A meme was circulating earlier this winter with an image of a frozen stock tank and a sledge hammer with the caption, “If winter is your favorite season, there’s a 99% chance you don’t have livestock.” I wouldn’t quite agree to this statement—there are lots of reasons to love the milder parts of winter in animal husbandry, including a reprieve from mud, biting flies, and heat stress. But things can grow pretty rough when we reach the bitter cold part of winter.
I’m not talking about the occasional sub-zero dip but those prolonged spells where the cold becomes relentless. We’re currently in our second week of nighttime temperatures plunging into double digits below, with -30 being this morning’s thermometer greeting.
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