Weekly Livestock-Equine News: June 22, 2026

Researchers develop vaccine candidate for destructive poultry virus

South Dakota State University researchers have developed both live and killed vaccine candidates for avian metapneumovirus subtype B. First identified in 2024, this fast-spreading respiratory viral outbreak affects turkeys and chickens in major poultry-producing regions of the U.S., including Minnesota and Iowa.

Screwworm leads to renewed talk about telemedicine in Texas

As concerns about screwworm grow, one Texas lawmaker has hopes the state will revisit legislation facilitating veterinary telehealth. State Rep. Janie Lopez had proposed such a law in 2025, but the effort failed. “Especially in the Valley area we have a lot of ranchers and so we have livestock but we also have the wild animals,” she told the publication Border Report. “And you have your pets there and they can get infected, too. Telemedicine for animals now through veterinarian services is something that we need to move forward through as a state.”

Calves that recover from scours may carry long-term production disadvantage

Neonatal diarrhea is among the most common health challenges facing dairy calves. A study published in the Journal Animal Science found the effects of neonatal diarrhea can persist for years, reducing milk production across multiple lactations and challenging the assumption that surviving calves fully recover. Researchers in northern China found that in first lactation, cows that had experienced neonatal diarrhea produced a median 305-day milk yield of 10,831 kg, compared with 11,492 kg for healthy cows. Peak milk production was also lower, reaching 59 kg per day versus 60 kg per day. The gap remained during second lactation.

Antimicrobial growth promoters: Short-term gains but long-term production losses

Global antimicrobial use in livestock is projected to increase by nearly 30% by 2040 compared with 2019, according to an economic assessment from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. While antimicrobial growth promoters are associated with clear short-term productivity gains, especially in resource-limited areas, cumulative livestock production losses under the high-AMR case could reach $318 billion by 2040, compared with $53 billion under the most severe AGP phase-out case.

Arkansas steps up to bovine theileriosis threat

University of Arkansas researchers are testing two treatments for a deadly parasitic cattle disease – bovine theileriosis, or Theileria orientalis Ikeda – as cattle ranchers in the state report significant losses of the herd. The researchers will evaluate a prescription anti-tick vaccine from the company Medgene for long-term protection, and the slow-release parasiticide eprinomectin, used with currently labeled acaricides for the Asian longhorned tick. The eprinomectin will be compared to two available pyrethroid products.

Nebraska livestock still dying three months after Cottonwood fire

Ranchers are still losing livestock to smoke and soot inhalation three months after the Cottonwood fire in Lincoln and Dawson counties burned thousands of acres for two weeks. Wade Craig, a goat rancher northeast of Farnam, told KSNB the delayed effects began appearing about 30 days after the fire ended. “We thought we were pretty fortunate that we didn’t lose anything during the fire, but it was like 30 days after that we started seeing the results of it.” Craig had a group of 400 sheep and goats, but lost over 100 kids and almost 30 adults.