April 13, 2023 • 35 mins
Wildfire season is upon us and many large fires are already raging in the South and West. How do these environmental disturbances affect livestock health and production? You’ll meet Amy Skibiel Ph.D. from the University of Idaho. She explains how wildfires have a long-term impact — long after the fires go out.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:12):
Hello, and welcome to the Top Con Talks Agriculture
podcast.
On each episode, we discuss andshare topics that are important
to farmers, growers, andagribusiness.
My name is Dan Hendricks, and Iam your host for today.
I serve as a senior businessdevelopment manager for Topcon
Agriculture, and I get to workwith an amazing team of talented
(00:36):
individuals who loveagriculture.
They enjoy technology, and theystrive to help farmers and
growers find solutions.
In today's episode, we are goingto get a better understanding of
the impact that wildfires haveon livestock, both the health of
the animals and theirproduction.
(00:57):
And although I personally livein the Midwest and rarely
experience wildfires close to myhome, wildfires are a major
problem.
In other parts of the UnitedStates, like you, I've seen the
news footage and the media andsee the devastation that the
fires bring to people and toproperty.
This past summer, my wife and Iwere in Lake Tahoe and we were
(01:21):
vacationing, and we got towitness the scars of the massive
forest fire firsthand thatravished that area in August of
2021.
And, um, I, it was interestingto learn that the fire had gone
on for two months and it hadscorched about 350 square miles
of acreage in that area.
And it was incredible to see theimpact.
(01:43):
But weather experts are nowtelling us that climate change,
ongoing droughts and drierclimates have been predicted to
increase the risk of wildfiresin many areas of the world.
And we know that these areasaffect people and property.
But in today's podcast episode,we are going to examine the
effect these fires have onagricultural animals and their
(02:05):
production.
Some of the major concerns foragriculture when wildfires are
there are changing of grazingpatterns, loss of supplies,
including pastures and theanimal's health.
Just listen to these statisticsfor a moment.
7.6 million acres were destroyedin 2022 by forest fires in
(02:26):
69,000 separate fires.
The worst year for wildfires onrecord was 2015 when 10 point 13
million acres of land wereburnt.
And in terms of monetarydamages, 2017 was the worst year
in US history with wildfirescausing 24 billion, not million
(02:49):
billion with a B 24 billion indamages.
Studying the impact of wildfireson human health has been rapidly
expanding, but the impact onlivestock, on the other hand,
has been very limited.
Primetime for wildfires dependson the summer temperatures,
rainfall and wind.
And in California, most fireshave historically happened in
(03:12):
June and July.
However, recent data is pointingto that season is lengthening
with wildfires starting earlierin the year and lasting well
into the fall and winter months.
So, to help us understand theimpact of wildfires on animals,
we have the pleasure of havingDr.
Amy Gibble join us today.
(03:34):
Amy is an assistant professor atthe University of Idaho where
she heads up research projectsin lactation biology and
environmental physiology.
Her and her team work toinvestigate various
environmental conditions thataffect animal health and the
impact on milk production.
One of her most recent researchprojects is diving into the
(03:56):
impact of wildfire smokeexposure on dairy cattle health
and performance in the PacificNorthwest, which makes her an
expert on today's topic.
So, Amy, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Uh, well, it's an honor to have you and, uh, can't
wait to, for you to enlighten usand help us understand this
impact of what's going on withwildfires.
So tell us a little bit aboutthe skiable lab.
Uh, what are your main areas ofresearch?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Sure.
So we have a couple of different, um, lines of research.
One focus is, is more, uh, inthe biology, lactation biology
realm per se.
So we're interested in howenergy metabolism changes across
lactation and then also inresponse to, uh, environmental
(04:50):
conditions and changes in it, inthe environment.
Um, we're really focused on thekind of cellular level there,
looking at tissues and specificcells, um, across the body and
how they respond to coordinatewhole animal energy metabolism.
And then the other track of myresearch is, is focused on
environmental physiology.
(05:11):
And of course there are somebridges between lactation and
environmental physiology aswell, which we will get into,
um, during this podcast today.
But, uh, in, in that line, ourresearch focuses on the effects
of heat stress on dairy cattle,as well as the effects of
wildfire smoke exposure andinhalation in dairy cattle as
(05:33):
well.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
How did you become interested in this field?
I mean, how did you, uh, get tothis point where you're doing
this kind of research?
Speaker 2 (05:42):
That's a great question.
So I grew up in the Northeast.
I was not really exposed towildfires there, um, wasn't
really on my radar.
I did a, a postdoc at theUniversity of Florida where I
was studying heat stress and howheat stress reduces milk
production in dairy cattle.
And so I, I had a strongbackground in environmental
(06:04):
physiology when I moved out hereto Idaho.
When I took this assistantprofessor position.
Um, I had been talking tocolleagues and students and
everybody had been telling mehow every summer the wildfire
smoke is really bad.
We don't necessarily have a lotof direct wildfires where we are
(06:25):
in Moscow, Idaho, but we, we doget the smoke blowing in from
Montana, from Washington,Oregon, California, Utah, all
around us.
Um, any, I mean, we do get fireshere occasionally, so we'll get
the smoke from those as well.
And so, you know, they had beentelling me how bad this issue is
(06:47):
here, and I was talking toanother one of my colleagues,
um, Dr.
Pra Ramond, who I collaboratewith on all of this research
that we're going to talk abouttoday.
And we were coming back from aconference, the Pacific
Northwest Animal NutritionConference in Boise, Idaho in
2020.
And we got to talking about thissubject and I said, you know,
(07:10):
like, this is my, this is myfield.
This is my realm.
Um, this is what I do,environmental work.
So we decided to move forwardand, and start doing some
research because there reallywas nothing published at that
point in time.
There, there was not, there wereno researchers that were
(07:31):
studying this topic.
And so that's what kind oflaunched my interest in
wildfires.
And of course, the more I wasreading about the issue and then
of course experienced itfirsthand,, um, I
realized how catastrophic thesefires are.
And you're absolutely correctthat experts are predicting
they're going to increase infrequency and severity into the
(07:53):
foreseeable future.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Help our listeners understand how far the fires can
be away from these animals andstill impact them, because
that's interesting that you havesaid that they're in Idaho, you
know, you're, you're not thatclose to the fires themselves,
but how far of a distance are wetalking about that they, that
still impacts the animals?
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Yeah, it can, the animals can be quite a distance
away from the actual direct areaburned.
Um, you, we could get smoke inPennsylvania from fires in
California.
They smoke can blow across theAtlantic ocean, you know, and,
and hit Europe.
So it really depends on the, theseverity of the fire and the
(08:38):
wind conditions really.
Um, so, you know, they could,animals could be in people for
that matter, hundreds of milesif not thousands of miles away
from the source of the, thesmoke and still be affected by
it.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
I would've never guessed it could have been that
far away that that is.
That's incredible.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Yes.
And in fact, um, two years ago,2021, um, there were many severe
wildfires that were occurring inCalifornia that year.
And I was talking to family inPennsylvania and my mom was
taking pictures, you know, outher window and you could see the
smoke in the air.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Yeah.
So help us understand why is itimportant to have this type of
research available?
Speaker 2 (09:19):
It's really important to understand what we're dealing
with, um, if we want to try tocome up with ways to mitigate
the problem.
So first of all, we, we know theresearch in humans suggest that
there are effects on health fromwildfire smoke inhalation.
And we know that cattleoftentimes don't have the
(09:44):
capacity to seek indoor refugewhen there are episodes of poor
air quality.
So in our minds, we're thinking,I'm sure animals are going to be
affected as well, potentiallyeven more so than humans,
because they don't have the, thechoice to escape from those
conditions.
And nobody had been studying it.
(10:05):
I mean, there's a potential thatfarmers are losing revenue, um,
from reduced production, fromhealth impacts that are costly,
um, to, to resolve.
And we can't get at those typesof questions unless we know what
the problem is.
So the first step was to ask, isthis a problem?
(10:27):
Mm-hmm.
.
And then subsequent steps, onceyou either see or you don't see
there's a problem, if there's aproblem, then you can start
taking steps to reallyunderstand what is the root
cause of the problem and startcoming up with strategies and
solutions to mitigate thatproblem.
And that was our thought processin all of this research and
(10:50):
finding that there is a problem,and we will get to that, I'm
sure during this podcast.
Um, you know, our ultimate goalwith this research is to, um,
have resolutions, have guidancefor producers so that they can,
um, better manage and protecttheir herds.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Yeah.
So they know what they'redealing with.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
So help us understand what some of the research by
your lab has shown so far.
Like what have you learned?
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Sure.
So we, we've done a few studiesnow.
The first one was a verypreliminary study where we
collected data from, uh, threedifferent farms in the Pacific
Northwest.
And we were just looking atgeneral associations between
these wildfire smoke episodesand changes in animal health.
(11:46):
So we went through farmmanagement records and just
looked for correlations betweendays when there was, um, high
levels of wildfire smoke, poorair quality, and incidences of,
um, health problems in, inanimals.
And those health problems couldrange from pneumonia, for
(12:09):
example, to, um, lameness tomastitis.
And what we found in thatpreliminary work was that across
these farms in this region, wesee that when there are episodes
of wildfire smoke, we also seean increase in incidences of
(12:31):
disease, just general illnessand disease in cows, mature
cows.
And we also see an increase inthe risk of mortality in dairy
calves.
And so that was our, the firstsuggestion that there was a
problem, and there was thisassociation between being
exposed to pollutants inwildfire smoke and health
(12:54):
consequences.
So our next step was to conducta more in depth study.
This was done at the Universityof Idaho.
So our, our first, um, studyhere was looking at the effects
of natural wildfires on maturelactating Gary cows.
(13:15):
And we were looking atparameters such as, um, milk
production, um, somatic cellcount, milk composition, all
those are all production relatedmetrics as well as, um, measures
of immunity, immune status, um,and health metrics such as
(13:36):
respiration rates and rectaltemperatures.
Those are often the indicatorsthat tell you that something's
going on with that animal.
And what we found in thatresearch was that during a
wildfire smoke event in thatparticular summer, we had, um,
an episode that lasted aboutseven days.
And during that whole sevendays, cows were producing less
(13:59):
milk on the order of about threeto six pounds of milk per day.
And then, uh, that decrease inmilk production persisted for a
week after the smoke dissipated.
Interesting.
Now it's possible those effectslast longer than that.
We only looked out to a weekafter, uh, the smoke exposure.
(14:25):
So over that period of time.
So that was about 14 days of adecrease in milk production
every day.
Yeah.
And I give you that rangebecause that range is really
based on the levels of aspecific component in smoke,
which is particulate matter, andthat's the one we're most
concerned about.
(14:45):
We have the most research andmost data available on that
component of smoke in the humanliterature.
And we know that the fineparticulates can be inhaled deep
into the lungs and they candeposit there in the lungs and
cause issues in the respiratorysystem, but they can also cross
the lungs and circulate in thebloodstream as well.
(15:07):
So that's why our focus is onparticulate matter
Speaker 1 (15:10):
With you saying all that.
I mean, there's huge monetaryeffects to agriculture, to the
dairy, which then in turn makesmilk prices or, or could
potentially make milk prices goup, right.
Because you have, um, the healthof the animals, you have
mortality rates going up andyou're having milk production go
(15:32):
down.
So it's basically just cuttingout a lot of the efficiencies
that these dairies are workingso hard to, you know, produce
milk at the, at the highestlevel that they can.
Correct.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Exactly.
And, you know, we haven't donean economic calculation yet, but
you can do a quick, you know,back of the napkin calculation
and realize that just in onestate we we're talking about
millions of dollars just when wehave, you know, 14, 21 days of
reduced health productionassociated with fires.
(16:05):
And one point I'd like to make,and I think this is an important
point, is we know that there isa huge effect of ambient
temperature on milk productionin dairy cattle.
The effects that we are seeingfrom wildfire smoke are
independent of the temperature.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
So when, so basically in summers where we have high
temperatures and wildfires, it'sreally a double whammy.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
I see.
So it's it's two separate thingsthat are affecting dairies a
lot.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Exactly, exactly.
And so I say we see this range,and actually the range is
between about three and ninepounds of milk loss per day per
cow, depending on the specificparticulate matter level in
smoke.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
And and what percentage wise, what is that a
loss of?
Speaker 2 (16:59):
It's close to 10%.
Okay.
On the upper range of, of that?
Yes.
So typically a, a dairy cow,lactating dairy cow, especially
at peak production, they'regonna be producing somewhere
around 80 pounds of milk per dayper cow.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Now have you seen it affect the taste of the milk or
the quality of the milk?
Speaker 2 (17:19):
We have not noticed that.
And honestly, I would besurprised with these acute
episodic events that it wouldhave a huge effect on, uh, milk
taste.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Yeah.
Now, with you doing this studythere, there has to be some
challenges that you face incollecting this data.
I mean, what, what are some ofthe, the difficulties that
you've ran into, into trying to,to get this data together?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
I think probably the most challenging thing is just
being ready to go, go when thereis a wildfire event.
I mean, pretty much the wholesummer we have to be at the
ready, we're collecting samplebaseline samples before, um, we
have wildfires, and then we haveto be ready to run out to the
farm.
As soon as, you know, the, theair quality is reduced and we
(18:08):
know there it's coming fromwildfires.
Um, we have to be able to, toget out to the farm and collect
those samples in a timelymanner.
I think the other obstacle, ofcourse, is that when we are out
on farm collecting samples, weare also being exposed to poor
air quality and it's difficultto wear, um, masks.
(18:30):
I mean, of course we can wear,um, specific types of masks that
will filter out thoseparticulates.
Um, the same kind of masks that,you know, we were wearing during
, um, COVID times and we'restill in covid times, but
, we don't have the maskmandates anymore.
You know, the N 95 masks do apretty good job of filtering out
the particulates as well, butthat makes it very difficult to
(18:52):
breathe and actually do yourwork.
Um, so those are, were some ofthe big challenges.
But I, I think the biggest oneis just being able to deploy at
a moment's notice and, and beable to get out and collect our
samples efficiently.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
So how many days would you say you or your team
were out last year?
Speaker 2 (19:09):
That's a great question.
I think we did six or seven, no,I think we did close to eight
collections last year.
That's just during wildfires.
We then had two collectionpoints after, and we had about
four collection points before.
So a long time it, itpretty much amounted to like a
(19:33):
solid month of, you know, timewise.
Yeah.
.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Now why do you think the data is so limited in, in,
in this area?
Speaker 2 (19:43):
I, that's a great question.
You know, there, there's now a,a great breadth of research on
effects of human exposure.
And I think that's, especiallynot only because of the interest
in public health, but also for,uh, firefighter safety as well.
(20:04):
There are some studies onwildlife.
So for example, there's studieson orangutans.
Um, there was a study done on acaptive group of bottle nosed
dolphins that were housed in theSan Diego Bay as part, as part
of the US uh, naval pod.
Um, and there's some additionalresearch on, on, um, on wildlife
(20:28):
and dispersion, especially awayfrom the source of wildfires,
but not in livestock.
You know, according to a surveythat was put out by some, uh,
collaborators of mine at OregonState University, they found
over the past several years thatproducers are becoming more
aware and they're starting toobserve some of the negative
impacts of wildfires on theiranimals, even if they're not in
(20:52):
the direct path of wildfires.
So I think with the increase inthe severity of wildfires, with
the press coverage about the,the catastrophic nature of these
massively large wildfires alongwith producers and the public
being out in it and being moreaware of, of this occurrence,
(21:17):
um, I, I think, I think peopleare just becoming more attuned
to what's happening.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
And besides the physical and respiratory issues
you've talked about, are thereother neurological and
reproductive issues that you'reseeing that get affected by
these wildfires?
Speaker 2 (21:37):
So one of the outcomes of that survey that I
mentioned was farmers werenoticing difficulties in, um,
getting cows pregnant duringwildfire season.
We have not done any researchthus far on reproduction per se.
Um, so I don't have an answerfor that yet, although that is
an area of interest of oursmoving forward.
(21:59):
Um, beyond that, neurologicallywe don't, we haven't really done
any research on, on that lineeither.
Um, we do see changes inbehavior, however Okay.
With calves.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
In what ways
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Last?
Yeah, so for a couple of summerswe have had, um, transponders on
the ankles of calves, so wecould monitor how they were
moving around in space.
And we see that the calvesactually spend more time
standing and moving around inless time lying down.
Uh, when there are wildfires,I'm not entirely sure what that
(22:34):
means.
It could be potentially maybe aninnate response to try to flee
from areas of poor air quality.
Um, but we're looking more intothat and, and we're actually
working on analyzing our datafrom this past summer, but
that's what we've seenpreliminarily so far.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Do you ever see any signs of, uh, smoke or dust
irritation in the animals, likecoughing or any kind of physical
response like that?
You can just look at an animaland you can tell how the, the
smoke is bothering them and andwhat are those?
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Yes, we do, we see greater, um, ocular discharge.
So we see more, um, mucus moretears coming from the eyes
during smoke and after as well.
We also see an increase incoughing in, in the calves as
well, especially in the calves.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
So if surviving cattle don't show any long-term
effects of a wildfire, shouldproducers be aware of potential
problems down the road that mayhappen, perhaps even after the
wildfire is gone?
Speaker 2 (23:42):
You know, just judging by the human literature,
I think there is the, thepotential that wildfire smoke
could have persistent effects,but also delayed effects.
And we are seeing some delayedeffects, um, with, with some of
the parameters, um, that we'vemeasured thus far already.
So for example, we do seechanges in some, um, immune cell
(24:06):
populations in the blood, butthat's delayed by about three
days, which is interesting.
And we see that both in cows andcalves.
It could be that there arefurther delays, you know, beyond
three days out to weeks or so.
Um, I also think that it takesanimals and, and humans time to
recover from these events,especially depending on, um,
(24:30):
their exposure levels.
And so it, it might take monthspotentially to recover from a
respiratory ailment, forexample, stemming from wildfire
smoke exposure.
So I definitely think it's, um,important to pay attention to
the animals, especially duringthese times, and to be
(24:50):
monitoring them following thatas well.
Um, because absolutely these,these effects could persist for
a long period of time or theycould be delayed.
We just got, um, U S D A fundingto study long-term effects on
animals.
So that work is going to bestarting this year.
(25:11):
So hopefully we will have a moresolid answer in, in the next
year or two on, on long-termeffect.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
.
Well, it sounds like you're justkind of scratching the surface
of exactly what you guys arelearning.
Um, and, and you kind of touchedon this, but how can producers
best care for their animalsduring these wildfires?
Uh, because I, I would guessthat they're somewhat limited in
what they could, can do.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
Yes.
And that's the million dollarquestion and, and what our
research is working towards,because right now the guidelines
that, uh, we have for producersare not that great and they're
not always feasible.
For example, one of therecommendations is to keep
animals inside.
Well, that's not a possibility,right?
(25:57):
For most producers, sure.
They don't have a spare barn,you know, that, that has the
capacity to house all of theiranimals during the whole
wildfire season, or even for asmall period of time when a
wildfire smoke event comesthrough their area.
Um, so we need to have bettersolutions for producers to, to
(26:20):
prevent the harm in the firstplace or if it does come through
to, to mitigate that and resolveit quickly after.
Some of the other guidelines areto, to just monitor your
animals, watch your animalsduring and after these events,
look for increased coughing,look for, um, changes in, um, in
(26:43):
willingness to eat.
Are they, are they going off offeed?
Um, looking for increases intears from the eyes or discharge
from the nose, drooping ears?
All of those are signs that theanimal isn't feeling well.
And producers should seekveterinary consultation if they
see any of those.
(27:04):
Uh, making sure that animalshave access to water is really
important.
Not only dur any time really,um, during the summer when it's
hot, but also because drinkingwater also hydrates the
respiratory tract, and thathelps to trap those particulates
and other air pollutants in therespiratory tract before it
(27:26):
makes its way to the lungs.
So it can be more easilyexpelled.
Um, some other guidelines areto, to try not to exercise
animals more than theyabsolutely need to, both during
these events and also followingthem because we know that
increased respiration rateshappen during wildfire smoke
(27:50):
events, and we don't wannaincrease respiration rates even
further by exercising them,because that just increases the
amount of pollutants that arecoming into the lungs and giving
animals space to heal after aswell.
Making sure we're not stressinganimals, trying to transport
them, you know, the day afterthey've been exposed, um, to
(28:13):
these high particulate leverlevels from smoke.
And then of course there's,there's some prevention as well.
Um, just making sure that, youknow, dead brush and debris is
cleared off of, um, farms sothat we're preventing fires from
happening in the first place.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
Have you seen the results, uh, from, um, dairy
owners that have taken whatyou're saying, your
recommendations, and they'reputting those into practice,
they're learning from your data?
I mean, I would, I would thinksome of it is common sense, but
other things that you're sayingthat they would go, okay, well
we weren't aware of that, or,um, are, are you seeing that put
(28:53):
into practice?
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Yeah, I think that's a great question and I haven't
been tracking to see thoserecommendations did not come out
of our research or our lab.
Um, just to be very transparenton that, um, we are trying to
develop more targeted approaches, um, for producers because
again, some of those guidelinesyes, are common sense and some
(29:16):
are just not feasible.
So we need, we need bettersolutions potentially through
dietary interventions, through,um, medicinal interventions, um,
ways of potentially cleaning,scrubbing the air from those
pollutants so the animals aren'texposed to'em.
So these are all avenues thatwe're exploring and we will be
(29:38):
testing, um, one of thoseapproaches in this new grant
that, that we just received.
So we're hoping to have moretargeted approaches and more
fine tuned guidelines forproducers moving forward.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
So is there any research that you have done to
suggest that if a fetus isexposed to this smoke during
pregnancy, that there would belasting health effects that
would go on beyond, uh, thatgeneration of cattle?
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Yeah, that's an excellent question and one that
we're actually working on rightnow.
Towards the end of last year,um, we were successful in, um,
receiving a U S D A grant.
It's called a rapid responseprogram, which is meant to be,
um, quick data generation andquick, um, extension and, and
(30:32):
education resources madeavailable for producers and
stakeholders, um, related to aclimate associated natural
disaster or event.
And for that project, we havebeen following two groups of,
um, calves that were eitherexposed in utero to wildfire
(30:56):
smoke, so the dams were pregnant, um, at the time they were
exposed to smoke.
Those dams have since calved andwe're following the calves up to
six months of age.
We also have a control group ofcalves that, uh, were not
exposed in utero, so we're stillworking on that.
Um, you know, there will be datacoming out of that, but since
(31:19):
it's an ongoing project and wejust started three months ago,
we don't have results yet.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Sure.
Well, it sounds like you have alot of ongoing, uh, work and
some long-term goals.
Uh, is there, are there specificresults that you're hoping to
achieve out of this study?
Speaker 2 (31:39):
Absolutely.
I mean, I think every resultthat we get gives us a little
bit more information, um, and,and another piece to the puzzle
to kind of figure out what isgoing on physiologically in the
animal behaviorally.
Um, as far as production goes,as far as health goes, and as,
(32:01):
as we are, um, developing thisknowledge in gaining these
pieces to the puzzle, it allowsus to build a really solid
foundation to move forward anddevelop ideas and strategies for
producers that we can then testand say, yes, it works, or, yes,
it doesn't work.
(32:22):
And so really again, theultimate goal is to be able to
have these recommendations inplace and they have been
scientifically tested and, um,show that they are effective
before we bring those toproducers.
And I, I do just wanna follow upby saying, although our work
(32:44):
thus far has really been focusedon dairy cattle, this isn't a
problem that's unique to thedairy cow.
Um, I think some of the, thedata that we're generating also
can translate to other speciesas well, to beef cattle, to
sheep, goats and so on.
Um, even though we haven't donespecific work with those species
(33:04):
yet, I think it absolutely, um,translates to other industries
outside of the dairy.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Yeah.
Well, we appreciate your, yourpassion and all of your hard
work and your team's hard workto, to help dairy owners kind of
understand the, the impact.
And just for our listeners justin general, to understand the
impact that, that thesewildfires are, um, are having.
(33:31):
It, it, it's just, it'sfascinating and I know most of
our listeners are just very proagriculture, so it, it helps us
to kind of understand what'sgoing on and, um, even if
they're not in the dairy, uh,arena, they, they kind of
understand what the impact isgoing on.
So, uh, I wanna thank you, Amy,so much for, for coming and
sharing, uh, your research andsome of the results and just
(33:54):
helping expand.
I know for me, I learned a lotand helping expand, um, this
problem and, and working so hardto find solutions for it.
We greatly appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Absolutely.
I really appreciate theinvitation.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
And if you're listening and you wanna find out
more information, uh, about Amyand the work that she's doing,
you can go to ww dot livestockwild fire hub.org.
You can also reach out onInstagram and Twitter at Cattle
Fire Group.
And if you're on LinkedIn, ifyou will search Livestock and
(34:31):
Wildfire Research Group, you canfind out more about this
fascinating information andresearch that Amy is involved
in.
And I want to thank each of youthat are listening today and
have taken the time to tune in.
Topcon appreciates all of ourfriends in agriculture who work
so tirelessly to put food on ourtables.
(34:51):
And if you've enjoyed thisepisode, remember to, like,
share, subscribe to Topcon TalksAgriculture on Spotify, apple
Podcasts, Amazon Music, orwherever you get your podcasts.
Please tell your friends aboutus.
We'd love for you to followTopcon Agriculture on social
media.
And thanks again for tuning intoday.
(35:12):
See you next time.
Go out and make it a great day.
Hello, and welcome to the Top Con Talks Agriculture
podcast.
On each episode, we discuss andshare topics that are important
to farmers, growers, andagribusiness.
My name is Dan Hendricks, and Iam your host for today.
I serve as a senior businessdevelopment manager for Topcon
Agriculture, and I get to workwith an amazing team of talented
(00:36):
individuals who loveagriculture.
They enjoy technology, and theystrive to help farmers and
growers find solutions.
In today's episode, we are goingto get a better understanding of
the impact that wildfires haveon livestock, both the health of
the animals and theirproduction.
(00:57):
And although I personally livein the Midwest and rarely
experience wildfires close to myhome, wildfires are a major
problem.
In other parts of the UnitedStates, like you, I've seen the
news footage and the media andsee the devastation that the
fires bring to people and toproperty.
This past summer, my wife and Iwere in Lake Tahoe and we were
(01:21):
vacationing, and we got towitness the scars of the massive
forest fire firsthand thatravished that area in August of
2021.
And, um, I, it was interestingto learn that the fire had gone
on for two months and it hadscorched about 350 square miles
of acreage in that area.
And it was incredible to see theimpact.
(01:43):
But weather experts are nowtelling us that climate change,
ongoing droughts and drierclimates have been predicted to
increase the risk of wildfiresin many areas of the world.
And we know that these areasaffect people and property.
But in today's podcast episode,we are going to examine the
effect these fires have onagricultural animals and their
(02:05):
production.
Some of the major concerns foragriculture when wildfires are
there are changing of grazingpatterns, loss of supplies,
including pastures and theanimal's health.
Just listen to these statisticsfor a moment.
7.6 million acres were destroyedin 2022 by forest fires in
(02:26):
69,000 separate fires.
The worst year for wildfires onrecord was 2015 when 10 point 13
million acres of land wereburnt.
And in terms of monetarydamages, 2017 was the worst year
in US history with wildfirescausing 24 billion, not million
(02:49):
billion with a B 24 billion indamages.
Studying the impact of wildfireson human health has been rapidly
expanding, but the impact onlivestock, on the other hand,
has been very limited.
Primetime for wildfires dependson the summer temperatures,
rainfall and wind.
And in California, most fireshave historically happened in
(03:12):
June and July.
However, recent data is pointingto that season is lengthening
with wildfires starting earlierin the year and lasting well
into the fall and winter months.
So, to help us understand theimpact of wildfires on animals,
we have the pleasure of havingDr.
Amy Gibble join us today.
(03:34):
Amy is an assistant professor atthe University of Idaho where
she heads up research projectsin lactation biology and
environmental physiology.
Her and her team work toinvestigate various
environmental conditions thataffect animal health and the
impact on milk production.
One of her most recent researchprojects is diving into the
(03:56):
impact of wildfire smokeexposure on dairy cattle health
and performance in the PacificNorthwest, which makes her an
expert on today's topic.
So, Amy, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Uh, well, it's an honor to have you and, uh, can't
wait to, for you to enlighten usand help us understand this
impact of what's going on withwildfires.
So tell us a little bit aboutthe skiable lab.
Uh, what are your main areas ofresearch?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Sure.
So we have a couple of different, um, lines of research.
One focus is, is more, uh, inthe biology, lactation biology
realm per se.
So we're interested in howenergy metabolism changes across
lactation and then also inresponse to, uh, environmental
(04:50):
conditions and changes in it, inthe environment.
Um, we're really focused on thekind of cellular level there,
looking at tissues and specificcells, um, across the body and
how they respond to coordinatewhole animal energy metabolism.
And then the other track of myresearch is, is focused on
environmental physiology.
(05:11):
And of course there are somebridges between lactation and
environmental physiology aswell, which we will get into,
um, during this podcast today.
But, uh, in, in that line, ourresearch focuses on the effects
of heat stress on dairy cattle,as well as the effects of
wildfire smoke exposure andinhalation in dairy cattle as
(05:33):
well.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
How did you become interested in this field?
I mean, how did you, uh, get tothis point where you're doing
this kind of research?
Speaker 2 (05:42):
That's a great question.
So I grew up in the Northeast.
I was not really exposed towildfires there, um, wasn't
really on my radar.
I did a, a postdoc at theUniversity of Florida where I
was studying heat stress and howheat stress reduces milk
production in dairy cattle.
And so I, I had a strongbackground in environmental
(06:04):
physiology when I moved out hereto Idaho.
When I took this assistantprofessor position.
Um, I had been talking tocolleagues and students and
everybody had been telling mehow every summer the wildfire
smoke is really bad.
We don't necessarily have a lotof direct wildfires where we are
(06:25):
in Moscow, Idaho, but we, we doget the smoke blowing in from
Montana, from Washington,Oregon, California, Utah, all
around us.
Um, any, I mean, we do get fireshere occasionally, so we'll get
the smoke from those as well.
And so, you know, they had beentelling me how bad this issue is
(06:47):
here, and I was talking toanother one of my colleagues,
um, Dr.
Pra Ramond, who I collaboratewith on all of this research
that we're going to talk abouttoday.
And we were coming back from aconference, the Pacific
Northwest Animal NutritionConference in Boise, Idaho in
2020.
And we got to talking about thissubject and I said, you know,
(07:10):
like, this is my, this is myfield.
This is my realm.
Um, this is what I do,environmental work.
So we decided to move forwardand, and start doing some
research because there reallywas nothing published at that
point in time.
There, there was not, there wereno researchers that were
(07:31):
studying this topic.
And so that's what kind oflaunched my interest in
wildfires.
And of course, the more I wasreading about the issue and then
of course experienced itfirsthand,
realized how catastrophic thesefires are.
And you're absolutely correctthat experts are predicting
they're going to increase infrequency and severity into the
(07:53):
foreseeable future.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Help our listeners understand how far the fires can
be away from these animals andstill impact them, because
that's interesting that you havesaid that they're in Idaho, you
know, you're, you're not thatclose to the fires themselves,
but how far of a distance are wetalking about that they, that
still impacts the animals?
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Yeah, it can, the animals can be quite a distance
away from the actual direct areaburned.
Um, you, we could get smoke inPennsylvania from fires in
California.
They smoke can blow across theAtlantic ocean, you know, and,
and hit Europe.
So it really depends on the, theseverity of the fire and the
(08:38):
wind conditions really.
Um, so, you know, they could,animals could be in people for
that matter, hundreds of milesif not thousands of miles away
from the source of the, thesmoke and still be affected by
it.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
I would've never guessed it could have been that
far away that that is.
That's incredible.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Yes.
And in fact, um, two years ago,2021, um, there were many severe
wildfires that were occurring inCalifornia that year.
And I was talking to family inPennsylvania and my mom was
taking pictures, you know, outher window and you could see the
smoke in the air.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Yeah.
So help us understand why is itimportant to have this type of
research available?
Speaker 2 (09:19):
It's really important to understand what we're dealing
with, um, if we want to try tocome up with ways to mitigate
the problem.
So first of all, we, we know theresearch in humans suggest that
there are effects on health fromwildfire smoke inhalation.
And we know that cattleoftentimes don't have the
(09:44):
capacity to seek indoor refugewhen there are episodes of poor
air quality.
So in our minds, we're thinking,I'm sure animals are going to be
affected as well, potentiallyeven more so than humans,
because they don't have the, thechoice to escape from those
conditions.
And nobody had been studying it.
(10:05):
I mean, there's a potential thatfarmers are losing revenue, um,
from reduced production, fromhealth impacts that are costly,
um, to, to resolve.
And we can't get at those typesof questions unless we know what
the problem is.
So the first step was to ask, isthis a problem?
(10:27):
Mm-hmm.
And then subsequent steps, onceyou either see or you don't see
there's a problem, if there's aproblem, then you can start
taking steps to reallyunderstand what is the root
cause of the problem and startcoming up with strategies and
solutions to mitigate thatproblem.
And that was our thought processin all of this research and
(10:50):
finding that there is a problem,and we will get to that, I'm
sure during this podcast.
Um, you know, our ultimate goalwith this research is to, um,
have resolutions, have guidancefor producers so that they can,
um, better manage and protecttheir herds.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Yeah.
So they know what they'redealing with.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
So help us understand what some of the research by
your lab has shown so far.
Like what have you learned?
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Sure.
So we, we've done a few studiesnow.
The first one was a verypreliminary study where we
collected data from, uh, threedifferent farms in the Pacific
Northwest.
And we were just looking atgeneral associations between
these wildfire smoke episodesand changes in animal health.
(11:46):
So we went through farmmanagement records and just
looked for correlations betweendays when there was, um, high
levels of wildfire smoke, poorair quality, and incidences of,
um, health problems in, inanimals.
And those health problems couldrange from pneumonia, for
(12:09):
example, to, um, lameness tomastitis.
And what we found in thatpreliminary work was that across
these farms in this region, wesee that when there are episodes
of wildfire smoke, we also seean increase in incidences of
(12:31):
disease, just general illnessand disease in cows, mature
cows.
And we also see an increase inthe risk of mortality in dairy
calves.
And so that was our, the firstsuggestion that there was a
problem, and there was thisassociation between being
exposed to pollutants inwildfire smoke and health
(12:54):
consequences.
So our next step was to conducta more in depth study.
This was done at the Universityof Idaho.
So our, our first, um, studyhere was looking at the effects
of natural wildfires on maturelactating Gary cows.
(13:15):
And we were looking atparameters such as, um, milk
production, um, somatic cellcount, milk composition, all
those are all production relatedmetrics as well as, um, measures
of immunity, immune status, um,and health metrics such as
(13:36):
respiration rates and rectaltemperatures.
Those are often the indicatorsthat tell you that something's
going on with that animal.
And what we found in thatresearch was that during a
wildfire smoke event in thatparticular summer, we had, um,
an episode that lasted aboutseven days.
And during that whole sevendays, cows were producing less
(13:59):
milk on the order of about threeto six pounds of milk per day.
And then, uh, that decrease inmilk production persisted for a
week after the smoke dissipated.
Interesting.
Now it's possible those effectslast longer than that.
We only looked out to a weekafter, uh, the smoke exposure.
(14:25):
So over that period of time.
So that was about 14 days of adecrease in milk production
every day.
Yeah.
And I give you that rangebecause that range is really
based on the levels of aspecific component in smoke,
which is particulate matter, andthat's the one we're most
concerned about.
(14:45):
We have the most research andmost data available on that
component of smoke in the humanliterature.
And we know that the fineparticulates can be inhaled deep
into the lungs and they candeposit there in the lungs and
cause issues in the respiratorysystem, but they can also cross
the lungs and circulate in thebloodstream as well.
(15:07):
So that's why our focus is onparticulate matter
Speaker 1 (15:10):
With you saying all that.
I mean, there's huge monetaryeffects to agriculture, to the
dairy, which then in turn makesmilk prices or, or could
potentially make milk prices goup, right.
Because you have, um, the healthof the animals, you have
mortality rates going up andyou're having milk production go
(15:32):
down.
So it's basically just cuttingout a lot of the efficiencies
that these dairies are workingso hard to, you know, produce
milk at the, at the highestlevel that they can.
Correct.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Exactly.
And, you know, we haven't donean economic calculation yet, but
you can do a quick, you know,back of the napkin calculation
and realize that just in onestate we we're talking about
millions of dollars just when wehave, you know, 14, 21 days of
reduced health productionassociated with fires.
(16:05):
And one point I'd like to make,and I think this is an important
point, is we know that there isa huge effect of ambient
temperature on milk productionin dairy cattle.
The effects that we are seeingfrom wildfire smoke are
independent of the temperature.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
So when, so basically in summers where we have high
temperatures and wildfires, it'sreally a double whammy.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
I see.
So it's it's two separate thingsthat are affecting dairies a
lot.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Exactly, exactly.
And so I say we see this range,and actually the range is
between about three and ninepounds of milk loss per day per
cow, depending on the specificparticulate matter level in
smoke.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
And and what percentage wise, what is that a
loss of?
Speaker 2 (16:59):
It's close to 10%.
Okay.
On the upper range of, of that?
Yes.
So typically a, a dairy cow,lactating dairy cow, especially
at peak production, they'regonna be producing somewhere
around 80 pounds of milk per dayper cow.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Now have you seen it affect the taste of the milk or
the quality of the milk?
Speaker 2 (17:19):
We have not noticed that.
And honestly, I would besurprised with these acute
episodic events that it wouldhave a huge effect on, uh, milk
taste.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Yeah.
Now, with you doing this studythere, there has to be some
challenges that you face incollecting this data.
I mean, what, what are some ofthe, the difficulties that
you've ran into, into trying to,to get this data together?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
I think probably the most challenging thing is just
being ready to go, go when thereis a wildfire event.
I mean, pretty much the wholesummer we have to be at the
ready, we're collecting samplebaseline samples before, um, we
have wildfires, and then we haveto be ready to run out to the
farm.
As soon as, you know, the, theair quality is reduced and we
(18:08):
know there it's coming fromwildfires.
Um, we have to be able to, toget out to the farm and collect
those samples in a timelymanner.
I think the other obstacle, ofcourse, is that when we are out
on farm collecting samples, weare also being exposed to poor
air quality and it's difficultto wear, um, masks.
(18:30):
I mean, of course we can wear,um, specific types of masks that
will filter out thoseparticulates.
Um, the same kind of masks that,you know, we were wearing during
, um, COVID times and we'restill in covid times, but
You know, the N 95 masks do apretty good job of filtering out
the particulates as well, butthat makes it very difficult to
(18:52):
breathe and actually do yourwork.
Um, so those are, were some ofthe big challenges.
But I, I think the biggest oneis just being able to deploy at
a moment's notice and, and beable to get out and collect our
samples efficiently.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
So how many days would you say you or your team
were out last year?
Speaker 2 (19:09):
That's a great question.
I think we did six or seven, no,I think we did close to eight
collections last year.
That's just during wildfires.
We then had two collectionpoints after, and we had about
four collection points before.
So a long time
(19:33):
solid month of, you know, timewise.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Now why do you think the data is so limited in, in,
in this area?
Speaker 2 (19:43):
I, that's a great question.
You know, there, there's now a,a great breadth of research on
effects of human exposure.
And I think that's, especiallynot only because of the interest
in public health, but also for,uh, firefighter safety as well.
(20:04):
There are some studies onwildlife.
So for example, there's studieson orangutans.
Um, there was a study done on acaptive group of bottle nosed
dolphins that were housed in theSan Diego Bay as part, as part
of the US uh, naval pod.
Um, and there's some additionalresearch on, on, um, on wildlife
(20:28):
and dispersion, especially awayfrom the source of wildfires,
but not in livestock.
You know, according to a surveythat was put out by some, uh,
collaborators of mine at OregonState University, they found
over the past several years thatproducers are becoming more
aware and they're starting toobserve some of the negative
impacts of wildfires on theiranimals, even if they're not in
(20:52):
the direct path of wildfires.
So I think with the increase inthe severity of wildfires, with
the press coverage about the,the catastrophic nature of these
massively large wildfires alongwith producers and the public
being out in it and being moreaware of, of this occurrence,
(21:17):
um, I, I think, I think peopleare just becoming more attuned
to what's happening.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
And besides the physical and respiratory issues
you've talked about, are thereother neurological and
reproductive issues that you'reseeing that get affected by
these wildfires?
Speaker 2 (21:37):
So one of the outcomes of that survey that I
mentioned was farmers werenoticing difficulties in, um,
getting cows pregnant duringwildfire season.
We have not done any researchthus far on reproduction per se.
Um, so I don't have an answerfor that yet, although that is
an area of interest of oursmoving forward.
(21:59):
Um, beyond that, neurologicallywe don't, we haven't really done
any research on, on that lineeither.
Um, we do see changes inbehavior, however Okay.
With calves.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
In what ways
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Last?
Yeah, so for a couple of summerswe have had, um, transponders on
the ankles of calves, so wecould monitor how they were
moving around in space.
And we see that the calvesactually spend more time
standing and moving around inless time lying down.
Uh, when there are wildfires,I'm not entirely sure what that
(22:34):
means.
It could be potentially maybe aninnate response to try to flee
from areas of poor air quality.
Um, but we're looking more intothat and, and we're actually
working on analyzing our datafrom this past summer, but
that's what we've seenpreliminarily so far.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Do you ever see any signs of, uh, smoke or dust
irritation in the animals, likecoughing or any kind of physical
response like that?
You can just look at an animaland you can tell how the, the
smoke is bothering them and andwhat are those?
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Yes, we do, we see greater, um, ocular discharge.
So we see more, um, mucus moretears coming from the eyes
during smoke and after as well.
We also see an increase incoughing in, in the calves as
well, especially in the calves.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
So if surviving cattle don't show any long-term
effects of a wildfire, shouldproducers be aware of potential
problems down the road that mayhappen, perhaps even after the
wildfire is gone?
Speaker 2 (23:42):
You know, just judging by the human literature,
I think there is the, thepotential that wildfire smoke
could have persistent effects,but also delayed effects.
And we are seeing some delayedeffects, um, with, with some of
the parameters, um, that we'vemeasured thus far already.
So for example, we do seechanges in some, um, immune cell
(24:06):
populations in the blood, butthat's delayed by about three
days, which is interesting.
And we see that both in cows andcalves.
It could be that there arefurther delays, you know, beyond
three days out to weeks or so.
Um, I also think that it takesanimals and, and humans time to
recover from these events,especially depending on, um,
(24:30):
their exposure levels.
And so it, it might take monthspotentially to recover from a
respiratory ailment, forexample, stemming from wildfire
smoke exposure.
So I definitely think it's, um,important to pay attention to
the animals, especially duringthese times, and to be
(24:50):
monitoring them following thatas well.
Um, because absolutely these,these effects could persist for
a long period of time or theycould be delayed.
We just got, um, U S D A fundingto study long-term effects on
animals.
So that work is going to bestarting this year.
(25:11):
So hopefully we will have a moresolid answer in, in the next
year or two on, on long-termeffect.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Well, it sounds like you're justkind of scratching the surface
of exactly what you guys arelearning.
Um, and, and you kind of touchedon this, but how can producers
best care for their animalsduring these wildfires?
Uh, because I, I would guessthat they're somewhat limited in
what they could, can do.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
Yes.
And that's the million dollarquestion and, and what our
research is working towards,because right now the guidelines
that, uh, we have for producersare not that great and they're
not always feasible.
For example, one of therecommendations is to keep
animals inside
Well, that's not a possibility,right?
(25:57):
For most producers, sure.
They don't have a spare barn,you know, that, that has the
capacity to house all of theiranimals during the whole
wildfire season, or even for asmall period of time when a
wildfire smoke event comesthrough their area.
Um, so we need to have bettersolutions for producers to, to
(26:20):
prevent the harm in the firstplace or if it does come through
to, to mitigate that and resolveit quickly after.
Some of the other guidelines areto, to just monitor your
animals, watch your animalsduring and after these events,
look for increased coughing,look for, um, changes in, um, in
(26:43):
willingness to eat.
Are they, are they going off offeed?
Um, looking for increases intears from the eyes or discharge
from the nose, drooping ears?
All of those are signs that theanimal isn't feeling well.
And producers should seekveterinary consultation if they
see any of those.
(27:04):
Uh, making sure that animalshave access to water is really
important.
Not only dur any time really,um, during the summer when it's
hot, but also because drinkingwater also hydrates the
respiratory tract, and thathelps to trap those particulates
and other air pollutants in therespiratory tract before it
(27:26):
makes its way to the lungs.
So it can be more easilyexpelled.
Um, some other guidelines areto, to try not to exercise
animals more than theyabsolutely need to, both during
these events and also followingthem because we know that
increased respiration rateshappen during wildfire smoke
(27:50):
events, and we don't wannaincrease respiration rates even
further by exercising them,because that just increases the
amount of pollutants that arecoming into the lungs and giving
animals space to heal after aswell.
Making sure we're not stressinganimals, trying to transport
them, you know, the day afterthey've been exposed, um, to
(28:13):
these high particulate leverlevels from smoke.
And then of course there's,there's some prevention as well.
Um, just making sure that, youknow, dead brush and debris is
cleared off of, um, farms sothat we're preventing fires from
happening in the first place.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
Have you seen the results, uh, from, um, dairy
owners that have taken whatyou're saying, your
recommendations, and they'reputting those into practice,
they're learning from your data?
I mean, I would, I would thinksome of it is common sense, but
other things that you're sayingthat they would go, okay, well
we weren't aware of that, or,um, are, are you seeing that put
(28:53):
into practice?
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Yeah, I think that's a great question and I haven't
been tracking to see thoserecommendations did not come out
of our research or our lab.
Um, just to be very transparenton that, um, we are trying to
develop more targeted approaches, um, for producers because
again, some of those guidelinesyes, are common sense and some
(29:16):
are just not feasible.
So we need, we need bettersolutions potentially through
dietary interventions, through,um, medicinal interventions, um,
ways of potentially cleaning,scrubbing the air from those
pollutants so the animals aren'texposed to'em.
So these are all avenues thatwe're exploring and we will be
(29:38):
testing, um, one of thoseapproaches in this new grant
that, that we just received.
So we're hoping to have moretargeted approaches and more
fine tuned guidelines forproducers moving forward.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
So is there any research that you have done to
suggest that if a fetus isexposed to this smoke during
pregnancy, that there would belasting health effects that
would go on beyond, uh, thatgeneration of cattle?
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Yeah, that's an excellent question and one that
we're actually working on rightnow.
Towards the end of last year,um, we were successful in, um,
receiving a U S D A grant.
It's called a rapid responseprogram, which is meant to be,
um, quick data generation andquick, um, extension and, and
(30:32):
education resources madeavailable for producers and
stakeholders, um, related to aclimate associated natural
disaster or event.
And for that project, we havebeen following two groups of,
um, calves that were eitherexposed in utero to wildfire
(30:56):
smoke, so the dams were pregnant, um, at the time they were
exposed to smoke.
Those dams have since calved andwe're following the calves up to
six months of age.
We also have a control group ofcalves that, uh, were not
exposed in utero, so we're stillworking on that.
Um, you know, there will be datacoming out of that, but since
(31:19):
it's an ongoing project and wejust started three months ago,
we don't have results yet
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Sure.
Well, it sounds like you have alot of ongoing, uh, work and
some long-term goals.
Uh, is there, are there specificresults that you're hoping to
achieve out of this study?
Speaker 2 (31:39):
Absolutely.
I mean, I think every resultthat we get gives us a little
bit more information, um, and,and another piece to the puzzle
to kind of figure out what isgoing on physiologically in the
animal behaviorally.
Um, as far as production goes,as far as health goes, and as,
(32:01):
as we are, um, developing thisknowledge in gaining these
pieces to the puzzle, it allowsus to build a really solid
foundation to move forward anddevelop ideas and strategies for
producers that we can then testand say, yes, it works, or, yes,
it doesn't work.
(32:22):
And so really again, theultimate goal is to be able to
have these recommendations inplace and they have been
scientifically tested and, um,show that they are effective
before we bring those toproducers.
And I, I do just wanna follow upby saying, although our work
(32:44):
thus far has really been focusedon dairy cattle, this isn't a
problem that's unique to thedairy cow.
Um, I think some of the, thedata that we're generating also
can translate to other speciesas well, to beef cattle, to
sheep, goats and so on.
Um, even though we haven't donespecific work with those species
(33:04):
yet, I think it absolutely, um,translates to other industries
outside of the dairy.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Yeah.
Well, we appreciate your, yourpassion and all of your hard
work and your team's hard workto, to help dairy owners kind of
understand the, the impact.
And just for our listeners justin general, to understand the
impact that, that thesewildfires are, um, are having.
(33:31):
It, it, it's just, it'sfascinating and I know most of
our listeners are just very proagriculture, so it, it helps us
to kind of understand what'sgoing on and, um, even if
they're not in the dairy, uh,arena, they, they kind of
understand what the impact isgoing on.
So, uh, I wanna thank you, Amy,so much for, for coming and
sharing, uh, your research andsome of the results and just
(33:54):
helping expand.
I know for me, I learned a lotand helping expand, um, this
problem and, and working so hardto find solutions for it.
We greatly appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Absolutely.
I really appreciate theinvitation.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
And if you're listening and you wanna find out
more information, uh, about Amyand the work that she's doing,
you can go to ww dot livestockwild fire hub.org.
You can also reach out onInstagram and Twitter at Cattle
Fire Group.
And if you're on LinkedIn, ifyou will search Livestock and
(34:31):
Wildfire Research Group, you canfind out more about this
fascinating information andresearch that Amy is involved
in.
And I want to thank each of youthat are listening today and
have taken the time to tune in.
Topcon appreciates all of ourfriends in agriculture who work
so tirelessly to put food on ourtables.
(34:51):
And if you've enjoyed thisepisode, remember to, like,
share, subscribe to Topcon TalksAgriculture on Spotify, apple
Podcasts, Amazon Music, orwherever you get your podcasts.
Please tell your friends aboutus.
We'd love for you to followTopcon Agriculture on social
media.
And thanks again for tuning intoday.
(35:12):
See you next time.
Go out and make it a great day.
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