..STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSES MOUTH

Duane A. Lienemann,
UNL Extension Educator,
 Webster County
                                 One only has to look at the past several days and unfortunately at the long range forecast to realize that most of Nebraska and particularly South Central Nebraska that we seem to be going from the frying pan, right into the fire. This whole last month has been the warmest (hottest) and I believe driest June for sure in my memory and I am certain many others. You can ascertain the forecasts via radio or television, or if you have an internet connection I suggest that you go to sites like www.accuweather.com ;  http://weather.gov; www.weather.com ; www.wunderground.com ; www.intellicast.com ; or http://weather.weatherbug.com  .  if you are brave enough to look. If you are really brave and want to learn about the USDA heat stress forecast I suggest that you go to www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=21348.    which shows that this weekend and the next entire week is going to be in the extreme heat range and therefore will put us in the danger zone.
High temperatures for this timeframe are expected to be in the mid 90’s to low 100’s with lows in the mid to high 70’s, so it is not going to cool much over night and humidity could be a factor as well. We could have heat index figures this next week over 100 degrees. Cattle begin to experience some level of heat stress when the heat index approaches 80 F, with most cattle 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 night, and cattlemen should be prepared to provide as much relief to cattle as possible during the day. Producers, especially feedlots with fat cattle, need to make sure that they take some protective measures during these coming days and keep a watch on forecast to make further decisions.
Some of those decisions would be to utilize protective measures like: 1) Provide clean fresh water, as consumption of water can double during heat events. Cattle need at least 2 gallons/100 lbs/day during heat events. Additionally make sure there is adequate room for cattle drink and supply lines can provide water fast enough. 2) Shift to feeding a higher percentage of feed in the afternoon and consider lowering the energy content by 5%. 3) Provide shade if possible. UV radiation is many times the tipping point for losses due to heat stress. And 4) If necessary begin sprinkling cattle with water if signs of heat stress are evident. In an emergency, cattle can be sprayed with water to cool them down. However, once producers do that, they need to repeat or continue spraying until the heat subsides. Spraying cattle with water will allow the animal to rapidly dissipate heat through evaporative cooling processes but this may limit the animal's ability to adapt to the heat. You might also consider watering down the pens. If the pen surface is dry, wetting the pen also will provide relief to confined animals. It is always beneficial to start the wetting or cooling process in the morning before the cattle get too hot.
Another suggested heat stress mitigation tactic is to use bedding to decrease surface temperatures animals are exposed to. Generally it's thought bedding is for insulation against cold stress. However, straw can aid in breaking up or diffusing the solar heat load that often contributes to heating up dry, bare ground. The degree bedding is effective in doing this is unknown. However, if used, it is suggested bedding be placed in the pen early in the morning when the ground has cooled; otherwise, heat will be trapped in the pen surface. Also, wetting the bedding would allow for additional cooling to occur when the animal uses it. For livestock in pastures you need to provide shade and make sure that they have plenty of water.
Most cattlemen know that air flow and water are the keys to minimizing death loss. Cattle yards should be free of any structures that restrict airflow. Cutting down vegetation around pens and moving cattle away from windbreaks can all help. Building earth mounds in pens also can increase airflow by preventing cattle from bunching together. It is best to try to move cattle out of pens that have air flow obstructions, divide pens of cattle and place part of the cattle in empty pens to increase their access to water, and avoid water restriction by leasing or purchasing water tanks/tubs (feeder cattle need 20 gallons of water and about half must be available in the middle of the afternoon). It probably will not surprise you that black or dark red colored cattle are at greatest risk. It may surprise you however that naturally fed cattle are at a higher risk than conventional finished cattle. Producers should avoid handling cattle when it's hot and never after 10 a.m. Cattle body temperatures can rise an additional 0.5 to 3.5 degrees during handling.
Other heat stress mitigation strategies include: providing shade, controlling biting flies and other parasites, keeping very current on cattle marketings and being mindful of heat effects on personnel as well. An interesting educational piece on high risk cattle can be found on the internet at: www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=15622   Producers can also find additional management options for heat stress in a NebGuide for Feedlot Cattle which can be found at your local UNL Extension office or on the web @  www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/g1409.pdf
As an additional management consideration, UNL Ag Economist Brad Lubben encourages producers to carefully record any death losses resulting from heat stress and any local weather condition information that is available. There is a chance that new Farm Bill legislation slowly working its way through Congress could reauthorize both the Livestock Indemnity Program and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (for drought losses of forage/feed supplies) and could make them retroactive to the 2012 production year. So, keeping good records of any losses is still a sound practice even if the status of potential disaster assistance is uncertain. You might also want to record your hay and grass loss as compared to last year.

The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster