By DOUG SCHMITZ
Iowa Correspondent LINCOLN, Neb. — Last week’s record cold snap that moved across parts of the Midwest was likely a welcomed respite for Iowa and Nebraska cattle producers who had already suffered heavy feedlot losses this summer because of the intermittent heat waves in late June.
“Cattle, as well as other animals and humans, usually need two to four weeks to adapt to the changes in environmental conditions we observed,” said Terry Mader, University of Nebraska-Lincoln animal science professor and extension beef specialist. “Sunny days with temperatures above the mid-80s can be stressful, particularly if there is no wind and humidity is above 50 percent.”
Rising temperatures the last two weeks in June resulted in Iowa cattle deaths ranging from 40-80 head, with a single feedlot losing up to 160 head alone, primarily in southwestern and east-central Iowa, according to the Iowa Cattlemen Assoc. (ICA).
In eastern Nebraska, more than 2,000 cattle feedlot deaths were reported, with one feedlot losing about 250 head alone, as temperatures reached up into the mid-90s, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Omaha said.
The FSA added that mature cattle nearing slaughter were worth about $1,000 each, but shouldn’t cut significantly into Nebraska’s $10 billion cattle industry.
No losses east, south Despite temperatures periodically rising into the 90s, Mark J. Ernst, DVM, Illinois state veterinarian and bureau chief for the Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare at the Illinois Department of Agriculture in Springfield, said so far, the state hadn’t had any livestock losses to report.
“We have had a handful of days with the temperature in the lower 90s,” he said. “I have not received any reports of large-scale or even sporadic death loss due to heat.”
While the Buckeye State also hasn’t yet experienced the sweltering heat of Iowa and Nebraska, State Veterinarian Tony M. Forshey, DVM, for the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Division of Animal Industry, said it’s still early summer.
“(We) have not had the extreme heat issues here yet,” he said. “We have been blessed with mid-80s in the daytime and mid-60s at night.”
Likewise, Indiana hasn’t had any reported livestock deaths, according to Denise Derrer, public information director for the Indiana State Board of Animal Health.
“Anecdotally, we haven’t had the heat in Indiana that they’ve had in other states,” she said. “We haven’t had any disaster emergencies declared in the state, and we haven’t had anything reported in.”
“We had actually a quite a bit of rain in the state and the temperatures have not been horrible,” Derrer added.
Tennessee helping farmers Like Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, Tennessee hasn’t had any heat-related livestock losses this year. In fact, this summer, the state has had one of the more favorable production years, said Tom Womack of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s public affairs office in Nashville.
“Having come off a severe freeze and drought in 2007 and a dry summer last year,” he said, “we’ve experienced a much cooler, wetter spring and summer this year, which has helped recharge water sources and improve forage production.”
In the last few years, Womack said the department has been proactive in helping farmers better manage through extreme weather situations in several ways. “We have a state-funded cost-share program, the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program, which helps farmers make investments to improve their operations and to increase farm income,” he said.
“We’re also cost-sharing with farmers through a state-funded conservation program on the installation of alternative watering systems and wells for improved and more reliable watering for livestock.”
But if producers do find themselves under extreme heat conditions, besides watering them down with a hose, cattle should have drinking water readily available to help dissipate heat, especially since they may drink double or even triple their usual five to six gallons of water a day, Mader added.
Livestock Indemnity Program For livestock producers who have suffered losses, on July 8 USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a new program that would offer a source of financial relief.
Under the provisions of the USDA’s Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), which is in the 2008 farm bill, livestock owners and contract growers would be compensated for death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather, including losses to hurricanes, floods, blizzards, disease, wildfires, extreme heat and extreme cold.
But the FSA stated livestock producers would have to have incurred livestock death losses on or after Jan. 1, 2008, and before Oct. 1, 2011. They also have to start compiling their loss documentation to be eligible for the LIP program.
To find out more about the LIP program, visit an FSA county office or www.fsa.usda.gov |
