Milk-curdling temperatures are expected over the next three
days, bringing dangerous heat to not only humans but dairy
cows.

According to Richard Grunn, a meteorologist at the Penn State
Weather Center in State College, temperatures will be in the 90s
today, Tuesday and Wednesday across the Bradford area, with
temperatures lowering to the 80s on Thursday.

“That’s quite hot for Bradford,” Grunn said. “We’re in for two
to four really hot days. From the output we have from the different
systems that predict the weather, (the high temperatures should
break) somewhere between late Wednesday and early Friday. Right
now, we’re predicting Thursday will be the last of the red hot
days.”

Grunn also said the humidity will increase on Tuesday and
Wednesday.

“It should be feeling pretty uncomfortable starting Tuesday,”
Grunn said.

Though the weather may be uncomfortable for humans, dairy cows
will also find the heat uncomfortable and even stressful.

Jim Clark of the Penn State Cooperative Extension office said he
read that some cows in California had died because of the heat. He
said the heat will also affect milk production.

Dale Hoffman of Shinglehouse, who runs one of the largest farms
in Potter County, said they’ve lost some production this year due
to the heat.

“This year’s been exceptionally hot,” Hoffman said. “We’ve had
some heat-related stress. … The cows are not eating the way they
should be. We had three last week. Usually, we don’t have very
many, and we had three in a row.”

Jim Larson, a farmer from Smethport, said he has had no
fatalities this year from the heat but pointed out the heat does
affect the cows.

“It takes a toll,” Larson said. “They can’t stand a lot of heat.
The cows (we have) are inside, but some farms just turn them out.
The cows that are out in the sunshine have a whole lot harder time
with this than ours. We use a lot of fans. It takes a lot of effort
to keep them cool.

“They work very hard to produce the milk. Just making the milk
is a pretty stressful job. With this heat on, it’s hard. Somebody
can lose a cow pretty easily if you didn’t take a little bit of
care.”

Hoffman said they make sure to keep the cows cool with fans
running and keep water in front of them.

“They’re inside, and that helps a little bit,” Hoffman said.
“But it’s still a struggle.”

“Some (cows), we have gone as far as wetting them down to cool
them off a little bit,” Larson said.

“Some farmers use sprinklers to wet the cows,” Clark said. “Make
sure there’s plenty of ventilation in the barns and plenty of fresh
water.”

Larson said the loss of production will not affect the price of
milk since it is so low already.

“The milk that we sell so far is as low as you possibly can take
it,” Larson said. “A lot of times in the summer, the price goes
down since schools are not in. Production is down … because kids
would just drink Kool-Aid or pop rather than milk.”

For his part, Hoffman said “I think when you have heat-stress,
there’s less production, which should increase the milk price. If
all across the U.S. a couple of pounds less milk is produced,
that’s a lot of milk in a day’s production.”

In April, McKean County was under a drought watch due to limited
rainfall, according to McKean County Emergency Management Agency
Director Steve Nelson.

Nelson said Sunday that he was not aware of any droughts
reported for McKean County or other parts of Pennsylvania.

Nelson also said he does not have the latest report so he was
unaware if the amount of rainfall has been average or above average
lately or exactly what the water levels are currently.

“If I had to speculate, I’d say we’re right in the neighborhood
of average,” Nelson said.

Nelson said for conservation purposes residents should not waste
water but also said with the coming heat wave, residents should try
to stay hydrated.

“If it gets hot, check on your neighbors, especially elderly
neighbors or neighbors you know will have trouble with the heat,”
Nelson said. “It’s not that typical for the temperatures here to be
in the 90s, and I heard temperatures predicted may even be in the
low 100s, possibly. You should limit your outdoor activities. Drink
a lot of water and stay hydrated. If you don’t have to be outside,
try to stay someplace cool. If you have to be outside, try to stay
hydrated.”

Grunn said people should avoid any strenuous activities,
especially around 4 p.m. which is the hottest part of the day. He
also suggested residents drink lots of water.