• At least 2,117 cattle died after humidity levels rose, winds died, and temperatures topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38°C) in Kansas.
• Landfill director: “It’s like running a piece of equipment on top of a water bed when you get a swarm of ’em”. Cattle that die as a result of heat stress are not processed into meat for human consumption, but are usually converted into animal feed, fertiliser, and other products.
• Landfills are the last resort for carcasses due to smells, animals digging in trash, and difficulty of covering bodies immediately.

CHICAGO – After a June heatwave killed thousands of cows, top US cattle feeding companies sent 1,000-pound carcasses to a Kansas landfill, where they were flattened by loader machines and mixed with trash, according to documents obtained by Reuters.

According to a feeding company, other cattle were buried in unlined graves.

Neither is a common method of body disposal. However, due to the unusual heat and humidity, so many cows died that facilities that normally convert carcasses into pet food and fertiliser products were overwhelmed, prompting the state government and cattle feeders to take emergency measures.

The mass deaths and subsequent scramble to deal with decaying bodies sparked a push for changes in Kansas, the third-largest cattle state in the United States.

This summer, Kansas is expected to see more high temperatures that can stress and potentially kill cattle, adding to the slew of issues caused by increasingly extreme weather linked to climate change.

Although state officials authorised companies to dispose of carcasses at the Seward County Landfill in Liberal, Kansas, the landfill’s director said they are now considering alternatives to reduce the risks of foul odours and other problems if more deaths occur.

The methods of disposal and identities of companies that lost cattle were not previously reported. They were disclosed in documents obtained by Reuters from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and confirmed by some of the companies involved.

At least 2,117 cattle died after humidity levels rose, winds died, and temperatures topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38°C) in southwestern Kansas on June 11, according to state records. It was early in the year for such heat, and some cattle had not yet shed their winter coats completely.

Brock Theiner, the director of the Seward County Landfill, estimated that the dump alone received 1,850 to 2,000 dead cattle.

Flattened cattle, foul odour
Landfill workers flattened the cattle to about eight inches and mixed the bodies with garbage, a process that took nearly three weeks, according to Theiner.

“They’ll go flat after you run them over, but they’ll sponge back up,” Theiner explained. “It’s like running a piece of equipment on top of a water bed when you get a swarm of ’em. It is in motion.”

Due to the unexpected deaths, Kansas temporarily suspended requirements that carcasses be covered by at least six inches (15.24 cm) of dirt or trash each day, according to Theiner. He added that the carcasses had a putrid odour up close.

“Whew!” he exclaimed once you were inside. “I have a couple of operators with steel guts.”

Landfills are the last resort for carcasses due to issues with smells, animals digging in trash, and the difficulty of covering the bodies immediately, according to Theiner. Kansas officials are investigating whether more cattle could instead be composted at feedlots, he said.

Questions were not answered by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

According to department records, Cactus Feeders, which claims to handle 4% of US fed cattle, sent carcasses to the dump, as did Cobalt Cattle, Meade County Feeders, and Irsik & Doll’s Sunbelt Feed Yard. The companies that feed grain to cows before slaughter had no comment.

According to Tom McDonald, an executive with owner Five Rivers Cattle Feeding – the world’s largest such company, which counts meatpacker JBS SA among its customers – Grant County Feeders in Ulysses, Kansas, shipped carcasses to the landfill because rendering plants were full.

Cows that die as a result of heat stress are not processed into meat for human consumption, but are usually converted into animal feed, fertiliser, and other products.

When temperatures rise, Five Rivers will feed cattle less grain, a high-energy ingredient, and more hay and silage to reduce internal heat, according to McDonald. He stated that the company is not considering other measures such as adding shade because mass deaths are uncommon.

Cattle Empire, a Tyson Foods feedyard in Satanta, Kansas, buried carcasses in landfills and others in unlined pits with mineral lime to break down the bodies faster, according to veterinarian Tera Barnhardt.

According to Hannah Connor, senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, burying cattle in unlined pits is one of the riskiest disposal methods because waste can seep into groundwater.

Because the groundwater is so deep, Kansas allows unlined burials near Cattle Empire, according to Barnhardt.

Cattle Empire, Friona Industries, NextGen Cattle, and Clark County Feeders buried at least 617 cattle in total, according to state documents.

According to Barnhardt, the animals felt as if they were suffocating in the hot, humid air.

According to veterinarians, some of the cattle that survived are eating in unusual patterns, which can limit their ability to gain weight.

“The cattle are still struggling,” Barnhardt said. “We really put them in jeopardy.”

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