Feed Lot Magazine Online, Research Focuses on Cattle Bruised by Hail

Cattle bruised by large hail stones experience significant trim loss-as much as 100 pounds immediately after the hailstorm, according to a group of researchers at West Texas A&M University.

Dr. Louis Perino, professor of animal science, and Dr. Ted Montgomery, professor of animal science and director of WTAMU's Beef Carcass Research Center, were joined by two University students on a study to assemble data. They hope it will help producers cut losses by helping them understand the relationship between hail and carcass bruises, as well as the time necessary for cattle to heal after a hail event.

As the research team found, bruised cattle will heal over time, but factors producers must weigh include the severity of the hailstorm, hailstone size, and carcass value compared to daily feedlot costs. At present, no data exists to direct producers toward the most economically sound decisions, Perino said.

"Nobody really knows what strategy is optimal after a hail storm hits cattle because nobody, as far as we know, has looked into this before," Perino said. "We're attempting to come up with the information producers and their consultants need in order to make informed marketing decisions."

The WTAMU foursome first broached the subject in their article, "Hail Bruising of Fed Cattle," which was published in the January issue of Bovine Practitioner. The article is the result of a study the researchers undertook in May 1999, when hail approximately 1 3/4- 3 3/4 inches in diameter passed over a Panhandle feed yard.

Through the cooperation of the feed yard and two Panhandle packing plants, the researchers were able to track different groups of cattle that were exposed to the same hail storm but went to the packing plants on different days, including the day after the storm.

"The first group of cattle just looked destroyed, like they had been pounded on the back with a ball-peen hammer," according to Montgomery.

Estimated trim loss ranged from 25 to 100 pounds, with the average at about 50 pounds per head the day after the storm. "We would certainly like more opportunities to study this phenomenon," Montgomery said.

In all, 409 carcasses from six pens were observed at packing plants following the storm-29 one day after the storm; 117 on the 10th day; 173 on the 15th day; and 90 on the 49th day. Ty Schmidt, a graduate student in agriculture from Dumas, and Luke Unruh, a junior animal science major from Dalhart joined Montgomery and Perino in the observational study.

"We saw massive hemorrhages; you couldn't tell where one bruise stopped and another one started," Schmidt said of the first group of carcasses observed. "They had been beaten to a pulp."

Ten days later, when the second group of cattle that had been exposed to the hailstorm passed through the packing plant, the trim loss per head was estimated at only 25 pounds. Trim loss dipped to about 10 pounds per head on a group of carcasses examined 15 days after the storm, while the estimated loss was only about two pounds per head on the 49th day following the storm.

Because a subsequent hail storm producing stones approximately 1 3/4 inches in diameter passed over the same feed yard 16 days after the initial storm, results from the 49th day were somewhat confounded because all carcasses observed on day 49 had been at the feed yard during both storms.

"When there is a lot of bruising from hail, or any other cause, the resultant carcass trim can be financially costly," Perino said. "We observed carcasses from cattle that experienced a pretty extreme hailstorm. While we think this is a relevant starting point, we are left wondering about the effects of storms with smaller hail or different duration.

"We would welcome the opportunity to follow additional groups of cattle that have been exposed to hail to help generate the information producers need to optimally manage these cattle," he said.