The following is a list of strategies to reduce the impact of heat stress on cattle in the feedlot with suggestions for sequential deployment. Strategies listed under preparation are intended to be deployed early within 10 to 14 days of the initial heat event forecast. Strategies listed under remediation are intended to be deployed as the heat event proceeds.

Preparation

10-day weather or Mesonet forecasts are fairly accurate. Watch weather forecasts, start acting on preparation steps and be prepared to remediate the problem.

USDA-ARS Heat Stress Forecast

Nebraska Mesonet Current Temperatures

Windfinder – Wind map & forecast

How so?

Consider marketing finished or nearly finished cattle
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)
Avoid receiving cattle during heat event
Resist temptation to increase feed deliveries or simply reduce feed deliveries
Increase forage in the diet: Use storm diets or diets with more roughage
Avoid diets containing fat (adding fat to the diet leads to greater metabolic heat load)
Assign heat remediation tasks to one lead individual in team. Empower this individual to delegate tasks to other individuals, as appropriate.
Make plans to do any cattle processing before heat event
Plan to conduct pen riding and sick cattle pulling in the early morning hours
Remove any movable barriers to air flow
If possible, set up shades, but only if 12 ft 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 (accessing through local fire department or crop producers) and water wagons on hand

Be prepared to focus remediation efforts on high-priority pens. What would be considered high priority pens?

Cattle displaying one or more of these characteristics:

Finished or near finished cattle
Black cattle that haven’t shed winter coats
High intake cattle
Cattle (pen mates) with previous history of digestive or respiratory illness
Pens with poor wind movement (north slopes, wind breaks, in valleys)
Pens with no shade
Pens with restricted water access or poor water flow
Pens with no sprinklers

Remediation – (In addition to preparation steps outlined above) with a focus on high-priority pens

Conduct pen riding and cattle pulling in the early morning hours
Retain sick or compromised cattle in bedded or shaded hospital pens
If cattle processing, loading or unloading must occur, defer to cooler hours of the day
Reduce morning feed delivery
Resist increasing feed deliveries or lower feed deliveries
Consider adding an extra 10 percentage units of roughage to finishing diet or continue feeding storm ration delivery (remove diets containing fat)
Dam a segment of feed bunk and deliver water within this segment
If practical, blow ground stalks or straw or roll out straw or stalk bales on pen surface to insulate heat reflection from pen surface (about 10 to 20 square feet per head)