Yet another food industry has taken a toll as thousands of cattle have died in Kansas from extreme heat, humidity, and the lack of grain supply brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The death toll has apparently reached at least 2,000 cattle, Matthew Lara, a spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said, according to Reuters. This estimate reportedly comes from facilities that reached out to the agency for support in disposing of deceased livestock, the outlet reported.
The cattle allegedly died from heat stress stemming from tensely high temperature and humidity, Scarlett Hagins, a spokesperson for the Kansas Livestock Association claimed, according to Reuters.
Apparently this is video of the 3000 cattle that died in SW Kansas. Original tweet said heat, farmer I talked in Kansas said it wasn’t the heat. pic.twitter.com/OlPks10ji8
— bu/ac (@buperac) June 15, 2022
The sweltering heat reportedly reached 108 degrees Fahrenheit in western Kansas, and temperatures are projected to climb to around 110 over the weekend, the president of World Weather Inc., Drew Lerner, stated, Reuters reported.
The heat was allegedly an added injury to livestock farmers who have already needed to decrease cattle size on account of skyrocketing food and grain prices brought by the conflict in Eastern Europe, according to Reuters. (RELATED: Some Guy Tweeted A Pic Of An Airport Beer Menu, And The Port Authority Got Involved)
Farmers are supposedly providing extra care to their cattle to help them survive, Reuters reported.
“When it gets hot, you’ve got be to out every day and making sure that their water is maintained,” Brenda Masek, president of the industry association Nebraska Cattlemen, said, according to the outlet.