Hitting a Dip

This past week we hit a dip in our efforts to produce grass-fed beef.  We have experienced dips during the past two years but this one was a little more significant.  In a matter of a few days we had an outbreak of pinkeye among the cows.  As soon as we recognized the problem we acted quickly to manage the situation and it seems we have things turned around.

What caused the problem?  A number of factors most likely, but in the end it was a lack of management on our part.

1)      Non aggressive fly suppression

2)      Slower cattle moves

3)      Cattle grazing low vigor forages due to recent weather conditions and past land history

We could have managed each one of these factors differently and the results may have been the same.  Based on this experience, we will be more careful to avoid all three factors coming together at the same time in the future.   When it comes to disease, prevention is always cheaper (and less stressful) than treatment.