Hello Everyone,
Here is another story I picked up from the press today - The Sunday Times ... maybe it was covered in your local? Anyway.
COWS GIVEN SHOWERS TO BEAT THE HEAT
Italian farmers are installing showers and air-conditioning in cowsheds and pigsties to allow the animals to freshen up in the baking summer heat, an agriculture group said this week.
Farm animals in Italy - particularly in the muggy agricultural heartland around the Po river near Milan - are under stress as the mercury approaches 40C in the hottest July for more than a decade.
"The situation is worrying, particularly in the Po valley, which has the highest concentration of barns that have been kitted out with fans, small showers and air conditioners to cool down the cows and the pigs" farming group Coldiretti said.
Italian cows produced 50 million litres less milk than usual in the first 15 days of the month, and chickens laid between 5% and 10% fewer eggs, the group said.
Perspiring pigs are also suffering, Coldiretti said, adding that they lose their appetite in temperatures above 28C and eat up to 40% less than usual.
Anti-humidity measures have been taken, and drinking trough systems are working overtime to give some of the thirsty animals up to 140 litres of water a day compared to the 70 litres they drink in the cooler weather. - Reuters
...............................................................
Life is connected and the delicate balance of nature (who uses clichés these days?) is amazing.
Even as we read this, how does one compute the knock on affect of such drops in production and costs of caring?
I salute farmers all over the world.
Cheers
