Controlling the Flies in Your Herd

As the green begins to grow and the weather begins to warm up(hopefully) the fly population slowly makes its way back into your herd. You may not think flies have much affect on your cattle but in reality they can cause your cattle stress that can lead to many other negative things in your herd. According to Dave Boxler, a UNL Extension Educator, there are three fly species to look for in your herd that include horn fly, face fly, and stable fly. The horn fly is the worst blood-feeding pest feeding on your cattle 20-30 times a day which can result in irritation, blood loss, decreased grazing efficiency, reduced weight gains, and a decline in milk production. The face fly is similar to your house fly and is a common agent in the spread of pinkeye which is a common problem among herds. The third is the stable flies which is your common fly around feedlots and are found around the legs of cattle.

Back Rubber

I like the way this article explains the different species of flies and tells how and what they can do to your herd. It is not uncommon to see masses of flies on the different herds of cattle here in the Midwest. Most producers do your standard pour-on before turning out to grass and never do anything else to treat their cattle for the rest of the summer. In our operation, we like to set up dust bags in the usual shaded areas around mid-June so cattle can start finding it for use in July. We also like to place back rubbers on our creep feeders so calves will be exposed to insecticide which seems to help control our pinkeye situation. One new treatment we are thinking about doing this year is using Kent or Purina mineral that has horn fly control in it and testing to see how it works. Other options your may want to do is re-pour your cattle around the first of July which is when you really start to see the fly population increase. Overall, the different species of flies can have a significant effect on your herd and by using some of these simple treatment options I believe it will pay off in the end.

Mud Can Cut into Beef Profits

Many producers that I know of will not complain about receiving moisture especially with that being quite normal during this time of year.In Missouri we have received about 3 inches of rain the past two weeks and welcome more but for those producers who may be weaning off their fall calves or have fall calves in their lot the muddy conditions is something they want to keep a close eye on. According to Kaitlin Morgan, a K-State Research and Extension News, muddy pen conditions can cause decreased feed efficiency, increased animal energy expenditure and decreased profitability for the producer. The article goes on to say the mud four to eight inches deep can reduce feed intake of animals by five to 15 percent.

I believe an article such as this can help producers put into perspective how mud can affect their cattle and identify the importance of keeping lots as dry and as clean as possible. When Kaitlin talks about decreased feed efficiency some people might not make the connection as to why this may be. The reason for this is the cattle are no longer using this feed towards gaining weight they are using it as energy to tromp through the muddy pens thus decreasing the feed efficiency. The next part talks about increased animal energy which is what I was referring to with tromping through the mud but also mud causes your cattle to stand all day which as you know requires much more energy mainly because they don't like to lay down in the mud.

Calf in the Mud

With all of this being said, a producers profits get cut into very quickly whether they even realize it or not. When cattle are under stressful conditions such as muddy pens it is almost guaranteed you will be losing money so if you can get them out of the mud and onto some pasture you will be much better off. If this isn't an options you could spread out straw to help absorb some of the mud or even put cement or heavy rock into your lot to keep the mud down.

Angus Genetics Tops Beef Today Survey

When thinking about and seeing different herds across the Midwest most of the time I see or talk to producers who use Angus Genetics in their herd. Some producers like to use some sort of crossbred strategy to breed their cattle but most of the time their is some sort of Angus bloodline in their herd and if their isn't they are beginning to switch over to it. According to Steve Suther, a recent Beef Today survey tells us that 34% of herds are considered straight-bred Angus but 89% of crossbred herds use Angus genetics within their herd. Other statistics from this study told us 46% of the respondents owned fewer than 50 cows and 79% of the producers who responded were between the ages of 46 to 75 with only 3% being less than 30 years old.

Angus Bull 

Hereford Bull 

A couple things from this survey is not surprising to me at all with the first being the 89% of crossbred operations use Angus genetics somewhere in their herd. When I think of crossbred operations,  most of the time I think of producers using an Angus/Simmental cross, maybe having an Angus/Limousin cross or even using a Hereford/Angus cross to keep the calves black or black white face and give them a thought out performance advantage. Personally, I believe the only advantage they are gaining from this would be the marketing or sales advantage of selling black or black white face calves because other breeds often take a large cut on sale day.  Every once in awhile there is a small niche market for breeds such as Charolais or Red Angus Heifers and most of the time if you find the right buyer they will give more for those breeds than Angus Breeds but most of this is from low supply on the market.

Age Chart of Farmers

Another part of this survey that isn't shocking to me at all is 79% of the people who responded were between the ages of 46 to 75 with 3% being less than 30 years old. A growing concern in agriculture and the cattle industry is the need for young farmers becoming interested in farming. The median age for farmers is going higher every year due to lack of interest in young farmers and older farmers not being able to retire because they have no one to take over their operation. Higher land prices is also preventing young farmers from getting involved in agriculture because it costs too much for them to get started. The USDA  is trying to create opportunities for beginning farmers through grant programs but they often place many restrictions on the loan program and limit what the producer can do with the land once it is bought.

Calf Removal for Your Thin Cows

Calves removed from mothers

Cows who are thin at calving and thin throughout the first part of spring are less likely to breed back compared to cows who have an appropriate body condition score. The reason for this is they don't cycle back like they should and for a producer who may have been short on feed or margins this could become a problem. According to Glenn Selk, an Oklahoma State University Extension Agent, studies have shown that removal of calves for 48 hours has shown to improve re-breeding rates of moderately conditioned cows by 4-8%. The removal of this calf removes the nursing stimulus from the cow and allows the borderline cows to return to heat cycles earlier than they normally would have.

Table 1. Summary of 3 trials comparing 48 hour short term calf removal to cow/calf pairs that were traditionally suckled. (Simms, et al. 1982 KSU Cattleman’s Day)

Treatment	Number of Cows	% Pregnant at palpation	Calf A.D.G. from treatment to weaning
Control (normal suckling)	101	87.1	1.60
Removed 48 hours	86	93.0	1.63

Even though the study shows that removing the calf  from the borderline or thin cow helps the cow cycle back sooner than normal leaving the calves off their mothers for 48 hours concerns me. This seems like a long time for a calf that may be no older than 2-3 months to be away from its mother and her milk. I believe this would put a lot of stress on the calf and could end up giving the calf scours once it does get back to sucking its mother. As a producer, we have heard about doing this type of practice but have never actually gave it try because most of the time our cows are in the proper body condition to breed back. If a producer was going to try it I believe they should do it with a portion of their thin cows to test it out first and possibly turn the calves back with the cows sooner. Overall, I believe this approach can have its benefits especially with increased conception rates but I would want to keep a close eye on your calves to make sure it doing more harm than good.

Deworming Your Cattle

Parasites and other diseases are both factors that can effect your beef cattle herd and really take away from your bottom line.By doing something as easy as deworming during the right time of the year, producers can prevent loses in production from different parasites and diseases. According to Michelle Arnold, a University of Kentucky Veterinarian, parasites can cause losses that include effects of reduced feed intake, reduced feed efficiency, and reduced milk production along with  direct effects of the immune system and poor help growth. A recent study b y Iowa State University shows that if dewormers are removed from your herd it could cost an extra $150 per head to break even because of the loss in weight your cattle had from the parasites.

Common Dewormer

I hadn't realized  how much parasites and other diseases could cost a producer until I interpreted the results from Iowa State University study. Even though some dewormers can become fairly expensive I would say it is well worth the investment considering all it can do to your herd. However, it isn't about just deworming your cattle it is also about selecting the right time to deworm your cattle so it will be used effectively by your cattle. Deworming your cattle in the spring can reduce contamination your cows might receive when turning them out to grass which is a critical stage in their calves growing cycle. Also treating your herd slightly before or when it starts to get hot can also be an effective time because this is when the parasites begin to move off your pasture and into your cows. You can also deworm in the fall but mainly for your fall calving cows or calves you are weaning because they can the ones who are most effected by parasites during that time. Once we wean our calves we usually mix Safeguard right into our feed accordingly and use some type of pour-on shortly after. 

Ivomec

Overall, I believe it is quite obvious that deworming your cattle is something that has to be done in order to make the most profit from your herd. Parasites and other diseases can cause stress on your beef cattle and in return this can effect your cows in more ways than the few that I have listed. With all that being said,  the spring is here and producers are getting ready to work their cows and turn them out to grass but before they do this I believe they should consider deworming them first.

Characteristics of Meat: Steer vs. Heifer

Most people don't think about whether their beef is coming from a steer or heifer they just think about it coming from cattle. However, different studies show that quality characteristics, tenderness and the value of beef can be different between the two which gives consumers something to think about especially if they butcher their own meat. According to Jeannine Schweihofer , a Michigan State University Extension Agent, the value of beef prices do not differentiate between steers and heifers. She also goes on to tell the results from a couple different studies where heifer carcasses had slightly more marbling than steer carcasses and beef from heifers was more tender than beef from steers for up to 28 days of aging.

Steer Calf

As a beef producer, my family always butchers their own meat and in the recent years it has always been a heifer. At first we thought it was a rumor that meat from a heifer is better than meat from a steer  so we decided to test that theory out for ourselves and after doing it we could personally test that our meat from the heifer we butchered was better than our meat from the steer. With that being said, I would agree with Jeannine that overall meat from a heifer is more tender and has more marbling than meat from a steer.

Heifer Calf 

Some of you may be thinking or even wanting to ask how their could be a difference between meat from a heifer and meat from a steer and here are a couple theories that are said to be true.  The first theory I want to present you with is steers gain weight faster than heifers and are typically fed out faster and harder than heifers which in return develops the steer too quickly and makes their meat tough as opposed to heifers who are fed out at a much slower rate giving them time to develop. Also the kind of feed the steer or heifer is fed is said to have an affect on their grade or marbling which is why we feed our butcher calf straight corn a few months before butchering. Overall, the value of beef prices doesn't change even though some of the quality traits seem to be different which makes me believe that this will become an option in our future.

Evaluation of Your Calving Herd

The calving season is starting to slow down for producers in the Midwest as we draw closer towards the end of April. Producers can use this time to go back and evaluate their cow herd to see how well their cows conceived and see how many may have missed a cycle or may be going to fall. According to Kris Ringwall, from NDSU Extension Beef Specialist, if the percentage of cows calving the first 21 days of the calving season is less than 60 percent and the percentage of cows calving the second 21 days of the calving season is greater than 25 percent, a serious re-evaluation of the herd needs to occur.

Even though this is a fairly bold statement I would agree that the number of cows calving in their first cycle should be higher than 60 percent which in return would make the second cycle of cows calving lower and no greater than  25 percent. If this is not happening a producer may want to look at the fertility of the bulls used or may want to think about a different management strategy for the next years breeding season since it is not to far away. Since your cows ordinarily cycle within 80 days of calving and settle at close to the same time every year(if you turn your bulls out around the same time every year) the percentage of cows calving in the first 21 days should stay fairly close. Most producers in my area don't worry so much about cows calving in the first or second cycle they just worry about whether or not they breed in the spring like they are supposed to as opposed to fall. I believe numbers such as these should be taken into consideration because if the percentage of your first cycle cows(typically your money makers) is under 60 percent you as a producer are probably going to be losing money later on with smaller calves come weaning time and cows rolling over to fall.