Although temperatures will only be in the low- to mid-90s, high relative humidity and low wind speeds are the major threats to penned cattle.

July 15, 2011

1 Min Read
Heat Stress In Feedyards Will Be A Major Issue

Although temperatures will only be in the low- to mid-90s, high relative humidity and low wind speeds are the major threats to penned cattle.


The real issue will be that high nighttime temps and high humidity will not allow stressed cattle to cool off overnight. Therefore, cattle cannot handle the heat of the next day.


Heat stress can't be completely avoided but a little management can go a long ways toward keeping cattle cooler and maintaining feed intake.


The biggest thing cattlemen can do is help cattle cool off at night by sprinkling the mounds in dirt pens with water in the evening to give cattle a cool place to lie down and dissipate body heat. Nothing you can do is more important than that.


Cattlemen will also have to regularly monitor cattle disposition during the day and make judgement calls on whether cattle need cool water sprayed directly on them to dissipate body heat.


To read the entire article, link here.

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