More than 2,000 cattle in Kansas died suddenly
Record-breaking heat swept through the central and western parts of the Country, and animals and the American masses were in dire straits. Among them, the high temperature in Kansas has caused the most intuitive horror problem, about 2,000 years of sudden death.
After an investigation by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, it is true that these poor cattle are from southwestern Kansas. From the records of the scene, it can be seen that the rows of corpses are arranged along the edge of the farmland, and the whole row took more than 50 seconds to reach the end of the corpse pile, and the smell of the scene must be enough to choke, and it is a big trouble to deal with these cattle in the future.
The temperature in Kansas in mid-June was as high as 40 degrees Celsius and lasted for 3 days, and the temperature did not drop by 37 degrees at other times. But the cause of death of these cattle is not only because of the heat. Tapov, an associate professor at Kansas State University and beef extension veterinarian, said: "Heat stress caused by multiple factors has led to the death of cows."
The state is a Great Plains landscape where farmers have struggled to cope with the threat of drought, high winds and wildfires. The heat wave brought not only a soaring temperature, but also a decrease in humidity, and the natural wind almost disappeared, which makes it feel very dry when you think about it. Because the nighttime temperatures were higher than usual, the cattle did not get the normal cooling time needed to combat heat stress.
Scarlett Huggins, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Livestock Association, said there was a 2-3 degree spike on the night of June 11, and the cattle didn't have time to adapt because the warming occurred too quickly and there was no wind relief, so the highly adaptable cattle were too hot to die overnight because the temperature changed too quickly and the farmers didn't have time to replenish their water.
It is difficult to understand the scale of death
Figures from the state Health and Environment Department only reflect the losses of farms asking for help disposing of the bodies, and many farmers will dispose of the dead cattle themselves, suggesting that the number of cattle deaths may be much higher than the figure of 2,000.
A spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Agriculture agreed, noting that farmers are not obligated to report these losses, so they are not subject to any data on the extent of the impact.
The state's beef cattle dominate the U.S. agricultural sector, making it one of the major U.S. cattle-raising states, and such dangerous weather is not limited to any one county in Kansas.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor website, almost the entire western half of Kansas is currently classified as abnormally arid or arid.
2 days the temperature soared by 12 degrees
To understand what the animals are suffering, we need to take a look at the recent kansas weather.
Over the past week, temperatures in Kansas have soared rapidly, above 37 degrees, which is the average temperature. The worst area is hashkel County in the southwest. Haskell County has been Kansas's largest beef cattle county in recent years, producing 385,000 cattle in 2021 alone. The temperature in the county began to soar after June 9, and in just 2 days, it rose from 26 degrees to 38 degrees, a span that allows people to wear less and more clothes, but cattle can't.
After that, the temperature rose for three consecutive days, and finally remained around 39 degrees, and even exceeded 40 degrees at the highest. At the same time, the humidity has also dropped from 80% to less than 24%, and there is zero rainfall for 7 consecutive days. How hot is it? The temperature of the soil 4 cm deep underground also reached 33 degrees.
How to save the cattle
Scarlett Huggins of the Kansas Livestock Association believes this is a huge loss because the cattle can be listed for $2,000 each. The association lists the main points that farmers need, including making sure the animals have plenty of water, shade, and more, and constantly observing for heat stress. The heat stress response is obvious, which is heavy breathing and sticking out tongue.
Gerald C. Nelson, an agricultural economist and professor emeritus at thornton and the University of Illinois, thinks farmers can protect their livestock by adding indoor ventilation and cooling systems, which would certainly be safe, but the problem is that the cost is high.
Whether to spend a lot of money to protect livestock or to spend time maintaining livestock on your own means different things to farmers depending on their financial ability.