BST

[born2run]

Ok...there has to be some dairy people lurking here somewhere (and even those of you that are into beef cattle should have an opinion on this.) Pros...cons...of BST? My dad used it for a bit, mainly to get some added production out of cows he intended to cull. What I saw I didn't like, but maybe I wasn't getting the accurate picture. My current boss refuses to give it, and prides himself on "hormone free" milk. He's a rarity from what I can see...most big dairies give it routinely.

 

[certherfbeef]

When I was working for the university dairy they used BST. As evening supervisor we had to give the shots before milking. I hated it. They became so callused on either sibe of the tail head that after 6 months It was next to impossible to get the needles in. Milk production increased, but so did the feed consumption. The cattle also became a little more flightly when you were behind them. Not to mention the labor involved.
I thought Montsano was told to put a halt to the BST?

 

[born2run]

Monsanto is still manufacturing "Posilac" BST. Are they the only one who makes it? Just curious. As far as the effects it has on a herd, what I saw was this:

Overall health of the cow downslid. They were underweight, and their life expectancy was basically cut in half. I just can't see what it benefits these huge operations, but I thought maybe I was missing the real picture. My boss talks about how jumpy the cows are when you start giving it on a regular basis, and your post only confirmed that.

My dad also had a problem w/ cows aborting when he started using it, which concerned Monsanto greatly. They sent out reps twice to try to see what was going on. Although they claimed their product wasn't causing the abortions, I still don't discount that possibility.

 

[certherfbeef]

Last I knew, Monsanto was the only company approved to make it because they have the sole patent on the product.

If a person is going to up production like that, they better have the bottom line figured out to the penny and hope that their management was flawless.
I never saw the benefit in BST. My job got harder, but the pay stayed the same. All the extra out of the milk check went to feed and the vet. :roll:

It has been 9 years since I had that job.