By Shelley Hatfield/Whippoorwill Pines Farm

Part #4 of this series is MUD, ugh!!! I’m thinking that most of us have dealt with mud at one point or another. Some of us deal with mud more than others. Right now we are dealing with a lot of mud around my place. You have to really watch foot rot and thrush when you are dealing with mud. Also you have to make sure they aren’t standing in mud because that makes it hard for them to stay warm. Even if it is only their legs that are caked in mud. If you don’t have much room for them to move around, you might want to add gravel and/or wood chips to help with the mud. Another way to help them stay off mud is to do rotational grazing in the winter. This lessens the chances that your pastures will turn to mud. The cows will be moving all the time and won’t be staying in one area. I hope these little articles are helping you all!! Happy Winter!!