{"id":75,"date":"2026-06-17T16:09:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T16:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75"},"modified":"2026-06-17T16:09:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T16:09:29","slug":"farming-tool-winter-2024","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75","title":{"rendered":"Columns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Dennis Kenning
The War on Flies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love sending the cow and calf pairs to pasture. It\u2019s their natural habitat. After being on pasture for just one week, I see a difference in the cattle. After two weeks I see shiny hair coats on both the cow and the calf. I always tell the grandkids that these are truly happy critters with room to roam, grass up to their belly, and those tails swishing and flicking. Those tails are swishing not because of contentment, but because of those nasty flies. So the battle begins: the war on flies.
Some producers seem unconcerned about fighting this war on flies. But here\u2019s the deal, cattle are worth some money so why not get ever pound you can? I can\u2019t stand, pulling into a pasture and finding flies covered all over animals. We know that flies can lead to weight loss, poor growth, hide damage, and unneeded stress. Flies can transmit several diseases and especially pinkeye. If left untreated pinkeye can cause complete blindness. During the summer you\u2019re busy with farming and now you need to catch a cow for treatment. That\u2019s not very handy. Over the years I\u2019ve tried a number of treatments including pinkeye vaccinations, back rubs, fly baits, pour-on, and insecticide sprays. This year I went back to using fly tags and trying mineral with Altosid. I don\u2019t think you can totally stop flies in cattle, but you can at least reduce those big numbers. I feel like some fly control is better than no treatment. The fly tags may run out of their chemical residue before the end of the season, but at least I\u2019ve slowed them down for a while.
As we look into the future the War on Flies will be even more important with the additional of the New World Screwworm (NWS). New World Screwworm is a parasitic fly that lays its eggs in any fresh wound or body opening. These opening can be mouth, nose, rectum, and navels. The larvae hatch and burrow into living tissue. This causes un-healing wounds, illness, and if untreated the result is death in just one to two weeks. Flies are drawn to wounds from tick bites, minor wire cuts, injection sites, and navels of new born calves. Wounds will increase in size, generally bloody and produce a foul smell because the screwworms are feeding on the flesh.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think that New World Screwworm is just a cattle problem, then guess again. According to the US Commission for the Eradication and Prevention, of the those cases showed: 85% were bovine, 6% canine, 3% swine, 3 % equine, and one case in a human. Keep in mind it can infect any warm blooded animal. The USDA is well aware of the problem. According to the Drovers.com, the screwworm infestation has moved through Central American into Mexico. Now several new cases have popped up in the United States. Most of the cases have occurred in Texas, but now a dog has NWS 400 miles away in New Mexico.
I appreciate the USDA trying to place certain restrictions to stop the spread of New World Screwworms. These restrictions have included the closing of the Mexico and US Border. They have also launched a Sterile Insect Program, Border Surveillance, and Rapid Containment Protocols. This is going to be a very difficult to stop the movement of flies. Think about it, flies don\u2019t just travel on livestock. Flies can travel on other animals, in trailers, vehicles, and animal to animal. New World Screwworms can spread so easily with many rodeos, livestock, and horse shows. Competitors travel from hundreds of miles away, leading to the spread of NWS across the country. Also think about how fast flies multiple, usually in 7 to 10 days.
The New World Screwworm is not a topic for most Americans, but it should be. This topic affects a lot of people, not just farmers and ranchers. We already have short supply of beef, this could add to the problem. Many people have pets such as dogs and cats, which are subject to infestations. If you enjoy hunting wildlife keep in mind that they are warm-blooded animals. Let\u2019s not forget the other animals such as sheep, goats, equine, swine and remember New World Screwworm can be found in humans. I\u2019m not writing this article to portray doom and gloom, but hopefully make people more aware of the problem and what the USDA is doing to tackle the situation. There is some early research showing that Ivermectin will play a part in this problem. Fly control will always be a problem if you have livestock. New World Screwworm is another reason to wage the war on flies. That\u2019s just how I see it \u201cFrom My Side of The Fence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around the Farm
Like all springs we have been super busy with planting, field work, custom farming, working cattle, hauling cattle to grass, and repairing fence. All this moisture has been a blessing from above. We had some hail and wind damage to roofs and some the rain came hard and heavy. The run-off was great for filling ponds and one dam is really eroded away due to all that water. I\u2019m not complaining the moisture is great and hopefully it continues throughout the growing season. Crops really look good but don\u2019t count your bushels until there in the bin.
I had a bull run over me, which lead to a trip to our local ER. I was very fortunate, it could have been much worse.
We are planning to dig a new well because our water table has dropped. In 1980, we dug a new well which produced over 10 gallons a minute and now we have less than 3 gallons per minute.
It makes it tuff for a household while needing water for livestock and the sprayer. Traveling across the country, I\u2019m concerned about the number grain bunkers that are still filled with corn. Hopefully grain moves and there is no problem going into harvest. I hope everyone has a good safe summer and stay away from those bulls.
Until next time, may the good Lord bless you and keep you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dennis KenningThe War on Flies I love sending the cow and calf pairs to pasture. It\u2019s their natural habitat. After being on pasture for just one week, I see a difference in the cattle. After two weeks I see shiny hair coats on both the cow and the calf. I always tell the grandkids<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-75","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nColumns -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Farming Tool Magazine is an ag related informational tool.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Columns -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Farming Tool Magazine is an ag related informational tool.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Dennis-Kenning.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"194\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"261\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75\",\"name\":\"Columns -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Dennis-Kenning.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T16:09:29+00:00\",\"description\":\"Farming Tool Magazine is an ag related informational tool.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Dennis-Kenning.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Dennis-Kenning.jpg\",\"width\":194,\"height\":261},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Columns\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/\",\"name\":\"Farming Tool Magazine\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Farming Tool Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-siteicon.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-siteicon.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":99,\"caption\":\"Farming Tool Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Columns -","description":"Farming Tool Magazine is an ag related informational tool.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Columns -","og_description":"Farming Tool Magazine is an ag related informational tool.","og_url":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75","og_image":[{"width":194,"height":261,"url":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Dennis-Kenning.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75","url":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75","name":"Columns -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Dennis-Kenning.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-17T16:09:29+00:00","description":"Farming Tool Magazine is an ag related informational tool.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Dennis-Kenning.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Dennis-Kenning.jpg","width":194,"height":261},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=75#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Columns"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/","name":"Farming Tool Magazine","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#organization","name":"Farming Tool Magazine","url":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-siteicon.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-siteicon.jpg","width":500,"height":99,"caption":"Farming Tool Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/75","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=75"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/75\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255,"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/75\/revisions\/255"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=75"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}