Summer heat means watching for stress Elevated humidities can be
disastrous for cattle. With summer just starting and
temperatures already approaching 100 degrees earlier this
spring, cattle producers need to take steps to ward off heat
stress in their herds, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln beef
specialist said. Late spring 80-degree days with rain are always
welcome, but the current abundance of moisture in the Central
and Northern Plains will certainly contribute to elevated
relative humidities in the near future, which can be disastrous
for cattle that have not had a chance to get adapted to hot
conditions, said Terry Mader, beef specialist at UNL’s Haskell
Agricultural Laboratory near Concord. Cattle can begin to
experience some level of heat stress when the heat index
approaches 80 degrees, with most cattle being severely stressed
when the heat index exceeds 100 degrees. Also, when early
morning temperatures and/or the heat indices are in the mid-70s,
chances are cattle did not adequately cool down at n