On RFD-TV: Dave Boxler

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04/24/2025 Added

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Today we’re joined by Dave Boxler, an Extension Educator in Entomology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s West Central Research, Extension and Education Center in North Platte. Dave is a longtime expert in insect control, with more than four decades of experience researching how insects affect livestock—and what producers can do about it.

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[00:00:00.260]Insect control is a big focus for livestock producers.
[00:00:03.840]Flies have the potential to increase stress levels, reduce performance,
[00:00:07.760]and cost the beef industry millions of dollars annually.
[00:00:11.520]UNL Extension Educator Dave Voxler joins us now for an update on their efforts to assist the industry.
[00:00:17.860]We appreciate you joining us, Dave.
[00:00:19.420]Let's get started with your current research.
[00:00:22.320]What are you focused on right now, and what benefit does it hold for livestock?
[00:00:25.600]Well, our big focus has been on biopesticides, especially plant-based biopesticide options,
[00:00:35.560]which are safer for livestock and the environment.
[00:00:39.420]We have been working over the last four years with fatty acids that are derived from palm oil,
[00:00:49.180]specifically a C8 and C10, and also a C12 fatty acid,
[00:00:55.580]derived from coconuts.
[00:00:57.260]And these are acting as repellents,
[00:01:01.840]and we like to see more use of these particular products because of the safety issues.
[00:01:12.380]We have been working with our partners in California
[00:01:17.560]and with the USDA Agricultural Research Service in exploring new formulations,
[00:01:25.120]that could work and help organic producers as well.
[00:01:29.820]Now these products are naturally repellent,
[00:01:33.940]and in some cases if a fly were to enact or encounter a spray spray,
[00:01:39.880]drop it you could see lethality within 30 seconds. Wow. So for producers who are
[00:01:46.830]watching this morning let's talk about the problem. What types of flies are
[00:01:50.310]affecting livestock the most and what's the impact of that?
[00:01:54.510]Well we have three major fly species that impact grazing livestock in the
[00:02:01.590]United States. They are the face fly, horn fly, and stable fly. Horn flies for
[00:02:07.590]example are blood feeders and they can impact or reduce weight gains by 20
[00:02:14.070]pounds per calf. Stable flies are also blood feeders and they feed on the legs
[00:02:20.550]of animals and they reduce weight gains by 0.44 pounds per day.
[00:02:27.830]Face flies are more of an irritant and they also can vector the bacteria that
[00:02:37.110]causes pinkeye. So these are certainly issues and also the flies can become
[00:02:45.830]annoying and their annoyance also leads to an increase in stress hormone levels
[00:02:56.550]and also reduces performance and reduces or makes the cost to the
[00:03:05.130]producer significant.
[00:03:06.630]As much as millions of dollars or close to billions of dollars annually.
[00:03:11.390]Wow, a bigger impact than I think a lot of people realize. Dave Voxler with the
[00:03:15.890]University of Nebraska-Lincoln, thank you so much for joining us, we appreciate you.

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On RFD-TV: Dave Boxler

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