Parts of California's Central Valley endured 10 days or more in a row of temperatures in excess of 100 degrees in mid-July. Some 100 people perished in the heat, the majority of them senior citizens whose bodies don't cool themselves as well as younger people. Thousands of animals died on farms: over a million "pounds" of poultry, and thousands of cows, primarily dairy cows. Extra-hot temperatures, growth in the state's $5 billion dairy industry, and fewer rendering plants to dispose of the animals combined to cause a crisis for farmers in the state.

Dumping of animal carcasses in landfills is usually prohibited because of health risks, but several counties declared a state of emergency, which allows colocal farmers to take different actions. In Fresno County, the temperature reached 113 degrees on at least one occasion. It was the first county to declare an emergency when a plant that processes dead animals broke down in July and the carcasses started to decompose in the heat.

The California Environmental Protection Agency issued emergency animal disposal guidelines for producers. Producers in counties with emergency declarations (Tulare, Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin) were allowed to dispose of carcasses by methods other than rendering. The guidelines say that if rendering capacity has been exceeded, producers can dispose of animals at commercial landfills, and composting on-site is recommended if the carcasses are too decomposed to be transported. The final and least desirable solution is on-site burial. This last option could lead to contaminaton of ground water.

Losses to California's dairy sector could total more than $1 billion. Milk producers are reporting heat-related production drops of 10 percent to 40 percent, and the loss of cows will continue to affect yields for at least a year. Yields in tomato fields that were harvested during this time were down by about 10%. Other crops such as tree fruits will also likely be affected.

Read more | California Farm Bureau Federation