Livestock Stress

West Virginia’s top agricultural industry is broiler production, while beef cattle and calves, dairy cattle, chickens, and turkeys are also raised in the state. Many animals do not have sweat glands; they are unable to cool themselves through the evaporation of sweat on their skin. Instead, animals will try and wade in the water, or breathe heavily (also called panting) to release added heat in their bodies. When animals are under heat stress, they can stop eating, decrease in weight, stop milk or egg production, and may not be able to reproduce.

Heat Stress is calculated using:

• wind
• temperature
• humidity
• solar radiation

You can download this mobile app from USDA to monitor local livestock heat stress or check today's forecasted maps here at USDA.gov.