That expensive ultrasound unit you're thinking about getting has more value than you may realize.
Confirming pregnancies isn't all you can do with on-farm ultrasound devices, say researchers at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Guelph in Canada.
In addition, they say ultrasound is also a fast, easy and effective way to detect calves that have lung lesions and other respiratory issues - a practice that has been somewhat commonplace on horse foals for more than a decade.
Merck Animal Health has been teaching the calf ultrasound procedure to veterinarians in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and Ohio for the past year. About 75 have received training so far.
Early treatment of calves before they show clinical signs of respiratory distress, and the lower death loss that results, are two obvious benefits. Measuring the severity of respiratory disease on a farm and the effectiveness of treatment are two others.
All are reasons why that a $10,000 to $15,000 ultrasound unit might be a lot more valuable and less expensive than it looks.
