Northbound Veterinary Services

08/05/2026

Just a few updates since I have not had time to post anything lately (Thank you everyone for making sure I stay busy, but tell your animals I miss relaxing in my boat once in a while!)

1) The number one question I keep getting is still on Valbazen availability. Not good! What to use in its place? Got nothing, even Ivermectin Plus (BI name brand and generics) is now on manufacture back-orders as well. The push for ER use of unapproved products from other countries such as Triclabendazole (Fasinex and Cydectin Plus Fluke) have fallen on deaf ears likely due to national diseases like HPAI (Avain Influenza) and now NWS (Screwworm) being center stage. If you have the ability to make noise to representatives, please do. It is a small region of the country that deals with Deer Liver Flukes, but to that small region that most of us call home, it is one of the differences that keeps our livestock from becoming deadstock. For the love of all creatures great and small just please 8-way colostridial vaccinate your ruminants 2-3 times a year!!!

2) I already have people scheduling fall chute work....its the dog days of summer. If you have a timeline you are thinking, get a hold of me sooner rather than later. I'm a one man band that also now has to figure out how to fit in time to coach 4th grade football (Thanks Wife).

3) Foot-rot and lameness seems to be the hot topic with my phone lately. Remember that these are pasture management diseases just like Pink eye. Walk the cow paths and check around the water sources. Are flies pushing them into thick brush cutting skin up? Are they standing in water constantly for heat control making the skin softer and weaker? With Foot-rot there has to be damage to the skin between the claws to allow the bacteria to get in there. I know I know, its easy for me to say "Check your pastures" because "Doc I ain't gunna find anything out there, its the same pasture its been for the last million years." Fine don't go walk the cow paths then, lets just go fishing instead.

As always: Pastures are green, hay is plentiful, babies are growing on the hoof and in the wombs right now. Smile more and just remember, it's never so bad that it can't get worse! 😇

Dr. Dan out!

06/04/2026

New World Screwworm was confirmed in Texas about 100 miles south of San Antonio. Not currently a threat in our region, but something to understand and be aware of as animals and equipment move so much more now than they did back in the 1960's when it was last eradicated from the USA. USDA link below for your questions.

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03/25/2026

There has been continuous talk all over the nation about the loss and/or shortage of the rural large animal veterinarian. Every day I get emails from AVMA, MVMA, MNBAH, AABP, and the UofMN about how they are working to get vet schools to add more seats for “Production Animal Vets” or Grants/Loan Forgiveness Plans to entice veterinarians to “service” an area for a minimum of 4+ years. I personally also get a lot more phone calls and emails now from people all over asking if I will drive to their place because there is no vet availability, or they are unable to haul somewhere since the clinics nearby don’t work on production animals.

I’ve heard it many times, “There are animals all over doc, lots of work!” Or “My daughter wants to be a large animal vet, and I’ve heard it should be easy to get a job with all the shortages around!” My answer, “Sounds great, are they willing to move long distances to find work?” There is a reason all the small animal only and equine only clinics are not hiring production animal vets, and it’s not a lack of people that want to do the job.

I do not think people realize how much time large animal vets spend working with dairy producers to help produce the world’s safest milk and meat. No veterinarian can afford to sit and hope that you MIGHT call after you get home from work and notice a problem. They need that scheduled work during the day.

Unfortunately nobody talks about why this is happening, only how to put more vets out there. Honest truth, the loss of dairy farms is the main reason for the loss of Production Animal Veterinarians nationally. Not just large animal vets, but many small town businesses that dairy farms fuel as well. No continuous yearly routine work means clinics can’t focus on production medicine as the main income to keep people hired and going. The demographic change is fueling large animal shortage, not a lack of passionate people to do the job. Dairy dense regions do not have veterinary shortages.

Government and Educational systems see reports that dairy cow numbers have maintained and production has increased, but ignore the loss of farms. If regions want to have access to production animal veterinarian care, they sure as hell need to support their local dairy farms first and foremost!

Stepping down off my soapbox now.

01/24/2026

I have been delaying this post for a while hoping that something would change regarding the availability of Valbazen (albendazole). Unfortunately, I’m told the API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) is unable to be manufactured. Meaning Zoetis cannot get the albendazole API from a regulated facility to add it to their slurry which then becomes Valbazen.

It has been a strange chute season doing so much work and not having to fight to keep it warm and flowing through the tubing. I’m continuously asked, “what should I use instead doc?” My answer the entire time has been that I don’t have another option. If I did I guarantee I wouldn’t use Valbazen as the ease of administration is not there. If all the research told me that another product actually worked I’d be using that instead.

The only other product we have for Food Animal Veterinary medicine in the good ol’ USA that is labeled for flukes is clorsulon, the “plus” in Ivermectin Plus. However that will only cover adult Fasciola hepatica (Cattle Fluke) and not Fascioloides magna (Deer Fluke) that we deal with here, in fact Cattle Flukes are rare in MN!

Don’t believe me, check this link (https://extension.umn.edu/beef-cow-calf/liver-flukes-and-redwater-disease-minnesota-beef-cattle)

Now I can’t stop you from using Ivermctin Plus because the box does say Liver Flukes in great big letters (check the annoying paper insert in the box that everyone tosses though if you want to, as it says what it actually treats!). Don’t worry they covered themselves in the small print! However, that’s been hard to get as well since Ivermectin is now a miracle drug! If it helps you sleep better to give this, it is still a good parasiticide.

Others have turned to a different dewormer that sounds very similar to albendazole and you can add it to feed or drench it orally, so surely it covers the same things. Well, I’ve talked to that company a few times hopeful they knew a secret….and they absolutely will not claim that it works at all, not even a little. In fact they are a little worried as there has been false information spread about its use locally. Again if you want to use it to sleep better at night, go for it. Great parasiticide but not a flukicide.

My last few rays of wisdom before I hide from the cold and attempt to focus on crappies rather than the baby livestock that will certainly plague me instead.

1) 8-way clostridium vaccines (NOT 7-way) are a MUST!! 2+ times per year now to prevent Red Water. It (clostridium haemolyticum) grows in the damaged liver after the fluke migrates through. Cheapest vaccine they make, buy extra! If the cow/sheep/goat gets touched….think about giving a dose if it’s been over 3-4 months since the last dose was given! Red water kills more ruminants than the liver failure from deer fluke over population in my opinion!

2) Remember the deer fluke does not WANT to kill its host. If the host dies, well then it also dies. If there gets to be too many deer flukes for the liver to sustain, then yes it’s game over. I feel worse for my small ruminant clients than cattle clients as this can happen so much faster! With that said limiting risk is key! …….Just move all your ruminants south out of MN. There I fixed everyone’s problem!

If you find outside sources of albendazole that are from unreliable sources or products from other countries, I don’t want to know anything about it, or see it posted in the comments as I will just delete it!

Oxytetracyclines and Penicillins are also short supply. What a time it is to be a food animal veterinarian!

How do beef cattle get infected by flukes?