What do animals do in the pasture when there is a real crash and lightning? They are often “relaxed”. But there is one problem that is particularly preoccupying the farmers in this stormy summer.
Munich – Constant storms, rain, hail and lightning – this year’s summer is a special challenge for farmers. But cattle defy the adverse weather often more calmly than humans.
“Animals have different natural strategies to deal with weather events, so a grazing cattle like to turn its backside against the main wind direction despite the available shelter and thus defy storm, rain or possible hail,” said Irene Pfeiffer, animal expert from the Bavarian Farmers’ Association. “Even with thunderstorms, animals are usually quite relaxed.”
But farmers could also lose grazing animals because of lightning – but that happens relatively rarely. There are no figures about it. Stable animals in particular are at risk when lightning strikes because there is a risk of fire.
Continuous storms cause a particular problem: the food. It is more difficult to obtain hay and the quality of the straw is also poor, said Pfeiffer. Harvesting is often not feasible in soaked meadows and fields. “In this way, the consequences of storms can be felt in the feeding for months.” This year it is particularly bad because it often rains heavily. “There is always uncertainty about the weather, but this year the heavy rain is the big problem because the soil is so wet.” Dpa
