Heat Can Cost You

摘要

In mid-July of 2010, Kansas was struck by a heat wave that saw temperatures soar to 113°F. Reuters reported that during the hottest five-day period, well over 2,000 cattle died -almost all in area feedlots. For Normand St-Pierre, livestock scientistat Ohio State University, Reuters' coverage of the cattle losses, while dramatic, reveals only one part of the story. Even though heat-related feedlot disasters may grab the headlines, St-Pierre's decade-long investigation into the financial implications of heat stress on livestock shows beef calf producers are likely to pay an even higher price for overheated cattle.