Heat can be dangerous for farmers and their cattle

GREENE COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Erin Turner, owner of the Farm at Spring Creek in Greene County, said it’s important for farmers to use different techniques to keep their cows cooled off during the hot summer months.

“All of our pastures have trees somewhere located on them,” Turner said. “But everywhere they have access to their shady spots, and they also have access to fresh water at all times.”

Turner told News Channel 11 that she uses a tool to check the temperature of the ground to make sure some areas are too hot for the cows and keeping grass in the pastures long keeps the ground more cool.

“We’ll see a difference in temperature of easily 40 degrees or more,” Turner said. “In the middle of the day, on a hot day, it could be anywhere from 100 to 140 degrees on that dirt or concrete whereas the grass, even just short grass you’re looking at closer to 90 or 89, somewhere in there.”

Turner said she rotates her cows into different pastures often to give the grass time to re-grow and keep the pasture from having any dirt spots.

“We always want like at least four inches on there at all times,” Turner said. “That makes it a little easier in the summer months where it rains a lot.”

Another way to keep cows from experiencing stress heat is to look out for signs such as excessive panting or drooling.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.