Tag Archives: Livestock

Water is Life

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Water. Water is an essential part of human life on Earth. We as humans are made of water, use water everyday, and need water to survive. It helps regulate all of our functioning parts of our complex bodies and ensures benefits of living a healthy life. Just as humans are extremely dependent on water, so are many other species such as the group of livestock. One animal in particular is cows, which are heavily connected to greenhouse gasses and Co2 emissions. Depending on the temperature that a cow is living in, the weight of the cow, and whether it is producing milk or not, correlates to the amount of water it needs daily. It has been estimated that for cows, “Daily water intake may vary from 3 to 30 gallons per day depending on age, body size (weight), stage of production, and the environment (mainly air temperature).” With an increase in temperature or lactating cows, this requires more clean water for them. But to put the stat of 3 to 30 gallons in perspective, every human is advised to drink 8 cups of water per day, which is half a gallon of water. So although cows are much larger than humans, their daily water intake is extremely large and crucial for them.

Water is an essential to everyday life but there is a ton of water being wasted annually in the United States. An article published by the Washington Post states, “The incredibly stupid way that Americans waste 1 trillion gallons of water each year.” 1 Trillion gallons of water is another worldly large number and the ways depicted that Americans waste water are water leakage, hoses, and irrigation systems: all are not needed waste methods of water. One way to prevent the wasting of water would be to be more aware of how you are potentially wasting water. This can be from fixing leaks immediately, shutting off your sprinkler system when not needed, and using less water related activities such as dishwashing and laundry. If there was to be less water wasted, the number conducted through the Washington Post of 1 trillion gallons, could be minimized by millions and millions. Not to mention saving water waste, but this can save thousands of dollars spent by homes and businesses.

One method of intaking water that is very popular is through bottled water. It is so popular because it is pre bottled, convenient, and can be disposed of. Although it is not economically and environmentally friendly, Americans live a fast paced life and want the fastest way to intake water. To put water bottle usage in perspective on Union College’s campus, let’s first say there are 2,200 undergraduate students. I’d say about half of the students here use plastic water bottles daily, so 1,100. If every student is drinking about 3 bottles a day, that’s 3,300 approximately, plastic water bottles. To calculate the amount of oil used to produce and ship the water to Union, I estimated around 15,000 gallons of fuel to get the water from Western states all the way to Union College.

 

References:

https://beef.unl.edu/amountwatercowsdrink

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/03/17/the-incredibly-stupid-way-that-america-wastes-1-trillion-gallons-of-water-each-year/

Sheep Consumption of Water in the United States

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Sheep are are a staple of farms across the country not only for their relationship with humans as a food source, but also as a source of wool. Sheep are able to obtain most of their water needs from their food/forage consumption. However, they still are consuming water at a constant rate that is worth examining.Lambs weighing 5-10lbs consume roughly 0.1-0.3 gallons of water per head per day. Feeder lambs weighing in the range of 60-110lbs consume roughly 1 gallon to 1.5 gallons per head per day. Pregnant ewes weighing 175lbs and higher consume between 1-2gallons of water per head per day. Lactating ewes weighing 175lbs and higher consume between 2-3 gallons per head per day. Lastly, rams weighing 175lbs and higher consume between 1-2 gallons per head per day. Dirty or stale water on farms and livestock acreage can lead to a reduced consumption of water by sheep. Clean water is so important for the health of the livestock and the health of its meat for human consumption.

Obviously dirty or contaminated water is not ideal for animal drinking, but we can not expect every farm in the country to provide flawless and pristine water to its animals in a similar way that we cannot expect all cities to provide perfect drinking water to its inhabitants. Requirements for livestock water consumption is linked to size, productivity, diet and environmental conditions. Good water quality can lead to an increase of water intake while reduced water consumption can lead to dehydration- a problem which can be fatal to sheep and other livestock. Dirty water is a hotbed for diseases and bacteria and can spread rapidly if sheep drink from the same source.

Waterers can be disinfected using a dilute bleach solution following cleaning. A dilute bleach solution of 2 to 3 ounces for each 50 gallons of tank capacity of bleach containing 5.25% sodium hypochlorite applied weekly also will suppress algae growth. This disinfection is crucial to maintaining healthy drinking water supplies for sheep and other livestock.It is important to note that proper installation of the waterer or tank base will prevent fecal contamination of water. The base should be wide enough so animals are able to place their front legs on it easily while drinking, but not their hind legs. This will keep animals from defecating in the water which would lead to illnesses among sheep and other livestock. There are estimated to be 5.2 million sheep in the United States.

If we were to assume that it is an even 50/50 split between rams and ewes on farms, we can calculate a range of sheep water consumption in the United States per year. Male sheep, rams, can be estimated to be between 2,600,000 and 5,200,000 gallons of water annually. Ewe water consumption can be estimated to be between 2,600,000 gallons and 7,800,000 gallons.

Works Cited:
https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/livestock/livestock-water-requirements
https://www.statista.com/statistics/194403/total-number-of-sheep-and-lambs-in-the-us-since-2001/
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sheep.asp