Carolyn, we thank you, for everything that you have done for us and wish you all the very best in your retirement! Enjoy coffee, dark chocolate, flowers and talk radio in peace on your porch, and we will salute you as we drive by!

07/21/2023

Hopefully you didn't miss all the fun at Mill Hill's Sundae Funday! Drs. Danielle, Jenn and Mary all helped to educate the crowd about how ruminant stomachs work and what we do to help cows that have stomach troubles. We had a stitching station for fixing DA cows, a pin the scalpel on the cow game, and actual cow stomachs to touch!

06/11/2023

We are so excited to welcome back Dr. Danielle as a full time veterinarian for our practice! You might have met her sometime in the last 5 years as a student.

Dr. Danielle Delp is a recent Penn Vet graduate. She grew up in the Cove on her family’s dairy farm in Williamsburg, PA where they milked around 70 registered Holsteins. As a member of the Morrison’s Cove 4-H Dairy Club and Williamsburg FFA Chapter, she showed cattle from their herd at local and state dairy shows.

In 2018, Dr. Danielle received her undergraduate degree from Messiah College in Biological Sciences. Despite the complete dispersal of her family’s herd in October 2017, she has remained actively involved in the dairy industry.

While her primary interests are in dairy medicine (most notably calf care, reproduction, and nutrition), she is also interested in small ruminant medicine. She is looking forward to working with producers to help them achieve their farm’s goals.

When she is not working, Dr. Danielle enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, biking, cooking/baking, and playing with her cat, Dewey.

Fun fact: Dr. Danielle, her parents, and her three older sisters all have first names starting with “D.” Talk about confusing!

06/10/2023

Traumatic reticulopericarditis aka Hardware disease. This tiny piece of wire was eaten out of a haybale and ended up poking through the stomach wall, diaphragm, and pericardial sac to create a serious infection that ultimately killed this heifer. Sometimes we give heifers magnets to swallow that stay in the stomach compartment called the reticulum to try to prevent this issue. Hardware can be nails, screws, fence wires, or even aluminum cans. Upon inspection, my farmer thinks that this wire came from the fields adjacent to the cemetery where floral arrangements with wires occasionally blow away into the hay fields. So do your part for the environment and the cows, pick up litter in the fields around you!!

05/12/2023

A few important changes coming in June. Over the counter antibiotics (OTC) will be moving off the shelves of the farm store and will be under veterinary supervision. You will need to have a working relationship with a veterinarian to obtain these drugs for your farm. This is called a VCPR. Each veterinarian/clinic will have their own set of guidelines for what constitutes a valid VCPR within the state and federal definitions. Currently we are defining these relationships for our clients and it may be different from farm to farm based upon our involvement on the farm including protocols for drug usage and record keeping. We have been working through requests to establish VCPRs since January and will continue on through the year.

Please do not call the office expecting immediate service for establishment of your VCPR as we have been short handed since March. This will soon be remedied by the arrival of another new veterinarian to DVS here in June!!!

04/29/2023

Farming to feed our local community! Thanks so much to the PA Beef Council and Northern Bedford County Schools for working together in the PA Beef to PA Schools Program. Dr. Jenn is so very excited to be involved in promoting this effort to beef up local lunches!

02/15/2023

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you have a ball!

02/11/2023

Attention dairy farmers and employees! These workshops are fun, educational, and a great chance to network with other dairymen and dairywomen. They are well worth the time and drive! Sign up for one today and appreciate your dairy and beef dollars at work!

https://www.centerfordairyexcellence.org/about-the-center/upcoming-events/event/animal-care-workshop-lancaster-county/

02/05/2023

Get it on your calendars! Not too late to RSVP, or just come anyway!

01/20/2023

It is back!! Don't miss this opportunity to connect with fellow beef producers and learn a little along the way. A big thanks to our sponsor Huvepharma for lunch after the meeting!

01/01/2023

We thank you for your support over the past year and are excited to join you in making 2023 a year full of health and productivity!

12/22/2022

Prepare yourself and your livestock for the upcoming bad weather. Here are some tips: