Article summary: A December Agriculture Victoria update warned that wet, humid conditions can lift disease risk, slow youngstock growth, and reduce productivity. This busy-operator checklist turns that warning into “7 checks in 30 minutes”, covering laneways and yard hygiene, calf housing ventilation, mastitis pressure, lameness triggers, and how to keep pasture allocation consistent when cows are spending more time standing in mud.
Wet ground and sticky humidity can sneak up on you. One week you’re enjoying strong growth, the next you’re dealing with muddy gateways, dirtier udders, lame cows, and calves that just do not thrive.
Agriculture Victoria’s December update put it plainly: humid, wet conditions can increase disease pressure, affect young cattle growth rates, and decrease productivity.
This is not just a Victorian story. Similar risk patterns show up in:
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New Zealand summers when warm rain events turn tracks and gateways to soup.
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Ireland where mild, wet winters and shoulder seasons extend “mud time”.
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Subtropical LATAM where storm bursts can create short, intense periods of standing water and high parasite challenge.
What to monitor daily
If you only track four things when it is wet and humid, track these:
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Milk drop (whole herd or specific mob)
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SCC spikes (bulk tank trend, and sudden jumps)
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Scours (especially calves and weaners)
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Lame cows (new cases, and cows that worsen fast)
When any of these move, assume it is a systems issue first: standing time, hygiene, water quality, ventilation, or pasture allocation.
7 checks in 30 minutes
Do these in order, paddock to parlour. You are looking for small issues before they turn into a week-long mess.
1) Paddock allocation on mud days
Look for
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Cows standing longer and grazing less (loafing at the gate, around troughs, or near the laneway exit)
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Allocation that forces cows to walk back and forth for the last bite
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Residuals slipping because cows are not lying down and eating properly
Do
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Use on-off grazing when needed: short grazing bout, then off onto a drier stand-off option
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Keep allocation simple and consistent: enough area to hit intake early, not a long “slow pick” in mud
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Identify a sacrifice paddock or loafing area you are willing to damage to protect the rest of the platform
Why
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Standing time rises in wet conditions, which can lift mastitis and lameness risk and make pasture intake harder to manage.
2) Gateways and high-traffic patches
Look for
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Deep pugging at gateways and trough approaches
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Cows bunching and turning sharply (lots of slips, lots of shoving)
Do
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Put temporary stone/woodchip where the damage repeats
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Move the “pinch point” with a temporary fence shift
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If you can, change the entry angle so cows are not cutting it up the same way every day
Why
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Softened feet plus sharp turns and rough surfaces is a classic recipe for bruising and white-line issues in wet spells.
3) Laneways and tracks
Look for
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Sharp gravel, potholes, slurry build-up, and slow-draining sections
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Cows bunched up or hurried, rather than flowing
Do
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Quick scrape and fill the worst sections first (the 20% causing 80% of trouble)
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Reduce walking pressure: shorter walks for fresh cows and lame cows, and avoid unnecessary trips
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If you use a footbath, keep it effective (clean, correct concentration, correct length) and place it where feet are not immediately re-contaminated
Why
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Prolonged moisture softens hooves and increases risk of bruising, penetration injuries, white-line disease and foot infections like footrot.
4) Dairy yard and collecting area hygiene
Look for
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Mud and manure build-up where cows stand the longest
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Any practice changes increasing holding time
Do
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Keep the yard cleaner, more often, rather than one big clean
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Minimise time standing on concrete. If cows must stand off for long periods, build in a break or movement plan to reduce lameness risk
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Fix pooling and drainage issues that keep the yard wet
Why
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Wet, dirty environments increase bacterial load and push up mastitis and lameness pressure.
5) Mastitis pressure in the parlour
Look for
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Teats that are visibly dirtier coming in
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More cows with swollen quarters, clots, or sudden drops in production
Do
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Tighten the basics: clean teats, consistent pre-dip and contact time, dry properly, post-dip every cow
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Review liner condition, vacuum stability, and any slips that increase teat-end damage
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If cows are lying in mud, assume the environmental challenge is higher and act earlier
Why
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Agriculture Victoria notes mastitis risk rises when cows lie in muddy environments, letting bacteria enter the udder.
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Muddy paddocks and damaged laneways are also flagged as mastitis risk factors in wet weather.
6) Calf and youngstock shed ventilation
Look for
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Any ammonia smell at calf level
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Condensation, damp bedding, stale air, coughing, or calves with dirty coats
Do
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Do the “calf-height test”: crouch down where calves lie. If you can smell ammonia, ventilation is not good enough
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Keep bedding dry and deep. If it clumps or feels cold and wet, change it sooner
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Reduce crowding and keep age groups tight to slow disease spread
Why
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Wet, humid conditions can hit youngstock growth and raise scours and parasite pressure.
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Calves are particularly vulnerable to scours-causing parasites like coccidia and cryptosporidium in humid conditions.
7) Parasites, flies, and eye issues
Look for
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Rising scours, rough coats, weight gain slowing
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More flies, more watery eyes, squinting, cloudy corneas
Do
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Run faecal egg counts and drench strategically rather than guessing
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Lift fly control and reduce irritants (seed heads, dust where possible)
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Isolate obvious pinkeye cases early and involve your vet if it escalates
Why
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Humid conditions help worm larvae survive longer on pasture and lift parasite burdens, particularly in calves.
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Pinkeye is a common warm-season issue and can reduce weight gain and milk production.
One more check that pays off fast: water quality
Wet weather can contaminate water sources and increase health risk. In a quick walk past troughs, check:
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slime, algae, muddy inflows, or blocked floats
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trough placement creating a permanent bog
Agriculture Victoria also flags leptospirosis risk via contaminated water, which matters for people as well as cattle.
How Pasture.io helps you stay consistent when conditions are not
Wet and humid spells often break routines. The goal is to keep decision-making consistent even when the paddock conditions are not.
A simple approach:
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Log problem areas (gateways, laneway sections, paddocks that fall apart first)
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Record when you shift to on-off grazing or stand-off strategies so you can see what worked
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Track daily signals next to paddock decisions (milk, SCC, scours, lameness) so you can spot patterns early
- The Dedicated Team of Pasture.io, 2025-12-09