Net Wrap, the silent killer

It’s a cool spring morning and you’re putting out bales for your cattle. You notice the bale from yesterday was gone, net wrap and all. What you might think is a convenient way to get rid of the net wrap without having to pick it up can become more detrimental than you think. Net wrap is not digestible and, in fact, can often be eventually deadly in the cattle who consume it. There have been several reports and cases around the area of both calves and cows dying without apparent cause and were found to have large amounts of net wrap stuck within their intestines and likely caused a blockage. 

So this is your reminder to make sure you cut off and pick up net wrap or twine before feeding or processing bales. Even though a large amount of the net wrap gets removed while processing, some strings still remain and overtime can accumulate within the rumen and cause issues. It’s a cause of death that is nearly impossible to treat and easy to prevent.