South Dakota cattle producers cope with ‘gut-wrenching’ losses from July heat wave

South Dakota cattle producers lost at least 2,000 head to heat stress last month. What made it lethal wasn’t the daytime peak; it was consecutive days of heat and humidity with no wind and nights that never dropped. Griffin Cherry describes the effect on producers.

Source: Griffin Cherry, LinkedIn, August 12, 2026. Link.

Cattle don’t die from the hottest hour of the day. They die when the night stops cooling off.”