Cattle Ranches for Sale in Oregon: Key Factors You Should Consider

New research from the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center (EOARC) gives further proof that chronic stress in cattle can lead to a sharp drop in milk production and livestock wellbeing. In her Burns Times-Herald article, Samantha White shares findings from the EOARC on how the sight, smell, and sound made by wolves is enough to induce a panic response in cows. This response, in turn, increases their body temperature which, as one researcher puts it, is “not a very good thing for health and production.”

It would be a good idea, then, for ranchers to build their farms away from areas in Oregon where wolves are known to lurk. However, the insights from the EOARC research can be taken a step further. For instance, people in search of cattle ranches for sale in Oregon should pay close attention to the property’s geographic features, especially its size, water sources, and, most importantly, the type of local wildlife it caters to.

Thankfully, a reputable ranch marketing company like Mirr Ranch Group that provides ranch marketing and buyer services can be counted upon to provide buyers everything they need to know about prospective properties; including investment opportunities and sporting features. Dairy farmers can use this information to find a ranch that is safe and peaceful for their livestock.

Such a description may be open to interpretation, but most animal behaviorists agree that a “safe and peaceful” environment for livestock is one with a very low number of stress inducers or triggers. Aside from predators like wolves, common livestock stress triggers include heat, loud noises, and aggressive human behavior.

Knowing these things, it can be difficult for ranchers to actively protect cattle from stress, although moving their livestock to a completely isolated environment is also a bad idea. According to Fairnhurst, et al. (2011), living in such an environment can cause negative behavioral and physiological effects among animals, particularly increased aggression similar to what animals raised in captivity experience.

The quality of the environment is so important to animal behavior and welfare that even changes in wind speed can affect cows’ ability to maintain an optimum body temperature of 38°C. Cows use only small amounts of energy when producing milk, but they need to work doubly hard if they live in a hot, stressful environment. Therefore, to promote maximum productivity and good health among cows, dairy farmers should also take into account the abundance of shade and freshwater when looking for suitable Oregon ranches for sale.

(Source: Cooke presents study linking exposure to wolf attacks with chronic stress symptoms in cows, Burns Times-Herald, May 21, 2014)