SPRINGDALE - Heavy storms and localized flooding this spring have left Arkansas ranchers dealing with so-called hardware disease and other livestock challenges.
Hardware disease is the name given to the swallowing of small pieces of metal by grazing animals after the debris has been scattered across grazing land by storms and flooding. That debris can puncture the walls of the animals’ digestive tracts.
“It’s certainly something that producers should be aware of,” said Tom Troxel, associate head of animal science for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “Even if an area was not hit by tornadic winds, small pieces of wire and other bits of metal can be blown a long ways.”
He advises livestock producers to watch for symptoms such as cattle not walking well, humped backs and signs of pain as the animals get up or down. “Just be alert for any abnormal behavior in the cattle,” he said.
Robert Seay, extension service agriculture agent in Benton County, said cattle getting into material that poses a danger is “always a risk in areas that are subject to high water.” The water brings in foreign objects, he said, which quickly get camouflaged. That debris can damage mowers and end up as part of hay bales fed to livestock, he said.
Another hazard, he said, is cattle standing in wet soil conditions, resulting in fescue foot disease. Another challenge is blackleg - a soil-borne bacterial infection that is usually ingested by cattle that graze on forage.
“The problems vary based on the part of the state you’re located,” he said.
Seay said hardware disease is generally not detected until a cow “really goes downhill.”
“You’re looking at the loss of a productive animal. It’s not something you can vaccinate for,” he said.
Among the symptoms producers should watch for, according to the Cooperative Extension Service, are a decrease in fecal output, a mild rise in rectal temperature, a heart rate that may be normal or slightly elevated, and respiration that is shallow and rapid.
An arched back is also common.
Johnny Gunsaulis, extension agriculture agent for Washington County, said hay and forage production “has been tremendous so far in our area.” Debris from the storms and flooding, he said, is “pretty well taken care of” and was not widespread.
“Where it’s hit, it’s a bad deal, but not everybody is affected by it,” he said. And the instances of hardware disease, he said, have been “pretty isolated.”
Carson Horn, communications director for the Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association, said this year’s rainfall has been more plentiful across the state, diminishing the need to bring in hay supplies from elsewhere.
“Our members have been in very good spirits, so we’re happy about that,” he said.
According to a report by the Cooperative Extension Service, drought in Arkansas last year cost the state’s beef cattle industry about $128 million, or $141 per head. Associated industries saw a $4.4 million reduction in labor and income, according to the report, and 3 percent of ranchers said they planned to sell all their livestock.
Business, Pages 25 on 06/13/2013