Become A-FAN Blog
Discussions regarding farming and ranching in NebraskaOne of my least favorite parenting memories was spending the night in the hospital enclosed in a breathing tent with my oldest daughter. She was preschool age, and the worst part of the entire episode was the knowledge that I could have done something proactive to prevent it. My daughter had influenza and developed an additional complication called “croup”. The combination of the two made it so that she could not breathe. I still kick myself for not having taken her to get the flu shot that fall when it was offered…
I did, at least, learn from my mistake and I am pleased to report that my girls and I have all received the flu shot every fall since that episode. We have a pact with each other: someone volunteers to go first, and the rule is that if the person before you does not cry, then you can’t cry either…It works like a charm for my oldest two girls…Karyn (my youngest) still ekes out a few tears.
Last week was “flu shot” week, and I have to admit that I was so busy at the feed yard that I forgot about it. I picked up the kids at school and headed back out to the feed yard…We were about to leave town when my oldest daughter said: “Mama, we have to go and get flu shots today. Can’t you remember ANYTHING!” While I laughed at her righteous tone of voice, her sisters groaned and protested loudly stating: “Why did you have to remind her?!”. Ashley Grace replied, “Well, getting a little shot is a whole lot better than getting the flu!”
Cattle vaccinations are just as important as human vaccinations, and having a good plan or protocol regarding the timing and type of vaccination is incredibly important for the health and well-being of your calves. I work closely with my veterinarian to ensure that we have the best vaccination protocol for each set of cattle that arrives at the feed yard.
I give all of the vaccines at the feed yard which means that over the past 15 years, I have given close to two hundred thousand shots. In the picture on the left, I am giving a respiratory vaccine to a calf. The shot is administered subcutaneously in the animal's neck so that there is no muscle damage. I think that it is important to point out that a vaccine is not an antibiotic, and when you see a picture of someone giving a shot to an animal please do not automatically assume that it is an injection of antibiotic. I use A LOT more vaccine at my feed yard than I do antibiotics! I give vaccination injections to ALL of my cattle in order to stimulate their immune systems and keep them healthy—I only administer antibiotic injections to animals that are clinically ill (which averages out to be less than 5% of my cattle).
I rely on my cow/calf partners to give the proper vaccinations to their cattle on the ranch, and then I booster those vaccinations when the cattle arrive at the feed yard. I call this, “setting my animals up for success” because properly vaccinated cattle are significantly less likely to become clinically ill than cattle who have not been properly vaccinated.
She's quite a few years older now, but she still enjoys her mama's great tasting and healthy beef!
Healthy animals make healthy beef—beef that is feeding my daughters as well as you and your family! Of all of my jobs at the feed yard, “the vaccinator” is one of the most important…
Anne Burkholder's Bio
A native of urban Palm Beach County, Florida; I was an athlete fueled by beef for many years before I understood “where my beef came from”.
I spent my junior high and high school years juggling school and training five hours a day as a competitive swimmer and distance runner. Backstroke and Cross Country running were my respective specialties. In the spring of 1993 I graduated Salutatorian from Cardinal Newman High School with two state Cross Country Championships, a couple of second place state finishes in the Backstroke, and several trips to the USS Junior National Swimming Championships.
Looking for a “different” life experience in college, I turned down swimming scholarships and headed to the Ivy League. I arrived at Dartmouth College in the fall of 1993 “a jock”, and I am proud to say that I graduated Cum Laude– having successfully made the transition from jock to intellectual. My parents questioned the practicality of my psychology major, but I have always had a tremendous interest in the way that the brain works. Animal psychology particularly fascinated me and this is an interest that I continue to actively pursue today as the caregiver for thousands of animals.
Although I cannot even begin to describe all of the wonderful experiences that Dartmouth College granted me, meeting a farm boy from Nebraska tops the list. I met my husband Matt only two months after arriving in Hanover, New Hampshire and I knew the moment that our eyes met that my life had changed forever. We were married in June of 1996 and spent one more year in Hanover before making the move back “home” to Nebraska where Matt’s family owned and operated a diversified farm business.
Two days after receiving my B.A. in Psychology from Dartmouth College, I put on my blue jeans and went to work at the cattle feedyard. Although my years as a “city kid” left me with little preparation for working in the cattle business, my years of disciplined athletic training gave me both the mental and physical toughness that I needed to learn to care for cattle and work with Mother Nature. Right from the beginning, I found tremendous satisfaction from the knowledge that I was not only working hard to care for animals, but I was literally ‘feeding the world’.
Fourteen years later, I am the “boss lady” of the cattle feedyard and still spend my days in blue jeans and boots. In 2009, I was awarded the Beef Quality Assurance Producer of the Year Award for the volunteer work that I do promoting beef farmer education in cattle care (animal welfare), and food safety. I am the current Chairman of the Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance Advisory Committee, the Vice Chairman of the Cattle Health and Wellbeing Committee for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and am an avid advocate for the cattle industry. I greet each day’s challenges with a smile knowing that I am using the gifts and talents that were bestowed upon me to both improve the welfare of the United States cattle herd and the safety of the beef that they produce.
We are a “family farm”, and Matt and I love the personal responsibility that our children learn from taking care of our land and our animals. We are blessed with three daughters: Ashley Grace (11), Megan (9), and Karyn (6). In addition to farm chores, our kids are busy with school, sports and other activities in our community.
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