Managing heat stress in cattle

Summer is in full swing, and scorching temperatures combined with high humidity can have a negative impact on cattle, both out to pasture and in the feedlot. Heat stress can quickly set back a group of calves and it’s important to know the symptoms, the animals with greatest risk and how to relieve cattle suffering from the heat.

Tracey Renelt, South Dakota State University (SDSU) Extension educator and livestock specialist, and Robbi Pritchard, professor in the Animal and Range Science Department at SDSU, offered some rules of thumb to follow in these hot summer months.

Summer is in full swing, and scorching temperatures combined with high humidity can have a negative impact on cattle, both out to pasture and in the feedlot. Heat stress can quickly set back a group of calves and it’s important to know the symptoms, the animals with greatest risk and how to relieve cattle suffering from the heat.

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Tracey Renelt, South Dakota State University (SDSU) Extension educator and livestock specialist, and Robbi Pritchard, professor in the Animal and Range Science Department at SDSU, offered some rules of thumb to follow in these hot summer months.

Summer is in full swing, and scorching temperatures combined with high humidity can have a negative impact on cattle, both out to pasture and in the feedlot. Heat stress can quickly set back a group of calves and it’s important to know the symptoms, the animals with greatest risk and how to relieve cattle suffering from the heat.

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Tracey Renelt, South Dakota State University (SDSU) Extension educator and livestock specialist, and Robbi Pritchard, professor in the Animal and Range Science Department at SDSU, offered some rules of thumb to follow in these hot summer months.