With the mercury pushing into the high 30's and 40's across the region this week, we’re all feeling the pinch and our livestock are no different.
At James Bradford Rural, we’re out in the yards every day, so we’ve pulled together a quick "boots-on-the-ground" guide to help you and your stock get through this flush of heat safely.
Water is Everything
It sounds basic, but demand spikes massively when the heat hits. Check your troughs, pumps, and tanks daily. Make sure they’re clean and the flow rate can keep up with a mob all drinking at once. In feedlots or tight paddocks, consider temporary extra water points; sometimes a few dominant animals will camp by the trough for the coolness, accidentally blocking others from getting a drink.
Change the Routine
If it can wait, let it wait. Postpone mustering, drafting, or transport until the cool of the morning or late evening. If you’re feeding out, try to shift it to the early hours to reduce the metabolic heat animals generate while digesting.
The "Serenity" of Shade
Ensure your stock can spread out. Crowded cattle create their own micro-climate of heat. Open up gates to paddocks with better timber or airflow, and keep an eye out for "panting" or lethargy early intervention is the best way to prevent losses.
Fire Ready, Always
With heat comes the heightened risk of fire. Now is the time to double-check your fire plan. Ensure your refuge paddocks are grazed down and your backup pumps are fueled and ready to go. A little bit of prep today makes a world of difference when the wind picks up.
Stay hydrated, look after your neighbours, and if you need a hand with a summer management plan or some advice on moving stock during these conditions, give us a bell.
With fodder reserves currently high and a strong production period underway, landholders across New England and North West NSW are presented with a timely window to secure their feed strategies ahead of changing weather patterns.
It’s easy to take for granted the dirt on our boots and the effortless way our kids learn where their food comes from. Standing here in Gunnedah, getting ready to send my eldest son off to Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School next year with his two younger brothers hopefully following in his footsteps, I’m constantly reminded of how fortunate we are to live this lifestyle. But step outside our regional bubble, and the divide between city children and the farm gate has never been wider.
Stand on the edge of any paddock at sunrise across our region, and you’ll see a landscape built on generations of grit, local knowledge, and good old-fashioned hard work. But look a little closer at the horizon today, and you might just catch a user-friendly drone hovering silently into view
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