Local farmers
water that they need to drink-over 100 litres daily, to more manageable levels.
Taylor is thankful for the stability the upgrades provide. Instead of having to let the cows graze in the hot sun, which could lead to less milk production from them lounging in the shade when they would normally be grazing, his cattle can stay in the cool barn all day long and be fed with hay from the fields. Other farms might not have that luxury, he said.
The tropical temperatures aren’t all bad news, though. Corn loves a humid heat, and the cornfield just past the barn is overflowing with green. Taylor hopes to offset potential losses in hay this year with a higher than normal yield of corn. This kind of diversification is one of Woodsview’s main strategies to survive a more volatile future, as global warming makes heat spells hotter and droughts longer. Having a diverse yield makes sure there’s always something to fall back on when the weather gets extreme.