Cattle all across Kansas struggle to survive the continuing heat and humidity.

Tuesday, officials with Kansas Department of Health and Environment told Eyewitness News that 2300 cattle have died since late last week, in about 10 feedlots spanning from the Salina area to the Dodge City area.

The biggest problem is the humidity, not the heat.

Ken Powell, an environmental scientist with KDHE, says the deaths are overwhelming feedlots.  They’re following state regulations to get rid of cattle carcasses by burying them.

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Livestock owners blame the heat for killing hundreds of head of cattle in Kansas over the weekend.
    
The largest report came from the Ottawa County Feeders in Bennington.  The owner said his cattle wouldn’t eat because it was too hot.
    
The owner says his business is a custom yard; which means the cattle belonged to his customers.
    
For the next month, no humans want to be outside in a Kansas summer.
    
“When the humidity gets high, that makes our heat worse,” said Joe Hite as he stood near his Angus cattle.  His cattle don’t have that option.  And with that Angus black hair, it’s even hotter.  “So the black cattle do absorb heat moreso,” said Hite.
    
The Vice President of the Kansas Angus Association does the best he can.  Hite keeps his cattle in a grassy and shaded Sedgwick County pasture.  “If they can get underneath shade with the wind blowing on them and stuff,” he explained.  “They can usually handle heat a lot better.”
    
His 8 year son Tanner helps in the best way he can.  “We get some soap and water from the garden hose and we wash them.”
    
Now some cattle are more heat tolerant, and will stay out in the sun and heat more. For those who aren’t, the heat can kill them.  One feedlot – which doesn’t have trees – recorded 18 cattle deaths this weekend, another 12, and so on.  And that can be a very costly investment to lose.  For some, it’s $2,500.
    
“Anytime you have a death loss, it’s going to cost you money,” said Hite. “That’s one thing you don’t want to do.”

Up the road and across the county line, Doug Entz does what he can.  He ticked off two important points. “Try to make sure there’s no wind block from the south.  It’s important they keep a breeze going, that keeps the heat index manageable.  Access to plenty of water.”

He continued, “”It’s important to keep them cool, and help them get through this time frame.”

And that time frame continues through late August.  So until then, expect to see a lot of farmers keeping an eye on their cattle, for the cash they bring in.
Cattle don’t eat when it’s too hot, and that’s the main reason they die.  The lot owner in Ottawa County says it is adding an ingredient to the cattle feed – to keep the animals eating, and keep them alive.