“A total of nearly 100,000 broilers have been reported lost to the heat on numerous grow-out farms across the affected region,” relayed the USDA Poultry Market News Service. “The true extent of losses may not be known for several days as reports continue to come in. Particularly hard hit were grow-out facilities in the North where extreme and prolonged temperatures are less common and existing ventilation systems have a difficult time maintaining an ambient environment for the birds.”
Oppressive heat has also resulted in birds reducing their feed intake, reducing the rate of gain and resulting in lower average live weights at the plant, USDA said. Plants throughout the affected region are reporting an increase in the number of birds dead on arrival and are responding by adjusting their processing schedules to reduce the amount of time the birds spend on the trucks.
Throughout the Midwestern Corn Belt, excessive temperatures and limited rainfall are threatening to reduce corn yields, Poultry Market News added, since corn in many areas is entering the silk stage, leaving the plant vulnerable to intense heat. “However, as the heat pushes east, relief is following behind in the form of scattered rain showers and more moderate summer temperatures,” the agency added. Severe thunderstorms are forecast for today in parts of the upper Midwest.
