What is the summer of 2021 going to bring us?
We are all hoping for moisture here in the eastern half of South Dakota. This is one of the driest early-summers that we have seen in a while. With the heat and below average moisture comes a few things that we need to watch for on pasture. Diseases on pasture  Although youd think that disease would be less common in a dry year than a wet year, sometimes the opposite is true. With the heat and the flies, cattle stand packed in the corners of pastures where their feet are always wet with excrements. This results in foot rot and poor hoof integrity. It also results in more transmission of internal and external parasites from one cow to another. Cattle that have access to stock dams that are low in water can result in overgrowths of bacteria such as salmonella, and toxic algae that can make cattle sick. Then there is everyones least favorite friend on pasture: pinkeye. With dry air and dust, eyes become easily irritated giving bacteria a chance to set up shop and multiply. Another thing to watch out for is lumpy jaw and woody tongue on dry pasture. These diseases occur when cattle are eating awns from grass, thistles, and woody plants. With less palatable forage in the pasture, cattle resort to eating these foodstuffs. Even worse than the above-mentioned plants would be toxic plants that cattle normally wouldnt ingest. If cattle are grazing grass stubble in sandy areas, they can ingest too much sand and predispose them to gastrointestinal impactions. Hungry cattle also get into anything and everything that is in their pasture such as batteries, oil, and fuel.