Cattle Fly Control For The Beef Herd
The necessity for a fly control program for beef herds is inevitable and if you haven’t started a program in your herd, now is the time. The two major species of flies that cause the most serious decreases in beef production and require the most control efforts are the horn fly and face fly. The horn fly alone is estimated to cause animal losses to the US beef industry of $700 million. Tests have shown that the annoyance, irritation, and blood loss caused by flies can reduce weaning weights of calves nursing fly infested mother cows by 12 to 14 pounds; average daily gain of grazing yearling steers may be reduced 12 to 14 percent, or as much as 30 pounds, during the grazing season. Both face flies and horn flies annoy cattle, resulting in reduced grazing time and increased energy expenditure.