34 Nebraska Cattleman August 2023 BQA By Jesse Fulton, M.S., Nebraska Beef Extension Educator & Director of Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance; Erin Laborie, M.S., Nebraska Beef Extension Educator; Alfredo DiCostanzo, Ph.D., Nebraska Beef Extension Educator; Ruth Woiwode, Ph.D., Animal Behavior & Welfare Specialist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Don’t Get Caught Off Guard, Be Prepared to Beat the Heat Summer is officially here and temperatures are beginning to heat up across the nation. With increasing temperatures, special attention is needed when it comes to mitigating heat, especially for animals being housed in a dry lot. While some only consider temperature when assessing the effects of heat, other environmental factors such as humidity, air movement and solar radiation contribute to the heat load cattle experience. During times of heat stress, producers may observe limited or reduced feed intake, increased respiration (observed as panting) and crowding around water tanks. Furthermore, during extreme heat stress events, cattle may succumb to these conditions if unable to decrease their body temperature. Because cattle do not effectively dissipate heat through sweating, they are unable to regulate their core body temperature like humans or other • Marketing finished or nearly finished cattle prior to the event. • If unable to market, move finished cattle to pens deemed to be less prone to heat stress (pens with shade, greater wind exposure, greater water access or where bedding may be delivered easily). • Place sick or compromised cattle in bedded or shaded hospital pens. • Avoid receiving cattle during extreme heat events. • Assign heat remediation tasks to one lead individual. Empower this individual to delegate heat mitigation tasks to other individuals, as appropriate. • Make plans to do any cattle processing before the heat event. • Plan to conduct pen riding and sick cattle pulling prior to 11 a.m. • Remove any movable barriers that prevent air flow. • If possible, set up shades, but only if 12 feet high and at least 16 square feet of space per head can be shaded. • Add and supply water stock tanks on fence lines away from existing water tanks. • If possible, set up sprinklers and turn them on ahead of heat event. • Plan to have additional water (accessed through a local fire department or crop producers) and water wagons on hand. • Under emergency conditions, a watering trough slip-in can be built where water tankers can deliver water in the feed bunk. Keeping these slips full of water should ease the pressure on watering tanks during hot and still days. STEPS TO MITIGATE HEAT STRESS PRIOR TO AN EXTREME HEAT EVENT CONTINUED ON PAGE 36 animals. Cattle must maintain normal body temperature to sustain essential physiological processes. The range of temperature within which cattle do not use additional energy to maintain core body temperature is referred to • Provide additional water and space around water tanks for each animal. When the temperature is above 80° F, cattle require nearly twice as much water (up to 30 gallons per head per day). • Consider reducing the amount of feed delivered in the morning to help lower the heat load on cattle, starting the morning before a heat event occurs. • Consider adding an extra 10 percent of roughage to finishing diets or feed storm diets (remove diets containing fat). • Improve air flow by incorporating tall mounds and placing cattle in pens with fewer windbreaks in the summer. • Remove excess manure; it holds moisture and increases humidity. • Use sprinklers with a large droplet size; however, limit use when humidity is high. • Bedding pens can reduce pen surface temperature up to 25° F by reflecting solar radiation about 10 to 20 square feet per head. • Provide shade to reduce the heat load on cattle up to 20° F. However, it is important to have adequate space per animal to prevent overcrowding. • Limit the amount of time cattle spend in handling facilities where heat stress may be more significant, and work cattle more prone to heat stress first, earlier in the day, or later if conditions are moderate; for example, process larger cattle during periods of lower THI. • When transporting cattle, a good practice is to reduce the load by 10 percent to improve air flow. • Limit the amount of time the animals are on the trailer and reduce the amount of time the trailer is not moving and providing ventilation and air flow. DURING TIMES OF IMMEDITATE HEAT STRESS:
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