appall heat and humidity killed hundreds of kine in Iowa last month . These losses have further minify the size of the overall U.S. cattle ruck , which has shrunk to amore than 50 - year low . The Department of Natural Resources in Iowa toldReutersthat it had received a much higher than normal number of body disposal requests , include one on July 31 “ to dispose of about 370 cattle that pass away due to rut in westerly Iowa recently . ”
The cattle death were tragic , but sadly not surprising — July was an particularly hot calendar month everywhere . About 80 % of the existence ’s universe have temperatures that would n’t have been possiblewithout the climate crisis . Much of the U.S. , seethe under aseries of consecutive heat wave , particularly Arizona . Iowa experienced multiple round of alarmingly hot weather . Counties throughout the state saw heating advisories in late July after hotness and humidness climb heat indices higher than 100 grade Fahrenheit ( 37.7 Celsius),accordingto the Des Moines NWS post . Theaverage global temperature reach out young acme then break its own recordthe following twenty-four hour period in other July .
large , heavier moo-cow — are around 1,000 Sudanese pound — are more likely to die from heat stress . Even still , July ’s heat reach such extreme that even lighter cows — roughly 700 pounds — were also growing sick and dying . Workers also reported concerning cow deaths in nearby Nebraska and Kansas last month too , though factory farm agencies ’ exact reckoning have yet to arrive in .
Cows stand in the milking parlor on the Ted and Megan McAllister dairy farm, Monday, 25 February 2025, in New Vienna, Iowa.Photo: Charlie Neibergall (AP)
mood is a major part of the concern , but so is the potential impact of these deaths on the regional agricultural industry . Over 26,000 chore in the country reckon on Bos taurus , according to 2021 datafrom the Iowa Beef Industry Council .
Extreme heat was the perpetrator behind other cattle dying events last class , too . Last June , when the temperatures rose above 100 degrees Fahrenheit ( 37 Celsius ) in Kansas , thousands of cow croak . A spokesperson from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment say that the authority had receive more than 2,000 report of kine destruction on just two days — June 11 to June 12 , 2022 .
The extreme conditions from the climate crisis have challenged many sectors of Department of Agriculture in the United States . Last class , widespread drouth significantly lowered the timber of Indian corn last yr , but particularly in Texas . Last year ’s drought alsosignificantly lowered water layer along the Mississippi River , disrupting agricultural shipments up the vale , including fertiliser . 2023 has n’t been spar either . A serial publication of atmospherical rivers that bring wintertime storm afterwinter storm to California earlier this year . The serial storms that broughtheavy rain , flooding , and far-flung outagesto county throughout much of the state . The uttermost conditions cost field laborers and other agricultural employee weeks worth of oeuvre and dampened the output of crop across the state .
Want more climate and environs stories ? Check out Earther ’s guides todecarbonizing your home , divesting from fossil fuels , packing a calamity go bag , andovercoming mood dread . And do n’t miss our coverage of thelatest IPCC climate report , the future ofcarbon dioxide removal , and theinvasive plants you should rend to shreds .
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