Lightning takes toll on dairy cattle near Amsterdam

10 cows die near Amsterdam as the result of a
lightning strike May 29th

Just last week, a fast moving, albeit small storm rolled onto the Nieder dairy farm east of Amsterdam. Nothing out of the ordinary after all, it's that time of year. Suddenly a loud crack and immediate boom coming from an area south of the milk barn prompted family members to investigate-finding 10 milk cows dead from a lightning strike.

It's not uncommon for these types of things to happen. Lightning is very unpredictable- not always striking the tallest thing OR hitting multiple points with a single bolt.

So what can be done to protect animals out in the open? Not much according to the Missouri Extension Office, as animals may instinctively seek shelter during a storm but unfortunately under a tree may be the worst place. In fact, most deaths by lightning occur near a tree, as opposed to out in the open. While lightning may directly strike the tree, not the cows, it kills due to an electrical differential between charged air and the ground.

However, research shows that some animals, such as horses may be trained to head to a lean to or loafing shed as soon as thunder rumbles in the distance. This training would require the owner to herd the animals to the building as a storm approaches, possibly many times until the animal realizes they should do it on their own when they sense an incoming storm.

The odds of anyone (or animal) getting struck by lightning is about 1 in 575,000. The odds of it being serious enough to kill is about 1 in 2,320,000.

More information about protecting your farm buildings and property can be found here.