Herd Management: Watch out for respiratory issues in wintery weather

Changeable weather is proving a challenge for managing cattle this winter, writes independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy.

Belted Galloway portrait of cow with steam breath on cold winter day.

The last few weeks have been extremely mild for November and December. However, as I write, we are experiencing a dramatic drop in temperature.

We have recently seen some very warm days with colder nights and the variation in temperatures has proved challenging with many reports of respiratory issues in all ages of cattle on beef and dairy herds.