We enjoyed the positive responses to last week’s post “Making dairy herds in the shade” <Link>. Recent studies show shade is important for growing beef cattle comfort and efficiency <Link>. Articles like this are reminders of the health and economic benefits of providing shade for cattle as temperatures move above 70°F.
Because of that feedback, we’re repeating the topic by offering a link to posts and articles in our AHD Archives and a new article from Drovers. We urge animal health pros to share information like this to benefit producers’ profits as well as improve their animals’ welfare. By applying a bit of ingenuity and recycling framing materials from an old farm building, creating shade for animals does not have to be a huge expense <Link>.
Sources:
- Search Results for: heat + cattle, AHD Archives. Link.
- Beat the heat: Essential tips for cooling cattle effectively, Drovers, June 16, 2025. Link. A.J. Tarpoff, DVM shares a *comfort index combining four key parameters to get a feel on how cattle are experiencing their environment.
* For areas outside of Kansas, use the resource tab