How Larson Acres Uses Laser Bird Deterrents to Protect Feed and Facilities

Running a dairy operation means managing a long list of variables that can affect herd health, feed quality, and productivity. Wild Goose Chase, Migratory Bird Management and The Midwest Farm Report recently met up with Mike Larson at Larson Acres in Evansville, Wisconsin to learn more about how Larson Acres has taken steps in recent years to eliminate bird pressure as a negative variable to their operations.

Birds around dairy facilities can create problems beyond the mess and disruption they cause. They can consume valuable feed, contaminate feeding areas, and potentially contribute to disease risks. Larson Acres has made laser bird deterrence an important part of their approach to reducing those risks.

In fact, the dairy has seen enough value from the technology that laser systems are now considered during the planning and budgeting process for new barns.

Protecting the Most Nutritious Parts of the Feed

When birds have access to cattle feed, they tend to target desirable, nutrient-rich components first. That creates a problem for dairy operators. The feed ration formulated for the cows may not be the same ration the cows ultimately consume after birds have picked through it. Over time, that loss can affect both feed costs and the nutritional consistency of the herd’s diet.

For Larson Acres, keeping birds away from feed is therefore about more than preventing feed loss. It helps protect the nutritional value of the ration intended for the cows.

This adds another dimension to the connection between bird management and herd health. Birds can represent a potential disease concern, but their impact on feed quality can also matter.

Eliminating One Variable When Cattle Get Sick

Controlling bird activity also helps Mike Larson and his team reduce uncertainty.

There are many possible reasons why a cow might become sick. For dairy operators, identifying the cause can mean considering numerous environmental, nutritional, and health-related variables.

Wild birds can potentially introduce pathogens into livestock environments, making their presence another risk factor operators may need to consider. By keeping bird pressure down, Larson Acres can better manage that potential exposure.

That doesn’t mean bird deterrence can prevent every illness or eliminate every disease risk. It means the team can take proactive steps to control a variable that would otherwise be more difficult to manage.

When an animal becomes sick, having fewer uncontrolled variables can help the team focus its attention elsewhere.

Making Bird Control Part of the Construction Budget

Perhaps one of the clearest indications of how Larson Acres views bird management is what happens before a new barn is even built.

When Larson Acres plans a new facility, the cost of laser bird deterrent systems is now incorporated into the capital expenditure and construction budget.

Compared with the overall cost of constructing and equipping a new dairy barn, laser deterrence can represent a relatively small portion of the budget. Yet that investment can have an ongoing effect on how the facility manages bird pressure, protects feed, and maintains cleaner operating areas.

It represents a shift from viewing bird control as a reaction to an existing problem to treating it as part of facility planning.

Going All In vs. Starting Small

Larson Acres chose to make a substantial commitment to laser deterrence from the beginning. Birds are extremely intelligent and mobile species. Mike and his team didn’t want to solve a bird problem in one part of the operation only to push the birds into another area.

However, that doesn’t mean every dairy needs to follow the same implementation path. At Wild Goose Chase and Migratory Bird Management, we’ve also worked with operations that have taken a more gradual approach. One such operation initially used a handheld laser to evaluate how birds responded to laser deterrence. After seeing the results, they installed several automated lasers in one portion of its facilities. Once the automated systems demonstrated their value, the dairy expanded laser coverage across its entire operations.

Some operations may benefit from broader deployment at the outset. Others may want to begin with a specific problem area, evaluate performance, and expand from there. There is no single approach to bird management, as long as expectations are aligned with actions taken. Our team of biologists and technicians can help dairy operators assess their facilities and determine an implementation strategy that makes sense for their operation.

Why Automated Lasers Aren’t the Entire Solution

Automated lasers can be an effective part of a bird management program, but they aren’t a complete solution for every bird problem.

Bird species, facility design, food and water availability, nesting locations, and the surrounding environment can all influence how birds behave. A strategy that works well in one area may need to be supplemented elsewhere.

For that reason, an integrated bird management program may combine automated laser deterrents with other techniques. Depending on the species, location, and applicable regulations, those methods can include handheld lasers, methyl anthranilate-based repellents, habitat modification, exclusion measures, and, where lawful and appropriate, lethal control of non-protected species.

Using multiple approaches gives dairy operators more ways to address persistent bird activity instead of relying on a single deterrent to solve every problem.

Turning Bird Control Into a Proactive Investment

Larson Acres demonstrates what bird management can look like when it becomes part of the larger operational strategy.

The goal isn’t simply to chase birds out of a barn. It’s to protect nutritious feed, reduce contamination and disease risks, remove a potential variable affecting herd health, and design facilities with mitigating bird pressure in mind from the start.

Different dairy operations will have different needs and may choose to implement laser deterrence at different speeds. What matters is developing a strategy that fits the facility and recognizing that effective bird management often requires more than one tool.

Whether a dairy is considering its first handheld laser, evaluating automated deterrence in a problem area, or planning bird control for a new facility, Wild Goose Chase can help identify an approach that fits the operation.

Dealing with bird pressure at your dairy? Contact Wild Goose Chase to discuss laser deterrence and an integrated bird management strategy for your facilities.