Never Re-implant Again

2 April 2008

Millsboro, Delaware

Never Re-implant Again

Revalor®-XS: Beef industry’s first delayed-release combination implant now available

MILLSBORO, Del. (April 2, 2008) –– Never re-implant again. These are powerful words to cattle feeders. Imagine capturing the same performance of re-implanting without the hassle of reprocessing steers. Cattle feeders now have that opportunity with the launch of Revalor-XS (trenbolone acetate and estradiol).

Revalor-XS is the first delayed-release combination implant for steers fed in confinement that combines in a single implant the proven performance of trenbolone acetate and estradiol as an initial dose of Revalor-IS and a terminal dose of Revalor-S.

“The implant truly delivers all the power with half the work,” says John Hutcheson, Ph.D., Intervet Director of Performance Technologies. “It takes the proven performance of Revalor that cattle feeders depend on and removes the hassle of re-implanting.”

Revalor-XS is able to eliminate the process of re-implanting because of its new delayed-release technology. The first dose goes to work immediately after implanting, just like Revalor-IS. The second dose — shielded by the patented X7™ polymer coating — goes to work 70-80 days later to deliver the performance of a Revalor-S terminal implant. Each implant contains 10 pellets — four uncoated and six X7 polymer coated pellets — and supports increased weight gain and feed efficiency for up to 200 days.

Revalor-XS benefits cattle as well as the cattle feeder. One less trip through the chute reduces stress on cattle and minimizes the chance of injuries. It also means a reduction in wear and tear on handling equipment and facilities. For the cattle feeder, the implant means management time is minimized; enabling feedyard managers to more efficiently allocate and direct their labor resources.

Less Stress on Cattle

Reprocessing causes stress on cattle, negatively affecting feed intake and increasing risk of injury, Hutcheson says. The delayed-release technology of Revalor-XS eliminates this potential stressor and keeps cattle in the pen and on feed.

“Keeping cattle in the pen is the ultimate goal of the cattle feeder. By cutting out reprocessing, steers on Revalor-XS showed no “checkmark” in feed consumption,” Hutcheson says. “In other words, we didn’t see the reduction in weight gain due the stress of reprocessing.”

In initial proof of concept trials, steers receiving Revalor-XS or Revalor-IS/S displayed greater average daily gain (22 percent), dry matter intake (10 percent) and feed efficiency (10 percent) than non-implanted steers.¹ Intervet is currently conducting nine Revalor-XS large-pen, commercial research trials with an additional two planned to help cattle feeders determine the implant strategies that will provide them the best performance and the greatest return on investment.

“It’s easy to see the benefits of keeping cattle in the pen eating feed instead of being run out to be reprocessed, increasing stress and injury and adding to labors costs,” Hutcheson says.

Better Utilize Time and Labor
Beyond the benefits to the cattle and their performance, cattle feeders can take advantage of the time and labor benefits associated with eliminating re-implanting.

Labor resources are a valuable component to a feedyard. It’s important to utilize employees in a way that can best benefit the feedyard and its management goals.

Hutcheson adds, “Processing cattle is a labor-intensive job. By removing the re-implanting process, labor in the feedyard can be directed to other economically beneficial efforts, including additional preventive healthcare and data collection.”

As with labor efficiencies, he also points out the reduction in management time needed for reprocessing cattle. Feedyard managers can reallocate the time they would have spent on re-implanting to other vital tasks, such as further market analysis or reviewing additional data collected, for increased efficiencies and profit.

“Additionally, feedyards can miss the re-implant window for a variety of reasons, such as weather,” Hutcheson notes. “Revalor-XS cuts out the chance of missing the re-implanting window and the loss of performance.”

The increased production benefits paired with the management and labor efficiencies provide cattle feeders with great gains in their feeding operations.

For more information on Revalor-XS, please visit www.revalor.com.

¹ Revalor-XS Technical Bulletin One

Schering-Plough is an innovation-driven, science-centered global health-care company. Through its own biopharmaceutical research and collaborations with partners, Schering-Plough creates therapies that help save and improve lives around the world. The company applies its research-and-development platform to human prescription and consumer products as well as to animal health products. In November 2007, Schering-Plough acquired Organon BioSciences, with its Organon human health and Intervet animal health businesses, marking a pivotal step in the company’s ongoing transformation. Schering-Plough’s vision is to “Earn Trust, Every Day” with the doctors, patients, customers and other stakeholders. The company is based in Kenilworth, N.J., and its Web site is www.schering-plough.com.

Intervet is a leader in research and dedicated to the development, production and marketing of innovative, high-quality animal-health products, such as Zilmax® feed additive, Revalor® implants, Vista®, Vision®, Once PMH® vaccines; Fertagyl® hormone preparation; Chorulon® serum gonadotrophin; and Safe-Guard® dewormer.
Zilmax, Revalor, X7, Vista, Vision, Once PMH, Fertagyl, Chorulon and Safe-Guard are registered trademarks of Intervet Inc. or an affiliate.