Muddy feedlots a negative for cattle

COLUMBUS - The recent snow and rainfall isn't helping groundwater levels much but is having a negative effect on livestock.

Allan Vyhnalek, agricultural extension educator for the Platte County Extension Office, said the recent moisture will not contribute much to the coming growing season, but is causing great difficulty for livestock producers.

“The weekend precipitation is not going to help the crops a whole lot (because) it will have little effect on ground moisture because the ground is frozen,” Vyhnalek said, but the “cattle and feedlots are thawing. (The animals) are pushing that water in,” creating mud.

Because of the cold, wet and muddy conditions, he said, the local cattle industry is negatively affected from a loss of net profit.

“Guys are feeding very expensive corn to cattle. When an animal has to pull its way through mud, the energy typically used for muscle is now being used to survive,” Vyhnalek said. Also, “it is prime calving season. One guy I talked to (Sunday) had a calf born into a mud hole. If the farmer hadn't been there right away he would have lost the calf. It is too cold, too wet” so there is potential for increased calving losses.

One positive from the latest precipitation is the water runoff is increasing water levels in the rivers, streams, ponds and lakes, he said, and groundwater levels were moderately replenished during the December snow storms.

“During the two weekend storms in late December the ground was not frozen. Those storms had a very good effect on the ground water situation,” Vyhnalek said. “We should come into spring with a decent water profile. During the later part of March, when the ground is thawing, (the area) should get some more (ground water), but we are not going to capture any of it right now.”