Cattle Vaccines and Antibiotics

Let me start with this: we do not give our cattle any mRNA vaccines.

Why?

Because there are no mRNA vaccines approved for cattle.

I'm going to say this louder for those in the back.

THERE ARE NO mRNA VACCINES APPROVED FOR CATTLE!

If someone is telling you that beef is pumped full of mRNA vaccines, be wary. They are probably trying to sell you something.

Anyway, on to the vaccines we give our cattle!

In addition to the basics—clean water, nutritious feed, and open space to roam—vaccines help to keep a group of calves healthy.

At weaning, we give two types of vaccines: 8-way clostridial and respiratory.

In short, the 8-way clostridial vaccine (e.g., Ultrabac 8) prevents diseases that can be picked up from bacteria that may be in soil or water on pasture.

The respiratory vaccine (e.g., Bovi-Shield Gold) is pretty self-explanatory, as it prevents the spread of respiratory illness between calves. If you have kids in daycare (like I do), you know why this one's important.

Now, on to antibiotic use!

We do use antibiotics when necessary.

Cattlemen and women have trained eyes; we can spot a sick calf. We are able to see if this calf is suffering from an ear infection, hoof infection, respiratory illness, etc., and it's our job to give that calf the proper antibiotic to treat it.

We are passionate about caring for these animals, and to let a calf suffer from a treatable infection would be outright cruel.

We are responsible in the timing of our antibiotic use and never administer antibiotics anywhere near the time of slaughter for any animal. This ensures you're not getting unintentionally dosed when you eat any of our meat!

Fun Fact: When the calves are on pasture and need an antibiotic, we have a dart gun that we shoot the calf with from afar. This is way less stressful for the calf than having to be roped, which is the only option way out on a pasture! Isn't that fun?

If you have any further questions on this, please feel free to contact us!