By: Hollie Hojek
hhojek@kcautv.com
With temperatures reaching as high as the triple digits in parts of Siouxland, it becomes a race against the clock for ranchers and farmers to keep their livestock cool and hydrated.
It's the only relief these cattle get from the sweltering sun all day as temperatures soared near the century mark. There's practically no shade out on this ranch in Anthon, Iowa, so it's up to the owner to keep his thousands of cows comfortable and hydrated.
"We're very concerned about their well-being, of course this is our livelihood.The alternative is not good, it's death to them or severe death-loss/ As well as keeping their intakes up so they're performing. These cattle need to perform daily to cover their costs," said Allen Pitham, owner of Pitham Feed Owner, in Anthon.
Depending on the weather, Pitham will fill up this 2,600 gallon tank multiple times a day and shower his cattle with water. He also set up these timed-sprinklers above the cattle, that go off based on how hot the temperature gets.and on days like this one. The cows are literally lining up just so they can cool down. At a business in Sioux City, it's fans that are keeping these horses cool. Julie Dorn is an instructor at S.T.A.R.S., a program which offers therapeutic horse riding lessons. But with temps as hot as these, classes have been canceled and constant monitoring of the horses begins.
"I open up the barn, try to get them out of the direct sun, put fans on them... I hose the ones down that are really starting to get hot," said Dorn.
And even though this extreme heat may end in the next couple of days, livestock won't be out of the woods just yet, it takes them longer to bounce back after spending multiple days like this in the sun.
"The heat tends to build in the cattle. The First day or two they can get by," said Pitham.
"When the temperatures don't drop at night either like this, they don't get a reprieve from this heat at all. It's a tough one," said Dorn.
But things could be worse, both Pitham and Dorn say the wind is actually helping out a lot.
