Possible contaminated Land

[preston39]

A new person in the community, nearby, bought a small ranch where the previous owner had for some ten years bought and sold many animals. He would buy just about anything..sick,poor,old,etc. During that process he lost several...something like 100 it is rumored which died from who knows...and is buried in the back of the place.

The new owner raises the question of what concerns should he address as to possible exposure before he gets a herd and if any why and what he should do to prevent any problems.

Any thoughts?

 

[dun]

I had the same question about the dairy behind us since it's known that he has had diseased cattle on the place. The local vet suggested waiting at least 5 years before putting any stock on it. His idea is that with any luck the contaminated stuff will have broken down and leached far enough into the soil that it wouldn;t be a problem. BTW, we didn;t buy the dairy

dun

 

[TheBullLady]

That would scare the heck outta me. There are a lot of pathogens that live for years in the soil. Even if the top soil is rested for a number of years, what about the risk if you dig anywhere? Blackleg is one that comes to mind.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

I wonder if he limed the ground real heavy where they were buried would it break down the disease pathogen.i read were they were using it for animal waste. i know they use to on dead animals. and years ago on dead people.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Also there is issue of ground water contamination and/or pathogens leaching to underground streams & water sands.

 

[MikeC]

Adjoining Ft. Deitrich Army base in Maryland the cattleman adjoining the base lost an entire crop of calves to soil borne bacteria that the CIA had buried during the 1950's.

A good friend of mine was in charge of the remediation and told me that those type of bacteria (lepto-which is really a spirochete, brucellosis, anthrax, etc.) could live indefinitely in the soil unless destroyed properly (burning).

By the way, the Army spent over 30 Million cleaning up the site because contaminants got in the water table and they had to burn the soil from 10 acres - 20 feet deep.

If in question I would have the seller furnish an EPA-Phase 1 report, that is, if the mortgage company doesn't require it.

 

[frenchie]

A new person in the community, nearby, bought a small ranch where the previous owner had for some ten years bought and sold many animals. He would buy just about anything..sick,poor,old,etc. During that process he lost several...something like 100 it is rumored which died from who knows...and is buried in the back of the place.

The new owner raises the question of what concerns should he address as to possible exposure before he gets a herd and if any why and what he should do to prevent any problems.

Any thoughts?

Why would anybody with even half a brain, buy a place like that.Just buying trouble.

 

[taranr2002]

I would be nervous, that doesn't sound good. He needs to vaccinate for every kind of disease he can and I would lyme the place for sure. And fence off the area where the cows are buried. I wouldn't let them eat the grass to the ground ever, that would greatly increase his chances of having problems, since things can live in dirt for a long time.

 

[preston39]

Vicky the vet...,

Would you mind offering any advice for this young guy? would like to help him in any way I can..will pass it on.

 

[Brandonm2]

I am with Taranr. I would vaccinate for everything I can vaccinate for; but especially both BVDs, Clostridia, all 5 Leptos, Vibrio, Parainfluenza, etc because it is virtually guaranteed that cattle with all of those ailments were on the property at one time or another. As expensive as it is you might want to ivomec THREE times a year; because you KNOW every worm that lives in any cow anywhere is on the ground out there(plus the ones that come with the cows). Additionally, I would not buy expensive stock. Cheap cows or heifers and maybe from the stockyard and if he buys heifers buy weaned heifers because that will give them 8 months to catch everything on the property and hopefully recover before breeding season. For the first year, I would throw grain at the cows to keep them in peak condition. That way if one starts losing weight you KNOW you have a pathogen problem rather than a nutrition problem and a high plain of nutrition will keep immunity at a really high level. I would also let this land lay fallow for at least 12 months And PRAY that this winter is the hardest nastiest one on record to help kill as much stuff as possible. It might be best to wait for spring 2007 to let two winters (and hopefully a hot dry summer) do their part in making this a more friendly environment.

 

[andybob]

As has already been mentioned, clostridial diseases especially, survive for many years in bone and the soil [partly my post concerning mortality disposal.] An extreme case in 1979 in the [then[ Rhodesia, involved cattle in a tribal reserve contracting anthrax from bones exposed from stock buried 40 years before during an anthrax outbreak. As a result, I would be wary of buying a farm under thoes conditions, and any bones exposed should be burned in situ!






The hurrier I am,the behinder I get!

 

[Brandonm2]

As has already been mentioned, clostridial diseases especially, survive for many years in bone and the soil [partly my post concerning mortality disposal.] An extreme case in 1979 in the [then[ Rhodesia, involved cattle in a tribal reserve contracting anthrax from bones exposed from stock buried 40 years before during an anthrax outbreak. As a result, I would be wary of buying a farm under thoes conditions, and any bones exposed should be burned in situ!"

There was a hard Anthrax break on a farm in Blount County, AL around ~1988 (my best guess). I think the last anthrax break in Alabama prior to that was in the 50s. There is no predicting where anthrax will pop up next; but it is relatively RARE in the states. Usually when it does happen it is in bottomland following a flood which digs those long dormant spores up from the ground. Anthrax is not something I would really worry a lot about here, unless Kentucky has had a break in the last decade or a vet tells me to vaccinate for it in my area. On the other hand, Blackleg is a real danger in this circumstance and should be a regular vaccination given to calves.

 

[Texan]

Vicky the vet...,

Would you mind offering any advice for this young guy? would like to help him in any way I can..will pass it on.

If you really want to help him in any way you can, why don't you hire a vet for him to consult with instead of bumming freebies from Vicky? You're asking her to get involved in something that might lead to litigation or interaction with regulatory agencies. And you're asking her to do it with no compensation. That's BS. :x

 

[Beef11]

burn, till, burn, let sit, burn and then procede with caution. It would have to be a pretty sweet deal for me to buy a place like that.

 

[farmer4620]

did he bury them just randomly on the whole farm or is there just one area where they are concentrated. If its just one area fence it off and use it as your winter lot. If you have just a lot for winter. Let it freeze up good and then feed there and before the ground thaws bring them back off of it. I wouldnt think they could get anything in the winter everythigns frozen. Atleast that way you can still use it. Or just put a hay field over them alfalfa likes more lime than grasses so you would get use out of it and give it more time to break down before you put cattle on it.

 

[preston39]

Vicky the vet...,

Would you mind offering any advice for this young guy? would like to help him in any way I can..will pass it on.

If you really want to help him in any way you can, why don't you hire a vet for him to consult with instead of bumming freebies from Vicky? You're asking her to get involved in something that might lead to litigation or interaction with regulatory agencies. And you're asking her to do it with no compensation. That's BS. :x

=======
Texan,

That was a brilliant post.

You should feel proud of your self. Maybe we should just stop posting on the boards for insights and listen to you when there is a problem.

But then again we would have to wait for a while until you come up to speed in attitude and knowledge. You can do that by reading more and posting less.

May the New year find you in a better disposition.

 

[txag]

You should feel proud of your self. Maybe we should just stop posting on the boards for insights and listen to you when there is a problem.

But then again we would have to wait for a while until you come up to speed in attitude and knowledge. You can do that by reading more and posting less.

May the New year find you in a better disposition.

when you post on the boards & ask for opinions, be prepared to not like some of the responses. but just because you don't like the response, doesn't mean it's wrong. Texan made a good point.......your own vet (or the vet nearest the guy you're trying to help) would be the best source of help.

& I don't think you have to worry about waiting for Texan to get up to speed. while he may be a little behind the times on technology by not owning an immobilizer, he's still one of the most knowledgeable cattlemen on the boards.

 

[preston39]

Thats a matter of opinion...probably not shared by many.

I look for constructive review...but not sarcasim and attempts to degrade a person as I see him do all the time. Theres' a big difference. No, I won't be waiting for him to get up to speed...because I doubt it will happen.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Thats a matter of opinion...probably not shared by many.

I look for constructive review...but not sarcasim and attempts to degrade a person as I see him do all the time. Theres' a big difference. No, I won't be waiting for him to get up to speed...because I doubt it will happen.

Shared by a lot more Cattlemen than you think operative word is cattlemen. I guess if your a hobby boy or a weekender used to the corporate world of HR and diversity you are going to get your feelings hurt.

 

[Texan]

Texan,

That was a brilliant post.

Well, thank you preston. Thank you very much. I am simultaneously flattered, embarrassed and humbled by your words. You can count on me to continue to try to keep you straightened out. Even if it means reviewing every post you make. You have my word.

Thanks again, preston.