Agricultural News
Livestock Producers Should Plan Ahead For New Fly Control Feed Additives
Fri, 19 Feb 2021 10:14:32 CST
It may be cold and snowy now but given Oklahoma's erratic weather we could see warmer temperatures quickly and that means fly problems for our cattle, said Mark Upton, director of sales for Central Life Sciences
Upton was recently interviewed by Radio Oklahoma Agriculture Network Associate Farm Director and Editor KC Sheperd.
As a company our message is to start on fly control at least 30 days ahead of fly season up to about 30 days after first frost, Upton said.
You need a good killing freeze for several days, so you have to be vigilant, he said.
The products we have are in feed additives, so we don't have to put anything directly on the animals, he said.
Upton, who is based in Pauls Valley, Okla., encourages producers to start feeding the product several weeks before the weather warms up to prevent fly eggs from hatching in the manure, Upton said.
One of the things we have to do is educate producers on the high economic damage caused by flies, he said.
Flies, especially horn flies, are the number one economic problem for pasture cattle in North America, causing as much as $1 billion a year in damage, he said.
These flies are sucking blood and robbing weight gain so it's really important from an economic and disease standpoint to control them, he said.
Feed additives work better than ear tags or contact sprays which only kill the adult fly and resistance is a huge problem, Upton said.
From an input standpoint the feed additives are cheaper because you don't have the labor involved like you would with collecting and spraying the cattle, he said.
Using feed additivities also means fewer flies around the farm, Upton said. As an added benefit, controlling the flies will keep the numbers down around the farm, he added.
In years when fly populations are high, a single cow could have as many 2,000 flies on its back, Upton said.
To learn more about feed-through fly control, click here.
You can hear more of KC's interview with Mark Upton by clicking on the listen bar below.
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