Ashbacher Veterinary Services

03/15/2026

Snapped this cute photo while out checking on the new arrivals at home today! 🐮👅

Fun fact - it’s not just adorable, but this behavior also helps remove mucus and debris from the nasal passage promoting good respiratory health. Good job little buddy!

Call Dr. Austin anytime day or night if you need any help this calving season! 641-548-7090

03/15/2026

🐰🥞🥚 You're Invited to the EGGS'PO Easter Extravaganza! 🥚🥞🐰

Bring the whole family and join us for a morning full of Easter fun, pancakes, photos with the Easter Bunny, and of course… the Egg Hunt!
The first 600 kids will receive an Easter Basket or bucket!!

📅 Saturday, April 4th
⏰ 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM
📍 103 Church St – Sycamore Park & Southeast Iowa JBS Sports Center, Ottumwa

✨ Event Highlights

🥞 Free Will Offering Pancake Breakfast
Hosted by the Kiwanis starting at 8:00 AM

📸 Photos with the Easter Bunny
8:00 – 11:00 AM
Photos by Siryss Photography
Sponsored by JBS Ottumwa

🥚 Egg Hunt Schedule

🌟 9:15 AM – Sensory Friendly Egg Hunt
👶 10:00 AM – Ages 0–4
🧒 Ages 5–8 to follow
🎉 Ages 9–12 after that

This FREE community event is brought to you by the Wapello County Expo Board and Southeast Iowa JBS Sports Center with help from our wonderful community partners.

Come hungry, we have baskets & Buckets for the first 600 kids, and get ready for a fun morning with the Easter Bunny!

🐣 We can't wait to see you there!
If you have questions please message me on The Wapello County Expo Board FB page!
Like, Comment & Share this post!! Let's Pack the park on April 4th!!

03/11/2026

We couldn’t be happier to support such a great organization that is so near and dear to our hearts! We both grew up in 4-H with Erica growing up right here in Wapello County as a member of the Pleasant U & I Sodbusters (a few years ago, we’re not telling how many).

We believe in investing in Iowa Agriculture, its future leaders, and organizations like Iowa 4-H: Wapello County that serve our community. We can’t wait to see you at the 2026 Wapello County Expo!🍀

Ashbacher Veterinary Services is another faithful sponsor of the Wapello County Expo! 🐄💙

This family-owned veterinary clinic is an incredible asset to Wapello County and to the many youth we serve. Their continued support helps make opportunities possible for our young exhibitors year after year.

We also loved having Dr. Austin join the fun in last year’s Celebrity Animal Show — and let’s just say, he was a great sport! 😄👏

When asked why they support youth in agriculture, they shared:

✨ We're so proud to support such an amazing organization that is very near and dear to our hearts as we have long been a part of the Wapello County 4-H family! Growing up in 4-H helped foster our passion for agriculture, leadership, and service, and we are happy to give back to an organization that has given us so much. We at Ashbacher Veterinary Services believe in investing in Iowa Agriculture and its future leaders, so we are proud to support all that Wapello County 4-H does. ✨

We are grateful for community partners like Ashbacher Veterinary Services who believe in investing in the future of agriculture and the young people who will lead it forward. 🌱

If you are interested in sponsoring an event or just sponsoring youth in ag, please message us on FB for more information! Please take a moment now to follow us County Expo Board on Facebook, to stay on top of everything happening with Wapello County Youth in Ag!

03/10/2026

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/QRuEJOxAQeKAdlhFA3fGZg #/registration

Great opportunity to learn about foot and mouth disease, and what is being done to prepare for a possible outbreak.

03/04/2026

Brochures have been sent to the printer! Let us know if you want on the mailing list! 🙌

In the meantime you can view all bulls and videos on our website ➡️ https://www.steadyrungenetics.com/forsale

02/26/2026

We have so much to celebrate today! Please join us in wishing Dr. Austin a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!🥳

As always, he’s spending it in his favorite way - outside working cattle and by helping to bring baby calves into the world!

Calves are dropping for us at home and for many of our clients too! Call Dr. Austin anytime day or night if you need help with tricky calvings or getting your little guys going. And if you haven’t already, call us to get stocked up on your calving supplies too!

Happy Birthday Doc and Happy Calving Season to all!!

641-548-7090

01/23/2026

Come see us at the 2026 Cornbelt Cow Calf Conference in Ottumwa!!

We’re here 3-7 pm today at Bridge View! Food comes out at 5! 8-3 tomorrow!

(If you see the stroller in the background - we may or may not have a cute little helper here with us too💙)

01/01/2026

Happy New Year and happy ONE YEAR anniversary to Ashbacher Veterinary Services!!

What an amazing year it has been serving you and your livestock! We added new services, new equipment, and even a new member to the team with Emmett John being born in October.

We cannot thank our amazing clients enough for supporting not only our business but also our family! We can’t wait to see what year 2 has in store!

Happy New Year from the Ashbachers💛

10/06/2025

Should I calfhood vaccinate my calves? This is a common question that we get, and it is one of the most misunderstood procedures we perform. So let's talk about it!

Calfhood vaccination, also known as Bang's vaccination, is a vaccine against Brucella abortus, a bacteria that can cause reproductive losses in cattle. It can only be administered to heifers between 4 and 12 months of age. To comply with USDA eradication efforts, vaccinated animals are identified with a tattoo and special orange EID tag in the right ear. The eradication program has been extremely successful, as the only remaining reservoir for this disease in the United States is the elk and bison in and around Yellowstone National Park.

So, should you calfhood vaccinate your heifers? Like most things in life, it depends. If they are heifers that will be heading to a feedlot to finish, there is no need for this vaccine. For potential breeding stock, the answer becomes more complicated. If you are retaining heifers that will live their whole lives on or near your farm or ranch, it would be a low priority due to the extremely low risk of the disease being introduced to your herd. Are you going to sell your heifers for breeding stock? Are they going to be show animals that will travel around the country? You may want to consider this, as many states (particularly western states) have import requirements that include females be calfhood vaccinated. Since they can only legally be vaccinated between 4-12 months of age, this decision early in her life may affect her ability to travel for the rest of her life.

Every farm or ranch is unique, and this decision is going to have different considerations for everyone. Give us a call if you would like to discuss calfhood vaccination or to schedule an appointment!

09/18/2025

It's time to think about preconditioning your spring born calves! If you've never considered preconditioning before, this is the year to do it. Preconditioning consists of providing a full round of vaccinations, as well as performing procedures such as castrations and dehorning. Ideally, this should be done a few weeks before weaning, but can be done at or shortly after weaning depending on your management system. A full preconditioning program will also include a post weaning period where the calves will have time to adapt to being away from the cow, eating a new ration out of a bunk, drinking out of automatic waterers, etc. All of this has been shown to add significant value to your calves, weather they will be sold through a sale barn, through private treaty, or if ownership will be retained.

It is always a great idea to include your veterinarian in your preconditioning program. We offer 3 different preconditioning programs to choose from:

Iowa Green Tag-This program consists a 5-way viral vaccine (IBR, BVD1, BVD2, PI3, BRSV) a 7-way vaccine (Clostridium species), Mannheimia vaccine (respiratory bacteria, also known as Pasteurella), and a Histophilous vaccine (respiratory bacteria). All calves must also be treated for external and internal parasites, bull calves should be castrated and all horns need to be removed. This program needs to be completed by a veterinarian, and the calves will receive a metal green tag in their ear to indicate they have gone through this program.

Iowa Gold Tag-Similar program to the Green Tag program, but with 2 rounds of all the vaccines about 2 weeks apart. Calves will receive a metal gold tag to indicate they have gone through this program.

IMBIO-Calves receive similar treatments to Green/Gold Tag programs, and will have a special numbered dangle tag to indicate they have met program requirements and to track ownership. Calves will be eligible to sell at special IMBIO sale at Bloomfield Livestock Market where they will be grouped with similar type cattle to sell in larger lots.

If you are interested in any of these programs, or would like more information on preconditioning, please call us at 641-548-7090.

08/27/2025

We’re proud to introduce ourselves to the Ottumwa community and surrounding areas. E+ Solutions is owned and operated by Jeff and Kaitlyn Emery, who was born and raised right here in Ottumwa. Jeff and his family have deep ties to this community, and after more than 30 years as a Class A Master Electrician and 25+ years as a contractor, he is excited to bring his knowledge and skills back home to serve local families, farms, and businesses.

At E+ Solutions, we specialize in electrical work, telecommunications, and general construction across agricultural, residential, and commercial projects. Whether you need a simple repair, a new installation, or a full renovation, we’re here to provide quality workmanship, honest estimates, and dependable service.

This business is built on family values, experience, and a commitment to doing the job right the first time. We’re grateful to call Ottumwa home and to be able to serve the people who make this community so special.

📞 Give us a call at (641) 777-5755
📧 Or email us at [email protected]