Combatting Horn Flies with Manure
With your Southeast Regional Ag News, I’m Haylie Shipp.
A fly, by definition, is a pest. But it’s bugging more than just you. It’s also impacting your bottom line. Mark Upton is the Senior Director of Sales for Feed Additives with Central Life Sciences. I spoke with him this week about horn flies…
“As a cattleman myself, it’s very obvious the damage these flies can do. And so the first thing a cattleman has to do is acknowledge that these flies are a problem and get ready to do something about it.”
It’s estimated that they cost the cattle industry $1B per year.
“Horn flies actually cause more economic damage to cows…beef cows or pastured cows…in the U.S. than any other problem whatsoever.”
And, Mark says, that the goal is never going to be zero flies. We’re never get there. It’s to get to a manageable level.
“And that number is about 200 flies or less per cow. You’ve just got to get it down to that or they’re costing you money.”
They’ve got a strategy for prevention in Altosid® IGR, a feed additive.
“These horn flies only lay their eggs in really fresh manure and so we’re depositing the Altosid® into the manure. When these flies lay their eggs in the manure and they begin the maturation process to an adult, they’re going to be feeding off the nutrition in that manure pat. And they’ll ingest the Altosid® and when they do that, it’ll prevent them from becoming an adult.”
Again Mark Upton, Central Life Sciences.
