BEEF
NEWSLETTER
Summer 2013
Cooperative Extension Service
Jackson County
1408 Main Street South
P.O. Box 188
McKee, KY 40447
PHO: (606) 287-7693
FAX: (606) 287-7694
Email: http://ces.ca.uky.edu/jackson/
Jackson County Cattlemen’s Association
Forage Field Day!
The Jackson County Cattlemen Association has scheduled a Forage Field Day on Friday, August 2 at
6:00 p.m. at the Larry and Mike Estridge Farm on Pigeon Roost Road off of old KY 30 between Annville and
Peoples. Every beef producer is encouraged to attend.
Tom Keene, UK Hay Specialist and Kimberly Field from the Kentucky Department of AG Forage Testing
Program will be presenting a program on hay testing and utilization in the beef herd feeding program. A
beef supper sponsored by Farm Credit will be served.
This promises to be a very informative meeting and every beef cattle producer is encouraged to
attend. Please register for this meeting by calling the Jackson County Extension Service at
287-7693 by August 1 so that meal plans can be made. Watch for signs.
Free Hay Testing at Field Day!
Kimberly Field from the Kentucky Department of AG Forage Testing Program will be pulling and testing
hay samples for producers at the field day. If you want your hay sampled that day, the bales must be at
the Estridge Farm before 4:30 p.m. on August 2. You can bring a round bale or two to three square bales
for sampling. Your hay will be sampled and you will get the results on the nutrition value of your hay during
the field day. Once your hay is sampled you can take it home.
This is a great opportunity to get your hay sampled and to see how the Kentucky Forage Testing Program
works. If you plan on submitting hay for sampling please call the Jackson County Extension Service at
287-7693 so that we can coordinate this activity.
Jeff Henderson
County Extension Agent
for Agriculture and Natural Resources
JCCA Fundraiser at the Jackson County
Fair and Homecoming!
The Jackson County Cattlemen’s Association will have a booth on the courthouse square in McKee on
Saturday, August 31. They will be cooking and selling ribeye sandwiches from 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.
and need your help on that day. The JCCA is looking for volunteers from the membership to help in the
booth between the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.; and 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.
If you can help during one of these times please call the Jackson County Extension Service at 287-7693 and
let us know. The JCCA needs eight to ten volunteers for each time slot.
The Face Fly
by Dr. Lee Townsend, Extension Entomologist
Horn flies and face flies are the key pasture flies that Kentucky cattle producers
face each year. Both provide unique control challenges but the face fly is the more
difficult one to manage. There are two main reasons: the small amount of time
spent on animals and hard-to-treat feeding sites.
Most of the time, face flies are resting on vegetation, fence rails, or other surfaces.
They spend only about 10% of their time on animals; just long enough to feed.
Research estimates indicate that less than 5% of the face flies near a herd of cattle
are on the animals at any one time. Visits are limited to around the eyes and muzzle
where they can quickly blot up protein-rich secretions. The face flies’ sponging
mouthpart has small, rough spines that scratch tender eye tissue, causing tears to
flow. These flies also will feed at wounds or on milk on calves’ faces.
Several insecticides can “suppress” face fly numbers but no treatment will keep cattle free from this pest. Delivery
is the key to best results. Forced-use dust bags, fly flyps, and applicator kits for mineral feeders are among the best
ways to put the insecticide where it needs to be, on the face and muzzle. Insecticide ear tags containing the active
ingredients coumaphos+diazinnon, cyfluthrin, or cyhalothrin also have provided good protection against face flies
in field trials.
While one tag can be enough for horn fly control, two tags per head have been best against face flies. It is important
to treat calves and check product labels for age restrictions, as they vary with product. Regardless of the treatment
approach, face flies may not pick up a lethal dose of insecticide. However, if the product is on target, they are likely
to be repelled by the insecticide. That will reduce irritation and eye injury.
Face flies are annoying and can interrupt grazing during the day. However, cattle will compensate by grazing at
night when the flies are not feeding so no real effect on gains has been demonstrated from nuisance value. These
are important flies though because they can play a role in in the spread of pinkeye. Their importance varies with the
situation and year. The flies not only carry the bacteria on their bodies for 3 or 4 days but also scrape the cornea as
they feed. They provide an entry site and can contaminate it with the pinkeye organism. Other eye irritants, such as
tall grass, pollen, and sunlight play important roles in the incidence of this disease.
Face flies have been in the US only since 1951 but they have become one of the toughest pasture flies to manage.
Female face flies lay their eggs in fresh cattle droppings. The life cycle takes about 2 weeks during the summer and
adult flies live 2 to 4 weeks. Flight range of this insect is about 4 miles so they can move from herd to herd,
keeping fly pressure high, even if your control program is good.