Nghe An farmers focus on preventing hunger and cold for livestock

In the remote mountainous district of Ky Son, in order to avoid the situation of livestock dying from the cold, the district has issued many documents instructing people to proactively prevent and protect their livestock from the cold. Especially in areas with deep drops in temperature, it is necessary to closely care for livestock and regularly monitor weather forecasts to have a reasonable plan for raising livestock and poultry.

Mr. Luong Van Minh in Huu Kiem commune, Ky Son district said: Every year, his family always maintains raising from 8 to 10 cows. When the weather starts to get cold, his family proactively prepares tarpaulins, food, and firewood to cover and warm the cows. Local people also proactively herd buffaloes, cows, and goats from the forest and fields to the barn and cover them, avoiding the wind, and lighting fires to warm the animals. Thanks to the propaganda and guidance of the government and farmers' associations at all levels, people have been more proactive in taking care of their livestock, avoiding unnecessary losses like in the past due to the weather.

Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Ky Son District, Phan Van Manh, said: Currently, the whole district of Ky Son has a total herd of 11,740 buffaloes, 47,290 cows, 38,310 pigs, and 430,000 poultry. Due to the long period of severe cold, the Farmers' Association of the district has directed the Farmers' Associations of communes and branches to establish teams to go to villages and households to guide, inspect, and urge the work of preventing hunger and cold for livestock; move the free-range buffaloes and cows to the confinement area for control.

"In recent days, the low temperature in some areas of Ky Son district has caused some buffaloes and cows to freeze to death. However, thanks to proactive early warnings to the people, the number of cattle freezing to death has been greatly reduced compared to before. Ky Son district regularly has inspection teams at the grassroots level, and at the same time, continues to direct localities to step up cold prevention for livestock and crops," said Phan Van Manh, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Ky Son district.

With the characteristics of highland areas, in winter in districts such as Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Que Phong, Con Cuong, night temperatures can drop to 1-3 degrees Celsius with dense frost, reducing the amount of food, making livestock susceptible to disease and death.

To protect livestock during the cold season, local people have also implemented solutions to ensure the safety of livestock when extreme weather occurs, such as: repairing barns, keeping livestock in captivity, storing dry food, covering barns, lighting fires for heating...

Not only people in mountainous areas, in lowland districts, to protect livestock, local authorities and people have proactively implemented many solutions to prevent the cold.

Mr. Ho Xuan Thu's family in Hamlet 8, Chau Nhan Commune, Hung Nguyen District raises 2-4 cows every year. On cold days, his family boils warm water for the animals to drink, carefully covers the barn, and adds minerals and starch to the livestock. "My family does not let the animals out like before, but keeps them in a covered barn, feeds them with stored dry food, and covers the barn with tarps to keep the cows warm. This method helps the animals grow healthily," said Mr. Thu.

The province currently has a total herd of nearly 2 million livestock and 33 million poultry. Livestock accounts for a high proportion of agricultural production, and is also the main source of income for the people. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the implementation of solutions to prevent hunger and cold for livestock at the present time. Along with that, the professional agency also recommends that livestock farmers need to implement measures to prevent epidemics and increase resistance for livestock.

Chairman of the Provincial Farmers' Association Nguyen Quang Tung said: To avoid unfortunate losses for livestock farmers, the Provincial Farmers' Association has directed farmers' associations at all levels to provide training on cold-proofing procedures for crops and livestock. At the same time, promote propaganda and guidance for members through many information channels, especially promoting the role of social networks to communicate skills to prevent and combat severe cold for humans, crops and livestock.

In particular, the movement of sewing "warm clothes" for livestock in the cold season has been maintained by farmers' associations at all levels in Nghe An province in recent years. From the general direction of the provincial Farmers' Association, farmers' associations at all levels have been assigned to proactively "activate" measures to prevent and combat cold for livestock. Up to now, associations in the province have proactively taken part in propagating and guiding cold prevention measures for livestock and poultry to prevent and avoid heavy economic losses for farmers.