California's heat wave has lasting effects on agriculture

by Nicole Weston, Posted Aug 9th 2006 @ 4:12PM

The last month saw a devastating heat wave in California, with sustained temperatures of well over 100F, and up to 120F in the deserts. The heat created lines in front of ice cream shops all over the state, but many other industries were heavily impacted. The dairy industry actually suffered losses of as many as 16,000 cows, just from the heat alone, as even overnight the temperatures did not drop down to give the animals relief. Other cows miscarried or couldn't conceive, and the milk that was gathered during the period had a lower butterfat content, making it unsuitable for some uses, like cheesemaking. The dairy industry alone could take 9 months to recover fully.

Other industries - and by extension, consumers - had losses as well. The California Poultry Federation estimated that 750,000 chickens and 180,000 turkeys also died as a direct result of the heat wave, though it is a very small percentage of the industry, so prices are unlikely to be affected. Strawberries over-ripened or rotted, stone fruits were sunburned and tomatoes "literally cooked in their skins," leading to an estimated loss of 10% of the total crop in some places. The effects on other foods, like nuts, will not be seen until their harvest comes around in fall, but California agriculture will need some time to recover fully.

Source

Filed Under: Farming, Business, Stores & Shopping
Tags: agribusiness, agriculture, america, california, central valley, cheese, chickens, cows, dairy, dairy cows, farm, farming, farms, fruit, fruits, heat, heat wave, spoiled, stores-and-shopping, sunburnt, west coast

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

8-09-2006 @4:29PM Tim Regan said... Snippets of useful information for consumers. Very useful.
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8-16-2006 @4:06AM Gabriella said... Well I am not surprised bc I drove through that area last week and it was so hot and I just could not understand how the cows were handling the heat
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9-06-2006 @6:14PM jocy said... yes the heat wave is a concern but yet we have to think of the people and how much wer're going to suffer with the damage of our food supply.
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