Are your cattle social distancing?

But really, are your cows spread out across their pasture or are they all bunched up together? Ideally, cattle should be spread out across their pasture happily munching on all the grass they can reach. If they are all bunched up, especially on a beautiful day, they are probably fighting flies! Now, you might say “I don’t see any flies on their backs,” but what about their bellies? In the heat of the day, flies seek shade, and that means they accumulate on the legs and bellies of cattle.

The horn fly is the most costly external cattle parasite in the United States. It only takes 200 flies per beef cow to start to see an economic impact, and it’s not a positive result. Horn flies help the spread of diseases like pinkeye, and mastitis, and pester your cattle to no end. Altosid/IGR products offer feed through fly control that can help increase weaning weights by up to 20.2 lbs! (Campbell, et al - 1976, Cocke, et al - 1989). IGR stands for insect growth regulator and works against fleas, mosquitoes, horn flies, ants, and sciarid flies. It does NOT accumulate in the food chain and does not cause any harm to beneficial insects, including dung beetles. The chemical make up of Altosid puts it in the same class of chemicals as essential oils and other natural plant-produced material. Using a feed through fly control such as Altosid (available in barrels and loose mineral) is a great complement to the seasonal pour-on treatments most cattleman use and provides effective control of the fly population. Control of the fly populations = healthier happier cattle = more gains, fewer vet bills, and more $$ in your pocket!