Cattle Stressed by Weather Changes

Northern cattle can handle most tough winter conditions, but NDSU Extension Livestock Systems Specialist Karl Hoppe says the up and down temperatures we’ve seen over the past week can be a problem. “When you ever have a weather event that goes from 40 degrees above to zero that’s a 40 degree swing in temperature and then when you have wind chills that come along too, that is hard on our livestock.” Hoppe says there are ways to help keep cattle comfortable during difficult winter weather. “Bedding certainly helps. It comes at a cost and it’s an expense, but it does help the health of the animal. Wind breaks and bedding both go a long ways towards animal husbandry and keeping cattle comfortable and productive.” Hoppe spoke at Friday’s Central Dakota Ag Day at Carrington, focusing on livestock nutrition and feed management.