South Central region cattle heat stress alert

Now that temperatures across Texas and Oklahoma are warming up, it’s time to begin keeping an eye out for heat stress in cattle. An increase in body temperature, combined with other environmental factors and an animal’s inability to effectively cool down can result in production loss and even death. Monitoring for heat stress conditions in your region can help you decide when to delay working cattle and take extra precautions.

Cattle heat stress forecasts are produced as a partnership of USDA-ARS with NOAA and National Weather Service. For more information on forecast methods, mitigation tips and breathing rates, visit the ARS Cattle Heat Stress Forecast website at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center.

This alert is for the South Central Region.