Spring Time in Winter?

Springtime in the middle of Winter, well as much as that sounds like a oxymoron (ever since learning that word in 2nd grade I love using it) it does seem like the case this Winter. With the exception of snowmobilers. skiers ect, Most of the people I have talked to like this weather. As far as on the farm, it is nice in some ways. It takes less feed for our cattle because they don't need to eat as much to keep warm. We also have less trouble with pipes, hoses, and equipment freezing up. There is also less time spent plowing snow, leaving us with more time to spend working on equipment for next spring.

 With these points made, there are some downsides to warmer weather in winter too. With warm weather comes mud. Our cattle are not much affected by mud because they are on clean solid surfaces that are well bedded with sand and straw. It does take a lot more bedding to keep there areas clean however when its warmer. Probably the biggest draw-back to this weather is there is more chance of cattle getting sick. When we have these sudden warmups, snow melts quickly. This causes damp humid air, which is not the best environment for cattle (or humans) for that matter. I've found, that cows seem to be the healthiest when the temps are around the 20-30 degree range with lower humidity. Now for us humans, that seems pretty cold to be out in. But, as long as cows are well fed,clean, dry, and out of the wind they do just fine with these temps.  The worst thing that can happen is huge temperature swings. As i'm typing this it is 8 degrees, it was 47 a few days ago. Cattle, like us favor gradual temperature  changes. Respiratory sickness is most common with these sudden temp changes. We have been pretty lucky so far with only a few cases of pneumonia however.

So, as nice as springtime in winter sounds, I'd just as soon have a normal Winter, then spring when it should happen.