Livestock
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As we watch two tropical storms move past us to the west, you might be wondering how livestock producers respond to the passage of a tropical storm or hurricane near their farms. This audio story from Yale Climate Connections describes how beef cattle respond differently to the storm than horses do and how management plans…
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While in the Southeast we have had problems with livestock after some recent hurricanes like Matthew, I don’t usually think about it in terms of bad weather in the Midwest. But the terrible derecho that they had last week has provided some interesting stories about how producers there are dealing with losses of barns, feed…
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During Hurricanes Matthew and Fay, flooding rains from these storms caused major problems for hog farmers in North Carolina. Fortunately, early reports from the pork industry indicate that Isaias have not caused any significant problems for hog producers, although there was some loss of power and some wind damage. You can read more about it…
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Since it is hot over a wide swath of the United States, livestock producers everywhere are having to come up with ways to keep their cattle cool. Here is a story from Growing Georgia about how dairy farmers in Pennsylvania are coping with the heat and using fans and sprinklers to keep their cattle more…
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With high pressure firmly in place over the Southeast for the next week, we can expect to see temperatures and heat stress rise to dangerous levels. This will affect both outdoor workers and livestock. Producers will want to keep careful track of worsening conditions and take appropriate actions to reduce the effects of the combination…
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Is the heat making your cows uncomfortable? Heat stress on livestock can cause health issues, make cattle gain weight more slowly because they are unhappy, and even reduce fertility. This article from the American Agriculturalist points out that sometimes even small changes like changing the direction of a blowing fan or providing some shade can…
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For those of you who produce hay and feed livestock, the headline above is probably a no-brainer. But I am still learning about how weather affects agriculture, so I was fascinated by this article that discusses how cutting hay in the morning results in a different nutrient composition of the hay than when you cut…