June 1, 2005 — Fall and spring rains can create economic losses for beef cattle producers, but steps can be taken to minimize the problem, a Kansas State University (K-State) researcher said.
Excess rain combined with a mild winter caused mud to build up in some feedlots without freezing before more rain fell, said Joe Harner, Extension engineer for grain and livestock systems with K-State Research and Extension.
“Four inches of mud in an animal feeding or confinement pen results in a 10% decrease in feed efficiency for beef cattle,” he said. “Personal observations indicate that many cattle were in 4 or more inches of mud for most of the past winter.”
Indentations in the dirt, which are formed from cattle hooves, hold water and snow, creating small puddles that worsen when followed by a warm day or even more rain or snow. The weather is uncontrollable, but by building mounds in confinement pens, livestock producers can give cattle a dry place to rest and decrease their losses. Harner said the labor and equipment to build the mounds may cost an extra $10-$15 per head, but if the mounds had been used this past winter, they would have resulted in economic returns that “even the stock market has never seen.”
A mound should be 4 to 5 feet (ft.) high and have 4:1 or 5:1 side slopes with a length that is based on 18 inches (in.) per head. The top of the mound should be 2 to 4 ft. wide to decrease traffic and keep cattle from resting there. Both of these activities can result in a depression on the top of the mound, which will hold rain and snow and eventually will cause the mound to fail.
“The purpose of the mound is to provide a well-drained site for cattle to rest, not a place to stack manure,” Harner said. “Livestock producers should evaluate their lots and determine if mounds should be constructed before next year.”
For more information about planning cattle feedlots, interested persons can check with county or district Extension offices for the K-State publication “Planning Cattle Feedlots.” The publication is also available online at www.oznet.ksu.edu by clicking on Publications and typing in MF2316.
— by Leah Bond, K-State Research and Extension News
