Survey on Smoke from Wildfires and Livestock Health

Study highlights

Wildfires are increasing in frequency and severity across the Western United States. This work presents the results of a survey of cattle, sheep, and goat producers in California, Oregon, and Nevada, on their experiences during the 2020 wildfire season. While few direct impacts of fires were reported among the 70 responses, 26% of respondents reported they had to evacuate livestock and 19% reported pasture losses. Indirect losses from smoke exposure, including pneumonia and reproductive losses were reported more broadly. This preliminary work highlights the need to better understand impacts of wildfires on livestock and how policy changes can help support the livestock production industry through these crises.

Figure 1: Proportions of respondents reporting direct effects of wildfires  by livestock production type

Figure 2: Proportions of respondents reporting indirect effects of wildfires  by livestock production type

Download the entire study here.