Milk and milk products are important constituents of the human diet.

High standards of dairy sanitation are required; milking parlors and manure handling procedures are subject to inspection by health officials.

Inspectors equate the presence of flies with unsanitary operations so the need for a high degree of fly control in dairy operations is obvious.

 

 

Production

Dairy cattle are grouped in larger and larger operations to provide more efficient and economical milk production.

It is a highly organized operation with careful record-keeping, and herd improvement through selective breeding and artificial insemination.

Although dry cows (those not producing milk) are kept in pastures most of the time, the majority of a herd will be housed in a free stall or stanchion system with limited or no access to pasture.

A shed or barn is provided for maternity stalls and calf pens. The urine-and-manure-soaked bedding in these stalls and pens provides an excellent medium for fly breeding.

Calf pen with manure under feed bunker where flies may breed.	Calf stalls with wet bedding which may support fly breeding.	Calf hutch with wet bedding which may support fly breeding.

There is increased use of calf hutches which are small shelters for each calf placed outdoors. Bedding, manure, and urine in and around these hutches provide ample habitat for fly breeding.

In addition to the calf and maternity barns and the calf hutches, other areas in a free stall dairy housing system are:

1. Loafing area
2. Feed area (with bunkers for hay, silage, and nearby waterers)
3. Milking area
4. Paved or dirt lot

Some provision for a manure storage area is also necessary.

In the stanchion system, cows spend most of their time confined in individual metal neck stanchions in a barn rather than being free to move about.

In a stanchion barn, feed and water are provided in front of each stanchion. A gutter and frequent scraping and/or flushing are used to remove the manure.

 

 

Silage & Hay

Dairy cattle, like beef cattle, are provided with silage, and the same types of silage storage systems are used.

The silage spillage and margins of horizontal silos or piled silage provide fly breeding habitats.

Large quantities of stored bales of hay and silage provide opportunities for fly breeding.

Feed bunker under which wet manure & spilled feed may support fly breeding.	Old feed in corner of feed bunker where fly breeding may occur.	Spilled feed and manure at base of silo where fly breeding may occur.

Moist hay around hay rack feeder.	Piled silage and water tank adjacent to dairy lot.	Hay left on ground for feeding.

 

 

 

Manure

In free stall housing, there are ample opportunities for fly breeding habitats to develop in accumulated manure and spilled feed and water in the feeding areas.

Manure accumulation around watererer in dairy lot.	Accumulated manure in corner of dairy lot.

Tractor-mounted scrapers are usually used to clean paved areas, but accumulations of manure in corners and under fences, bunkers and partitions provide many opportunities for fly breeding.

Edge of concrete apron with wet manure and runoff where flies may breed.	Accumulated manure along fence line.

Curbs should be provided under fences and railings to prevent accumulation of manure.

In stall areas, automatic chain-pulled scrapers and gutters may be installed, but these systems often leave some manure residues to support fly breeding.

Stanchion housing is difficult to clean completely, and some fly breeding medium is often left around the stanchion supports and under the feed bunkers and waterers.

Whatever the manure-removal system in dairy operations, there is a problem of manure disposal.

Ultimately it is spread on cropland and pastures, but intermediate storage is often necessary.

Piling of the manure will produce more flies unless the manure is carefully compacted and covered with plastic sheeting to render conditions unfavorable for fly development.

Equipment is available for extracting most of the water from manure and this is sometimes used in conjunction with automatic scraper systems.

After water removal, the manure residue is easily stored or spread without significant fly breeding problems.

Another method of manure handling is to flush the manure into a deep anaerobic lagoon. If properly designed and maintained, lagoons are effective in preventing fly breeding.

However, if the lagoon is overloaded with manure and mats of solid materials float on the surface, these may support fly breeding.

Manure mixed with bedding from maternity stalls and calf pens cannot be placed in a lagoon and disposal has to be by piling and spreading.