Speaker Biography

Brad Heins

DVM, MFAM, DACVPM

Dr. Heins

Associate Professor, University of Georgia

Dr. Heins is an associate professor in Beef and Swine Production Medicine at the University of Georgia. A production veterinarian at heart, Dr. Heins participates in both didactic and clinical instruction of veterinary students at the University of Georgia. He received his DVM and Master’s of Food Animal Medicine at the University of Georgia and spent 6 years in private practice prior to returning to UGA as a food animal clinician.

Lectures

  • Friday, October 30, 2026 1:45 - 2:35 p.m. Oak I

    Remote Drug Delivery (RDD): Good Stewardship or Bad Medicine? Farm Animal

    Learning Objectives

    1. Describe the potential benefits and limitations of remote drug delivery (RDD) systems for treating cattle in production settings.
    2. Compare remote drug delivery with conventional hand-syringe administration with respect to drug delivery reliability, pharmacokinetics, treatment efficacy, and tissue effects.
    3. Identify animal, equipment, and operator factors that influence the safety and effectiveness of RDD, including dart selection, needle length, projectile velocity, injection-site selection, and sterility.
    4. Evaluate the potential animal welfare, human safety, food safety, and Beef Quality Assurance concerns associated with the use of RDD systems.
    5. Explain how the Veterinary-Client-Patient Relationship (VCPR), Extra-Label Drug Use (ELDU), and the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act (AMDUCA) affect the legal use of medications administered through RDD systems in food-producing animals.
    6. Discuss the implications of RDD use for antimicrobial stewardship, including risks associated with incomplete drug delivery, improper dosing, altered routes of administration, treatment failure, antimicrobial resistance, and withdrawal times.
    7. Determine situations in which RDD may or may not be an appropriate treatment option based on animal health, handling facilities, animal stress, human safety, and availability of conventional restraint.
    8. Apply a risk-benefit approach to decisions regarding RDD use that considers treatment prognosis, drug selection, animal and human safety, disease transmission, food quality, and the economic consequences of treatment failure.
  • Friday, October 30, 2026 4:45 - 5:35 p.m. Oak I

    Receiving Programs for High-Risk Cattle Farm Animal

    Learning Objectives

    1. Describe the epidemiology and economic impact of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in high-risk stocker and feedlot cattle.
    2. Identify animal, procurement, management, and environmental factors that contribute to BRD risk and classify cattle according to relative health risk at arrival.
    3. Apply clinical assessment tools, including DART scoring, rectal temperature, lung auscultation, and thoracic ultrasonography, to the detection and evaluation of BRD.
    4. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of visual observation and other diagnostic approaches for identifying cattle affected by BRD and predicting treatment outcomes.
    5. Explain the multifactorial pathogenesis of BRD, including the roles of stress, viral infection, bacterial pathogens, commingling, and antimicrobial resistance.
    6. Develop an evidence-informed receiving program for high-risk cattle that integrates vaccination, BVD control, stress reduction, nutritional management, and appropriate processing practices.
    7. Evaluate the timing and potential benefits and limitations of vaccination strategies in high-risk cattle, including arrival versus delayed vaccination.
    8. Determine when metaphylaxis is appropriate and incorporate cattle risk classification, expected morbidity, clinical appearance, cattle source, and antimicrobial effectiveness into metaphylactic decision-making.
  • Saturday, October 31, 2026 8:00 - 8:50 a.m. Oak I

    Epidemiology and Causation of Lameness in Cattle Farm Animal

    Learning Objectives:

    1. Compare the prevalence, distribution, and epidemiologic patterns of lameness among cow-calf, feedlot, and dairy cattle production systems, including differences in commonly affected limbs, claws, and production groups.
    2. Differentiate infectious from non-infectious causes of bovine lameness and recognize how the relative importance of these disorders varies according to production system, age, and stage of production.
    3. Identify the major non-infectious causes of lameness in cattle—including sole ulcers, white line disease, and interdigital fibromas—and relate their development to hoof biomechanics, conformation, nutrition, housing, and management.
    4. Explain the pathogenesis and recognize the clinical presentation of common infectious causes of lameness, including foot rot, digital dermatitis, and septic arthritis.
    5. Integrate clinical findings, lesion location, lameness severity, and appropriate diagnostic procedures to develop differential diagnoses for cattle presenting with lameness.
    6. Develop evidence-based treatment and prevention strategies for common bovine lameness disorders using appropriate hoof care, environmental and management modifications, antimicrobial therapy, analgesia, footbaths, and other interventions when indicated.
    7. Evaluate the animal welfare, productivity, and economic consequences of lameness and use epidemiologic and clinical information to guide individual-animal and herd-level management decisions.
  • Saturday, October 31, 2026 9:00 - 9:50 a.m. Oak I

    Identification and Treatment of Lameness in Cattle Farm Animal

    Learning Objectives:

    1. Recognize and assess lameness in cattle using changes in posture, gait, stride, weight bearing, spinal posture, and other observable indicators of locomotor dysfunction.
    2. Apply a standardized locomotion scoring system to characterize the presence and severity of bovine lameness and identify animals requiring further examination.
    3. Perform a systematic examination of the bovine foot and distal limb to localize the source of lameness and identify swelling, hoof lesions, foreign bodies, abnormalities in joint mobility, and other clinically relevant findings.
    4. Explain the biomechanics of weight bearing in the bovine foot and relate differences in load distribution between the medial and lateral claws to hoof overgrowth and the development of lameness.
    5. Describe and apply the principles of functional and corrective hoof trimming to restore appropriate claw proportions, improve weight distribution, reduce excessive focal pressure, and identify hoof lesions.
    6. Select appropriate treatment modalities for common causes of bovine lameness, including corrective trimming, hoof blocks, antimicrobial therapy, analgesia, and surgical intervention based on clinical findings and lesion severity.
    7. Develop an individual-animal and herd-level approach to lameness management that integrates accurate diagnosis, record keeping, treatment decisions, management changes, and preventive strategies to improve cattle health, welfare, and productivity.