2021 Spring Insights - Flipbook - Page 8
Pasture Season Considerations
for Your Cow Herd
Taylor Handy, Livestock Specialist
Cow-calf producers prepare for spring with fly control and creep feeding
programs. Properly planning and implementing these programs in your
operation can be beneficial to your herd’s performance and productivity.
The snow and ice will melt, and spring will be here before we
know it. The grass will start turning green, and it will be time to
turn the cows and calves out onto pasture. There is no better
time than the present to start preparing for pasture season and
all that comes with it!
Fly control and creep feeding are two programs that cowcalf producers should not overlook. Proper implementation
and planning for these two programs can benefit your herd’s
performance and productivity.
Fly Control Mineral:
One of the biggest enemies of a cow-calf operation is a small,
black fly, only about four millimeters long: the horn fly. These
little pests thrive on cattle and depend on them to live – taking
up to 20 to 40 blood meals each day. A horn fly level of 200 or
fewer flies per animal is considered an effective control program.
If not kept below this threshold, herd health and productivity
can be negatively impacted, making the horn fly one of the
most pervasive and costly external parasites of cattle in North
America. Early-season planning can help to keep fly populations
under control all season long.
At River Valley Cooperative, we carry Wind and Rain Fly Control
Mineral containing Altosid®, making it easy to combat pesky horn
flies on your operation. Cattle require mineral supplementation
365 days a year, so this feed-through method is convenient and
does not require additional labor besides normal mineral feeder
maintenance.
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