Is Shade Necessary for Cattle?

Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator, Athens County

The shade for cattle question has been raised more than once on grazing council pasture walks. There is a range of opinions on the issue and really, at first glance it seems to make sense that shade on hot days will increase cattle comfort and performance. I spent a little time on the Internet looking for research articles dealing with cattle, heat stress and shade. With the time I could give to this I’m not going to claim to have the definitive answer to this question, but I did discover some factors that should be taken into account when attempting to answer the shade question. Continue reading