ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 6, 1996 TAG: 9602060060
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RINER
SOURCE: ELISSA MILENKY AND LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITERS
White steam rose from the mouths and noses of Henry Sink's dairy cows in the crisp air of a record-cold Monday morning. But it was Sink, not the cows, who suffered the brunt of the frigid temperatures as he went about his morning chores.
Bundled in brown coveralls, a hooded sweatshirt and a wool ski hat, Sink spent his morning trying to get his equipment started after milking the cows at 4:30 a.m. - when temperatures dipped below zero.
"Ah, it's just another day," Sink said, though his face was bright red from the cold.
As for the cows, he explained, "they take the cold a lot better than the heat in the summertime. As long as they've got plenty to eat, they're OK."
Unlike fussy humans, livestock need three main elements to keep them happy during these chilling winter days: water, food and a tree or hill to stand behind when the wind picks up speed. Richard White, Pulaski County's cooperative extension agent, said water is a key element in that equation.
"If livestock can get to water that's not frozen and it's clean, then they will continue to eat," said White. "If they can't get water, they'll stop eating."
So far, the cattle, sheep and horses are holding up fairly well this winter, White said.
Farmers have been keeping a constant eye on the water supplies.
Dale Flory, who has a dairy farm near Dublin, regularly has to break the ice in rubber buckets so his calves can get their water.
The calves have stayed in the barn, bedded down on straw during this latest storm and cold spell, but the cows are out in the snow and cold, Flory said. The cows can withstand the colder weather because they generate heat as their bodies work to produce milk.
"They look like they're just lazily sitting around, but they're working," said Flory, who has been feeding the calves an extra meal each day to keep them warm.
Though Monday's temperatures were especially brutal, this winter has been relatively cold, farmers said, helping animals to adapt to frigid weather.
Martha McDonald, whose family runs a beef-cattle farm near Blacksburg, said their cows have toughened up because they are outside all the time.
Karen Waldron, who raises horses, llamas and cattle in Shawsville, noticed her horses grew thicker coats during the fall. "They're more suited to this than we think," she said.
Farmers also have to toughen up during these times. Animals must be cared for and fed no matter how cold it gets.
Gail Groot, who raises horses, dairy goats, chickens and turkeys on her small organic farm in Montgomery County, carried warm water to her animals to help them endure the cold early Monday morning as the thermometer read 9 degrees below zero. The animals stay in the barn during weather this cold, but she could see some of them shivering.
In past years, she has had to carry some of her newborn goats into a warm bath to keep from freezing. Sometimes, the kids' ears get frostbitten.
Fortunately, this year the first of the kids are due next week, when temperatures are expected to be 40 or 50 degrees.
"Most all livestock producers are good stewards of the livestock and they brave the elements to make sure the water is available and the feed is there," said White, the cooperative extension agent.
Still, the farmers themselves have to be careful.
"You can't help the animals if you don't keep warm yourself," McDonald said.
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALan Kim. 1. Sinkland Farms owner Henry Sink heads outby CNBto clear a driveway at a neighboring farm across Virginia 8 in
Montgomery County, where he rents additional acreage. After sub-zero
temperatures overnight, his front-end loader needed a battery charge
and thawing with a gas heater. 2. Holstein cows (above) show their
breath as frigid temperatures invade New River Valley farms. 3. Dale
Flory (below), owner of Nick Creek Farms in Dublin, in the calf
barn. One calf was born on Friday evening and two on Saturday
morning - all in single-digit temperatures. Flory says cows are more
likely to be bothered by hot weather than cold. color.