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.