Johnson column: Livestock in winter

It seems like every weather report I hear is telling us that this January is the coldest ever on record. That's fine by me, because the cold weather is a whole lot easier for farmers and livestock to deal with than all the rain and resulting mud we had in November and December.

From my own experience and visiting with producers, the extra-wet fall weather, combined with yo-yo-ing temperatures, created one of the biggest livestock health challenges many producers have faced.

Respiratory illnesses and foot ailments were almost impossible to avoid, even with the best management. Other than the extra work to keep water running, the colder temperatures have actually helped by freezing the ground, drying out some of the excess moisture and hopefully helping to control some of the disease-causing agents in the environment.The colder temperatures have caused livestock producers to feed extra to help the stock maintain its body temperature. Many horse owners have blanketed their steeds, and the stock owners themselves are bundled up and rosy cheeked doing chores.

But, if they're really pressed on the issue, I'm guessing most will take the cold over the mud. I will.

I've seen several very well presented TV news stories about protecting pets and outdoor-dwelling critters from the cold weather. The livestock I work with every day amaze me with how much more water and feed they consume in an effort to generate more body heat during cold weather. An educated guess is 10-20 percent more feed and water than normal. An excellent source of further information is the North Carolina State University Animal Science Web site: www.cals.ncsu.edu/an_sci/extension/index.html.

Rowan County Cooperative Extension is constantly refining its newsletter lists and attempting to be more efficient in these challenging economic times. Please let us know (704-216-8970) if you have an e-mail address at which you want to receive newsletters.

Some dates for folks to put on their calendars:

- Jan. 28: Dairy Calf Management at the Iredell County Ag Center, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Contact Ken Vaughn (704-873-0507) at Iredell CES by Jan. 21 to register.

- Feb. 9: Pastured Poultry Conference at the Guilford County Ag Center. Visit: www.ces.ncsu.edu/ chatham/ag/SustAg/calendar.html for details.

- Feb. 19-20: North Carolina Cattlemen's Conference, Hickory Metro Convention Center. Visit NC Cattlemen's Web site, www.nccattle.com for registration information.

- Feb. 22-23: North Carolina Dairy Conference, Salisbury Holiday Inn. Registration information is available at the Rowan County Cooperative Extension Office.

Brad Johnson is an Extension Agent in agriculture-livestock and dairy with the Rowan County Cooperative Extension Service.