100s Of Dead Cattle Hit By Kansas Heatwave

[dmlfarmer]

Strange how not one mention of the record cold the past two months in the Pacific NW of the U.S.

Maybe it has happened in the past too therefore it isn’t news just as you downplay this heat event. So if extreme weather is not news and should not be talked about if happened in the past I expect you will no longer bring up spring frosts in nw sask, or drought on your farm as both have happened many times in the past

[Guest]

the difference is that spring frosts don't make every news channel

[furrowtickler]

Maybe it has happened in the past too therefore it isn’t news just as you downplay this heat event. So if extreme weather is not news and should not be talked about if happened in the past I expect you will no longer bring up spring frosts in nw sask, or drought on your farm as both have happened many times in the past

Where did I down play the current situation?
Simply asking about cattle deaths in recent heat waves .
And I will bring up spring frosts , drought , rains , snow and everything else that effects all of us on a daily basis as farmers .
Not extreme events , never ever once mentioned extreme events, but they do definitely effect our growing season and general plant growth and crop quality .
But they do contrast with the b/s narrative being pushed , if you don’t like reality for most of us ignore the posts .

[Blaithin]

Cattle, especially Bos Taurus breeds, handle cold better than heat. Bos Indicus can’t handle as cold and are capable of handling higher heat.

Heat causes many different issues. Going off feed, loss of gain, abortion, heat stress, and even death.

The rumen ferments their feed which causes a lot of body heat to be produced. They are not effective at sweating and rely on respiration. Since they are not effective at reducing their own heat, they will actually accumulate body heat and their temperature will continue to increase until a time it’s cool enough to help them cool down. Usually this will happen at night. If night time temperatures are staying high as well then you will see more cattle effected than if temperatures are extremely high during the day but still cool off sufficiently at night.

Considering this, the environment the cattle are in will also play a factor. A green pasture with space and the chance of shade and a breeze will cool off more at night. A feedlot with bare ground and a large collection of animals in close proximity will not cool down at night as easily.

A temperature-humidity index over 80 will cause animals to be heat stressed. Overnight temperatures above 70 will increase this.

So yes, 113 can definitely kill. Especially fat, black cattle. Those are like the canary in the coal mine when it comes to heat. Why do you think you never see fields of black cattle in tropical areas? The Black Angus marketing coup would have never worked closer to the equator.

[helmach]

25% of Australia's cattle heard is black angus. I heard it gets hot down there?

[Blaithin]

25% of Australia's cattle heard is black angus. I heard it gets hot down there?

I’m sure Mallee will know a better geographic cut off but Bos Taurus breeds in Australia are predominantly in southern states like NSW and Victoria. You get into the tropical regions like Queensland and NT and it’s Bos Indicus area.

It’s a hot country but that doesn’t mean it’s all equally as hot. It’s not all desert and rainforest. They keep different cattle in different areas.

[WiltonRanch]

In the USA south of the Mason Dixon line cattle have some “ear” on them (Brahma/Zebu bos indicus influence). Brazil has a lot of Nelore cattle which is a bos indicus breed. Further south in Argentina you see a lot of the same types of continental and British type breeds. Certain types of cattle are kept in certain areas because they work best there. For whatever reason Hereford cattle do not work well in my area but Lethbridge area they thrive. The blockier thicker types that I prefer in my climate don’t work well further south where a rangier type does better. Non bos indicus cows of any breed can’t handle sudden heat waves like what happened. I don’t think I could handle that sort of heat neither. Same goes when a early winter storm pops up or a cold wave hits feedlots and ranches can lose piles of cattle. That storm which hit North Dakota several years ago killed 75000 head. Weather extremes kill livestock. Thanks Blaithin for your better explanation. You know this better than me.

[Blaithin]

I remember looking into it more during the heatwave last year. My summer pasture has no access to trees so I was concerned about the heat effects on the herd. Primarily that that was right when everyone was being bred so I was researching what impacts it could have on conception and first trimester miscarriage.

There’s a handful of things that can be done to help cool off cattle but what’s manageable for a smaller herd becomes incredibly complicated to get going quickly on a large scale.

[furrowtickler]

I remember looking into it more during the heatwave last year. My summer pasture has no access to trees so I was concerned about the heat effects on the herd. Primarily that that was right when everyone was being bred so I was researching what impacts it could have on conception and first trimester miscarriage.

There’s a handful of things that can be done to help cool off cattle but what’s manageable for a smaller herd becomes incredibly complicated to get going quickly on a large scale.

Always interesting to hear from people who are in the business 👍

[jazz]

There is a heat wave across the entire south including big ranches in TX/OK. How come no cattle dying there.

If cows dropped every time there was 100deg the cattle industry would be non existent on this continent.

Not buying it.