Keeping Cattle Cool This Summer By David Elstein July 10, 2002
Records for high summer temperatures have already been set in
parts of the United States this year. While humans can retreat
to air-conditioning and drink cold beverages, animals are not
that lucky. If they can't stay cool, dairy cows produce less
milk and beef cattle gain weight more slowly. Now Agricultural
Research Service scientists at the Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat
Animal Research Center (MARC) in Clay Center, Neb., have new
information that helps producers recognize overheated cattle and
protect the animals when temperatures rise. There are a few ways
to check the effects of temperature on cattle. One is to compare
the temperature and humidity to a graph to see if the animals
are in the danger range. Another way is to measure the animals'
respiration level. Cows lose heat primarily through respiration
and will begin to pant if they During hot days, operators can
count, with a stopwatch, the breaths per minute (bpm) of a few
cattle to see if t