Most People would consider flies to be a pest, but to livestock producers they aren’t just a pest they are an economic down fall. It is estimated that some flies can cost feed yards up to 1 million dollars, with the cow calf operation not far behind. When flies are not controlled properly it can lead to health issues, loss in herd numbers as well as weight loss all these things added up end in economic loss in an industry that already doesn’t always have a very wide profit margin. One might wonder how something so small can cause such big losses, just like most insects’ flies aren’t a major deal until there is a lot of them in the wrong place together. When properly controlled flies can have minimal economic cost to producers, economic loss
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The three that are considered problematic and usually end in health issues as well as economic loss is the horn fly, face fly and stable fly. The face fly is a non-biting fly similar to the house fly, it is found on the cattle’s eyes and mouth causing much discomfort. The major problem with this fly is that it acts as a vector for bovine viruses and pinkeye. In turn causing producers to have to treat extra number of head resulting in lost time and money. Pinkeye can cause cattle to go blind, blind cattle aren’t good for anything and will have to be put down being as they can’t go to the packer blind. When the face fly is controlled there is minimal economic loss, just the cost of a control method which pales in comparison to loss in heard numbers. The stable fly is a biting fly that tends to feed on the cattle’s legs. The biggest problem with these flies is the discomfort that they cause to the heard which they have infested. When the cattle stop and twitch as crazy as it may seem they lose weight which ultimately causes a economic loss since there feed conversion will go down and when the flies are very thick it can cause consumption to go down as well. According to Nebraska state these flies will reduce daily gain by .44lbs, which may not seem like much but over time would add up. The cow calf producer will see a change in the grazing pattern usually causing the cows not to use the pasture very efficiently. This fly greatly depends on the number present for how much of an economic loss it will
The three that are considered problematic and usually end in health issues as well as economic loss is the horn fly, face fly and stable fly. The face fly is a non-biting fly similar to the house fly, it is found on the cattle’s eyes and mouth causing much discomfort. The major problem with this fly is that it acts as a vector for bovine viruses and pinkeye. In turn causing producers to have to treat extra number of head resulting in lost time and money. Pinkeye can cause cattle to go blind, blind cattle aren’t good for anything and will have to be put down being as they can’t go to the packer blind. When the face fly is controlled there is minimal economic loss, just the cost of a control method which pales in comparison to loss in heard numbers. The stable fly is a biting fly that tends to feed on the cattle’s legs. The biggest problem with these flies is the discomfort that they cause to the heard which they have infested. When the cattle stop and twitch as crazy as it may seem they lose weight which ultimately causes a economic loss since there feed conversion will go down and when the flies are very thick it can cause consumption to go down as well. According to Nebraska state these flies will reduce daily gain by .44lbs, which may not seem like much but over time would add up. The cow calf producer will see a change in the grazing pattern usually causing the cows not to use the pasture very efficiently. This fly greatly depends on the number present for how much of an economic loss it will