KINGSTON TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — It’s not just people trying to stay safe from the arctic blast. Farms in our area are taking action to keep their livestock unharmed from the bitter cold.
More than 60 cows are sheltered inside the lands at hillside farms dairy barn in Kingston Township. Staff members are protecting the animals from the extreme cold and even colder wind chill factors
“When I saw negative 20, it’s all hands on deck,” said Chet Mozloom, Executive Director at the Lands at Hillside Farms.
Mozloom, Executive Director at the Lands at Hillside Farms says fighting the wind across the farm is crucial.
“These animals obviously are huddled together, this barn is self-sufficient, but in other areas, it’s not. We’re adding straw, stacked straw bails as windbreaks, tarping things so they’re not as open to the wind coming through the wood,” explained Mozloom.
An equally important step is making sure essential resources don’t freeze.
“They have to have water and feed, so that water has to be thawed, so might be using heated buckets, or breaking ice, but it has to happen,” stated Mozloom.
Dairy barn manager Troy Pensak has been working at the farm for the last five years. The cows need to be milked twice a day no matter how cold it is.
“My schedule doesn’t change. The cows don’t know it’s Christmas, and they don’t know a snowstorm is coming when they’re in the barn,” said Pensak.
Pensak says he simply learns from experience working with these animals each day.
“If you have respect for the animals that you work with every day, they’re gonna give you the same respect back, and that’s one of the biggest things that we do here,” explained Pensak.
Keeping a farm-based business going by keeping the farm animals safe.
“We really care for our animals, and we’ll do whatever it takes to keep them happy and healthy,” said Pensak.
Cows put on extra weight in the winter which, in turn, helps them stay warm. But in temperatures like this, staying inside is the safest thing to do.
