It’s said that “rain makes grain and gains on cattle” — but there can be too much of a good thing.

Phillip Lancaster, Kansas State beef cattle nutritionist, says cattle producers in eastern Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota have seen abundant rainfall — even flooding — in some areas in recent weeks. And while that may be a welcome sight after multiple years of drought, it can cause a new set of challenges for beef cattle production.

“We think rain is always good — and do not get me wrong, rain is good for grass and cattle — but ultimately, too much rain is bad,” he said in a K-State Research and Extension News Service release. “The Goldilocks effect applies to this situation, too; we need the right amount to thrive.”

As cattle producers head to the pasture to check their grass and their cattle, they should monitor these five signals of pasture and herd health: 

1. Maturity of forages. Excess rain, Lancaster says, can signal forage plants in the pasture to mature faster, putting up seed heads in a race to reproduce. The problem there, he says, is that forage becomes less digestible sooner than expected in the grazing season.

2. Supplemental feeding strategies. As forages mature and become less digestible, it takes more intake to keep a cow’s body condition at the optimal level. “Cattle may start getting thinner quicker than normal,” he says. “These thinner animals then wean off smaller calves and are less likely to breed back.” Consider supplemental feeding strategies, especially for those cows that are still nursing calves as they progress through lactation. Or, cattle producers may choose to wait and feed their cows more in the fall after cows wean calves at a lower body condition score, he adds.

3. Watch for foot rot. Brad White, K-State veterinarian, says foot-rot causing bacteria is always present in a pasture’s soil. But when stemmy, mature grasses get caught between the cow’s toes — which are just soft skin — they can cut that area open, allowing that bacteria to invade. “As cattle stand in stagnant water, or flooded areas, the potential risk of foot rot greatly increases when they have those wounds,” White says.

4. Future grass stand health. Soft ground combined with hoof traffic can cause grass stands to die, Lancaster says. When grasses die, more weeds tend to enter the area and push out any remaining grass from making a comeback. Lancaster recommends waiting until the water recedes before turning cattle out. Also, as you drive through the pasture, watch for a telltale yellow tinge to grasses and plants. This is a signal of waterlogged stress to plants, and cattle producers should let that grass rest and recover before turning cattle out on it again.

5. Don’t forget your water source. On a June K-State Beef Cattle Institute “Cattle Chat” podcast, Lancaster and others discussed pasture water resources. Summertime water consumption is about 2 gallons of water for every 100 pounds of body weight. Cattle eating dry hay will need to consume more water than if they were on fresh grass, and if the environment is hot, they’ll drink about twice as much as if they would in the winter, he says. Calves, even though still on a mostly milk diet, will need water to keep their rumen functioning at peak performance, too. To ensure top water quality for cow herd health, the K-State experts advise actually keeping cattle out of ponds, where their hoof action can disturb sediments and decrease water quality; rather, it’s ideal to fence off the ponds and pipe water to a tank for cattle to consume. If cattle must have pond access, limit it to a 20- to 40-foot-wide gravel path for entry to the pond, they say, to keep sediment from filling the pond. The full conversation is here: Cattle Chat.