7 products introduced at the 2024 Cattle Convention Trade Show

Compostable bale wrap

At the New Holland booth, beef producers got the first look at a new net wrap for big round bales. It’s called Nature’s Net Wrap and is made from 100% plant material, including corn, that is fully compostable.

The new wrap was developed over the last several years by Canadian cattle rancher Larry Ruud and his family. CNH, the parent company of New Holland and Case IH, has invested in the technology, and Nature’s Net Wrap is expected to be available later this year from their dealers.

Ruud says they developed the new non-plastic wrap in response to the disposal problems of traditional plastic wraps. “We make 5,000 bales a year and we were tired of the mountains of plastic wrap that you either burn or bury or send to the landfill,” he says. “We said there’s got to be a better way.” 

The hard part, he continues, was perfecting the manufacturing process, and then getting it to easily go through the baler. “We want it to last at least a year on the bale before breaking down. In fact, it’s lasted more than a year on our bales.”

The new wrap is manufactured in the U.S. The exact pricing has not been set, but Ruud says it will probably be a little more expensive than plastic wrap material, maybe by about $1 a bale. (naturesnetwrap.com)

Dual action dewormer

Valcor is a new cattle deworming product from Zoetis that has two active ingredients (doramectin and levamisole) in a single injectable product. It’s also the first parasite control product that is available by prescription only - your veterinarian must oversee it.

Zoetis says the advantage of two dewormer ingredients in one product is both for more effective parasite control in the face of resistant parasites, and the convenience of one administration. The two ingredients in Valcor give it two modes of action. Levamisole has not been used extensively in cattle dewormers for several years, which may also add to its effectiveness.

It’s unusual to have a dewormer product require a prescription, but Zoetis thinks that when your veterinarian is involved, they can incorporate their knowledge of the parasites in your geographical area, appropriate timing, and biology of the pests. 

Valcor is effective against roundworms, lungworms, grubs, lice, and mites. It’s administered as a subcutaneous injection in the neck.

Probiotics for grazing cattle

Bovacillus is a new probiotic for inclusion in cattle feeds that improves feed efficiency and overall gut health of all classes of cattle, and particularly grazing cows, calves and stocker cattle. That’s the message from Dr. Steve Lerner from Chr. Hansen, the makers of Bovacillus. (Chr. Hansen recently became a part of Novonesis.)

“Probiotics are the good bacteria in the gut that support digestion, nutrient absorption, and normal immune functions,” he tells beef producers at Cattle Convention. “Our Bovacillus is a combination of two special strains of bacteria that improve productivity in any age or class of cattle. Anything we can do to improve productivity helps make the cattle industry more sustainable.”

While it may sound like probiotics are the opposite of antibiotics, that’s not true, Lerner says. “Probiotics are living organisms, and antibiotics are chemical compounds. Probiotics are a suitable, safe, natural alternative to antibiotics.”

Besides the nutritional effects of probiotics, Lerner explains that recent research reveals the good bacteria in the gut have a positive influence on the immune system and may help crowd out harmful bacteria. And they can support a robust gut microbiome for the healthy function of many organs such as the liver, the pancreas, and even the brain. “We’re learning that cattle on probiotics appear to be more comfortable and less apt to display stress,” he says.

Bovacillus can be included by your feed dealer for stocker cattle or cows through a mineral block, a lick tank, premixes, cubes, creep feeds, or complete feeds. After production, the probiotics are either spray-dried to form spores, or freeze dried. Then they have a 1 to 2 year shelf-life.

Lerner says the cost is typically in the range of a few cents per head per day, and tests show a return of 5:1 or more in productivity and reduced impact of environmental and physical stressors on animals.

Document performance of hay fields

John Deere has added Bale Documentation to their haying equipment through its Operations Center. Kaylene Ballesteros, John Deere’s hay and forage go-to-market manager, tells cattle producers that this puts hay producers on an equal footing with other farm cropping operations such as planting or harvesting grains. 

“This comes with our baling equipment,” she says. “As you’re baling, it uploads your yield, moisture, fuel usage, operator information, and productivity data to our Operations Center so you have a record of it and can compare it against such things as your fertilizer program or other practices.”

With a JDLink connection, you can have secure access to the field data from anywhere.

Bale Documentation lets you know what’s working, and helps you make decisions accordingly, Ballesteros adds.

Help for intranasal vaccine administration

Merck Animal Health introduced a new nozzle for intranasal vaccines for cattle that is more convenient, less invasive, more hygienic, and less wasteful of the vaccine. It’s called the AllFlex CleanVax nozzle. 

Intranasal vaccines have become more popular recently, particularly for young calves who get a product like Merck’s Bovilis Nasalgen at a week of age or older. David Sjeklocka, a technical services representative of Merck, said that sometimes the previous nozzle could be agitating to calves and hard to get in proper position. The new CleanVax nozzle is shorter, and it has an atomizing tip to ensure distribution across the nasal area. “It also reduces how much of the vaccine runs out of the nose after application,” Sjeklocka says. He adds that the new and easier-to-use nozzle can be especially helpful in herds that use timed breeding and have a lot of calves being born at once.

The new nozzle also accommodates a clear plastic disposable shield that can be replaced between animals or groups of animals.

Weed-and-feed for pastures

Corteva Agriscience has developed a new weed-and-feed system for reducing trips across pastures. Called UltiGraz Pasture Weed & Feed, it lets you combine your pasture fertility program with pasture weed control. “In the fertilizer blending process, the dry fertilizer is sprayed with a concentrated herbicide solution such as our broad spectrum Duracor or GrazonNext,” explains Sam Ingram, a field scientist for Corteva. “You save a second trip across a field for the herbicide application. We say one pass, better grass.”

The fertilizer-herbicide combination can be applied with a spreader truck or buggy, using your own equipment or through your dealer. Rainfall moves the herbicide into the soil. Weed control is almost entirely dependent on the soil residual activity and root uptake of the weeds. “It’s usually a part of a complete fertilizer application of 200-250 pounds per acre to get a uniform herbicide dosage,” says Ingram.

New generic dewormer

Tauramox is the first generic version of the injectable dewormer moxidectin (Cydectin) for beef cows. It’s from Norbrook, and treats and controls roundworms, lungworms, grubs, mites, and lice. 

Eric Moore of Norbrook tells cattle producers he likes Tauramox for at least a couple of reasons. “One, it is dung beetle-friendly, and we need dung beetles to survive and do what they do,” he says. “Second, Tauramox is an injectable product and I like the consistency of dosage you get with an injectable. With a pour-on dewormer, I think it is easier to overdose or underdose, partly due to the differences in hide on cattle.”

He says consistency of dewormer dosage is even more important now due to the prevalence of more resistant worms. He also says every farm needs a good dewormer program. “Worms in cows depresses their appetite, and they don’t graze as much and lose productivity. Good deworming is part of maintaining sustainability in a herd.”

Moore says Tauramox, because it is generic, could be 20% to 30% lower priced than the branded product.