Heat and humidity are hard on cattle, especially when hauling them, says Sandy Stuttgen. She provides charts on loading capacity and the heat index as handy reference tools.
Their well-being especially suffers during humid days followed by evenings that do not drop below 70°F, as under those conditions, cattle will not have a chance to recover before the next hot, humid day begins.
Source: Dairy Herd Management, July 19, 2018. Link.
Plan transport so that cattle’s internal stress response temperature is not peaking or coinciding when the heat index is extreme. Ideally, they should be out of the trailer, relaxing in shade around full water troughs, naturally bringing their internal temperature down hours before the HI reaches extreme levels.
Also see: Tips for shade and cattle during the hot summer, Drover’s, July 20, 2018. Link.
Twenty-five square feet per adult cow is a bare minimum for shade space with 30 to 40 feet preferred to prevent crowding and poor air movement,” said Eldon Cole.
INSIGHTS: Consider sharing this directly with cattle producers, via social media and websites. If you work with 4-H or FFA groups, this information can help form sound husbandry practices in younger producers.