Scorching temperatures and high humidity are said be the cause of thousands of cattle dropping dead in Kansas over the last few days. .A video showing a long line of dead cattle was posted on TikTok by barbiedollhenderson1973. . Video of dead cattle in Kansas .A spokesman for the Kansas Department of Health and Evironment told Reuters at least 2,000 cattle have died as of June 14. .Scarlett Haggins, a spokesperson for the Kansas Livestock Association said it is difficult for cattle to acclimatize to sudden temperature shifts. .According to Drew Lerner, president of World Weather Inc., said temperatures in Southwest Kansas hit 108 degrees Fahrenheit — 42 degrees Celcius — on June 13. .The mass deaths are a large blow to the state's cattle industry, one of the largest in the US, and is expected to add pressure on an industry already struggling with rising feed costs because of supply issues due to the war in Ukraine. .The cattle sector is the largest contributor to the Kansas agriculture industry according to the Kansas Department of Agriculture. It is the third largest supplyer of beef across the US. As of Jan. 1, 2022, the Kansas Livestock Association said the state had the largest number of cattle on ranches and feedyards at 6.50 million, more than doubling the state's human population..The industry also contributes over 50,000 jobs in the ranching and meat processing sectors across the state and generated $9.85 billion for 2021.
