CARBONDALE (WSIL) -- The winter weather impacts animals as much as humans.
Wednesday it was a race against the clock for local farmers who were preparing to keep their livestock safe ahead of the storm.Â
"Caring for Animals is difficult anymore but when you have weather like this it makes it more difficult," said SIU Farms Director Chris Vick. "We're no different than any other farmers here in southern Illinois. They're preparing just like we are."
Farmers in the Midwest have faced winter weather for generations. With the first winter storm of the season, farmers are preparing for what's to come.Â
"Our first priority is making sure they have water and making sure our waters don't freeze up," said Vick.
One key element is making sure the animals have shelter to escape the cold.Â
"If the animals get wet and cold -- that's bad. We want to keep them dry and have some bedding for them so they can stay warm," explained Vick.Â
With wind chill factors expect to dip down near negative 20 degrees, having plenty of food is essential. Vick says livestock's food intake will almost double during this time.Â
"In cold weather, they consume a lot more food so we want to make sure they have plenty of feed. Most of that is going to be hay. We're going to put out twice as much hay and make sure they never run out."
Workers at the SIU Farm Service Center have spent the last three days making sure all the heaters on their water tanks are working. Being prepared also means making sure all the equipment is working correctly. That's why the farm has prepared for winter for a few weeks now.Â
"We didn't want to start preparing right before the storm comes because -- say we've got an electrical problem with our heaters -- physical plant needs time to come out to fix those."
About 100 cows call the fields at the Farm Service Center home and just like most people don't want to stand out when it's cold, Vick says neither do cows.Â
"They're not going to want to stand out in minus 20-degree wind chills."
