Florida - Monday July 10, 2023: So far, Florida’s ranchers appear to be riding out the ongoing heat wave without much loss to their herds or the bottom line.
Dusty Holley, the Director of Field Services for the Florida Cattlemen's Association. credits the heat resistant cattle that have been breed in Florida over hundreds of years. Despite the searing temperatures over the past month, when on many days it felt like more than 100 degrees, he says the cattle have born up under the summer sun.
“We worked pretty hard over the 500 year that cattle have been in this state to make sure that we raise cattle that are pretty well acclimated," said Holley. "Through genetic selection and other means, we’ve tried to make sure that the type of cows we have deal with the heat well.”
Holley credits the history of cross-breeding, primarily with Brahmin breeds. “What you would see a lot of is that Brahmin influence crossed with Angus and Hartford. We took these cattle that were very heat tolerant and we breed them with the current English catalogue and created different American breeds that that are more heat tolerant.”
That doesn’t mean that the cattle aren’t feeling the heat. Ranchers have taken steps to keep their herds cool, he said. “To help them stay cool when it gets really hot, (they've been) getting in water holes, and having evaporative. And of course, we have a lot of shade, and that helps.”
There have been no large-scale reports of fatalities amongst the herds, says Holley, and no rush to sell off herds. Market prices have remained steady. “Certainly, cattle are most productive in the times of years when its cooler and less humid. Again, our cattle are so very well adapted after years and years of selecting for the cattle that can do well down here that it being hot doesn’t negatively affect them hugely.”