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Rain and mud taking a toll on cattle

Frequent rain and snowfall in the southern part of the Corn Belt is having negative effects on an Illinois farmer’s cattle herd.

“We’ve really not had winter, we’ve had one long spring. We have only had a handful of days where the ground has been good and froze. It has been quite a challenge as far as livestock goes.”

Kevin Babbs cares for 150 head of Hereford Cattle in south central Illinois and tells Brownfield wading through the mud not only slows him down, but also takes a toll on his cattle.

“Their protein levels jump when they have to fight the mud, just like we do. So, as far as the bedding resources and all of that, it all increases so it just takes a little extra time to do all of that stuff.”

Babbs says a constant temperature, even 20 or 30 degrees, would have put less stress on his herd than the temperature swings he has seen this winter. He says if rain and flooding progress into spring it will continue to cause problems during calving.

Illinois has averaged nearly 3.5 inches of precipitation for the month of February, more than 1-and-a-half inches above normal.