Every morning, Jerry Doornbos, DVM, wakes up at the crack of dawn
to go check cattle. It’s been that way for more than 40 years.
When he started, Doornbos was one of only a handful of cattle veterinarians
in western Kansas and eastern Colorado. While he spent his first 15
years of practice with Spencer–Randall veterinary clinic, he’s
dedicated the past 25 years to his own starter yard in Scott City,
Kan.
Doornbos is joined by his son, Stuart, and together they manage Doornbos
Cattle Company, a 2,000-head capacity starter yard. Through the years,
the industry has changed and Dr. Doornbos’ management practices
have evolved along with it. Today, he combines years of cattle experience
with efficient feed utilization and stringent health protocols to
increase their bottom line.
A Do-It Yourself Attitude
Doornbos Cattle Co. has used its land along with some cost-effective
practices, to turn a profit. While some operations start with the
cattle and worry about feed later, Doornbos took the opposite approach.
He left private practice to put more emphasis on utilizing his 4,500
acres of irrigated cropland to feed cattle.
Above the Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies most of the water from
Nebraska to Texas, 180-foot water wells scatter across the area. Doornbos
uses a center pivot irrigation system on his corn, sorghum and wheat
ground.
“In the past, we had used a flood irrigation system. The new
system utilizes our water supply more efficiently and effectively,”
Doornbos says. “This has become extremely important with the
drought conditions we’ve had the past several years.”
With an output of 500 gallons/minute, the sprinkler irrigation system
runs from April until late summer on the clay-loam soil. Because of
its irrigation system, Doornbos Cattle Co. raises all of its feed
as well as some wheat, which is harvested as grain in June.
When the 300- to 500-pound cattle arrive at the starter yard to begin
their 45-day stay, they feed on grass hay and a 30 percent protein
corn mixture. Later, they switch to sorghum forages. Vitamins A and
D, a feed antibiotic and a starter supplement are also mixed with
feed.
To diversify, the Doornbos’ background cattle on more than 4,500
acres of grassland. Depending on markets, they also retain ownership
on some cattle. They raise the rest of the cattle on contract for
a local 40,000-head plus capacity feedlot and leave the starter yard
around 550-700 pounds.
Specializing in High-Risk
In order to maintain capacity, Doornbos Cattle Co. is always busy
receiving new cattle. Two loads from California just pulled through
the weight scale, and another load from South Carolina is expected
later this afternoon. Next week, loads could arrive from Texas or
New Mexico. In total, more than 40,000 head of high-risk cattle pass
through the chutes at Doornbos Cattle Co. each year.
After cattle arrive at the yard, Dr. Doornbos lets them rest for a
day before he processes them.
“We don’t work the cattle right off the truck because
they’re tired and have had a long haul,” Doornbos says.
“The most important thing that we can do is not work these cattle
immediately.”
After 24 hours, the cattle are processed including vaccinations and
deworming. A few years back they changed their deworming practices
because they found liver flukes in a number of their cattle.
“We did fecal examinations and egg counts on about 1,000 cattle,
mostly from Texas,” says Doornbos, a die-hard Kansas State alumnus.
“Many of the tests came back positive for liver flukes.”
To combat the problem, they started deworming their cattle with Ivomec
in order to kill the flukes as well as other parasites.
“With liver flukes, we were losing weight gain and the liver
itself, which is money, plus the animal’s health,” Doornbos
says. Since changing his Deworming program, he has eliminated his
fluke problem.
Once liver flukes were under control, Doornbos found another area
on which to make improvements. He began looking closely at the type
of cattle that walk through their chutes.
“If they’re not high-risk, we’re not getting them,”
Doornbos says. “Most of our cattle have been on the truck for
more than 20 hours.”
To prevent respiratory disease in these commingled, high-risk cattle,
Doornbos started metaphylactically treating with Tetradure in the
fall of 2003.
“Fall is the toughest time of year on cattle, especially August
and September,” Doornbos says. “By metaphylactically treating,
we’re giving these calves a fighting chance.”
Metaphylactically treating cattle has dramatically helped lessen the
number of pulls, but Doornbos also believes in the importance of keeping
cattle as stress-free as possible through less handling. Once achieved,
vaccinating, deworming and methyphylaxis just makes sense.
In the past 40 years, Doornbos Cattle Co. has evolved into something
more than a father-son operation. It has become a profitable livelihood
because of efficient feed utilization and stringent health care. And
through it all, Doornbos never stopped doing what he loves to do.
“I get to work and doctor cattle everyday in the yard,”
he says. “It’s a great feeling to be able to get up everyday
and do something you love.” ©
