I have read most of the posts, and agree. I am planning to use D E, to be fed along with salt and mineral. I normally keep out salt and mineral. 50 pounds of granular salt and about 15 pounds of mineral. How much D E should I add to this mixture to accomplish control of flies and internal parasites?

I have a small herd, 24 head. 23 calves on 328 acres. That is about as heavy as I can stock the place.

Your help will be greatly appreciated.

What kind of salt?
What kind of mineral?
Trace mineral has a lot to do with health of cows and most salt and mineral is usless. Salt companies mine salt - in ground or ocean - and then remove minerals and sell them to others. They might put 5 or so minerals in salt and sell to the unsuspecting farmer as a first rate product when it isn't a good 2nd or 3rd rate product. Ocean salt has 92 trace minerals - which are essential? Since sea water is almost perfect to grow plants etc, maybe all 92 are essential.
The health of your cows - minerals and vitamins - deterimine their ability to resist parasites as well as flies.
I would put DE in about 20% in covered minieral feeder with quality salt and mineral.
Robert D Bard

Have you talked with anyone at the Richards Ranch in Jacksboro about how they manage their cattle? I realize they've turned into a tourist ranch, but they do some different things to manage their grass growth with animals. I don't know for sure but others managing the way they do don't have fly problems. I think they're worth looking into, especially since they're in your back yard.

Have you tried garlic spray on the animals it works great on our horses.
www.watsonranchorganic.com

Are you using something like a had sprayer with some ? concentration of garlic and then spraying on heads and bodies of horses. Do they smell like garlic? Have tried it on cattle?
Robert D Bard

The discussion last fall on the topic of sweet itch in horses made me wonder if a person could put the organic topical products of choice into a burlap bag arrangement to fashion a cattle rub. It didn't occur to me until now that the livestock might be enticed to eat the package, but aside from that, I still wonder if that could be made to work. Can anyone on the forum comment on their experience with such a test? I've considered doing a micro-scale test of sorts, but I haven't figured out yet how to get the dogs to rub the target rather than the couch and my leg.

I have used a spray bottle on the dogs and horses. Just leave the dogs outside to dry off all the way. The smell goes away after about an hour. Do not get it in the animals eyes or your eyes as it does burn like pepper spray. As for cattle a larger sprayer or a spray rig can be used try to start towards the tail end and they usually close thier eyes by the time you get to thier heads.

Joel Salatin noticed that some of his cattle did not seem to have fly problems. After he got his herd culled for fertility, ability to have unassisted live births, and warbles, he started culling for fly resistance. Now he has no flies. Of course he also has chickens running under the animals eating fly eggs from the manure, so every bit helps.