The Casual Cattle Conversations Podcast: Losing a Dollar a Day? The True Cost of Horn Flies on Cattle Performance

Losing a Dollar a Day? The True Cost of Horn Flies on Cattle Performance

Little things have a big impact — and in the case of horn flies, it’s a big economic one.

“When you think about fly control and specifically the horn fly, it is by far the number one nuisance that beef cattle on pasture experience,” says Johnathan Wells, beef field representative for Cargill Animal Nutrition.

Horn flies transfer diseases such as anaplasmosis and mastitis, but treatment costs aren’t the only way they impact the bottom line. These tiny pests also chip away at average daily gain.

“You’re looking at average daily gain differences of about 15% — that’s roughly a third of a pound per day,” says Wells. “In this market, that’s over a dollar per day in lost performance.”

Cattle with heavy fly loads use more energy than those with minimal pressure.

“You have an animal that goes from about 76 beats per minute to over 100 beats per minute under a heavy fly load — that’s a 30% increase in heart rate,” Wells explains.

That increase in heart rate leads to higher water intake and greater urine output. As urine output rises, nitrogen retention decreases — and that’s where the loss in average daily gain shows up.... 



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