Reasons Behind Deaths in Kansas: Shade For Cattle Thousands of cattle were killed throughout the weekend in Kansas due to the extreme heat, which was chronicled in social media photographs. Rows of carcasses are seen lined up along the edge of an agricultural field in the widely shared camera footage. State authorities attribute the problem to a heat wave that caused temperatures to exceed 100 degrees. Feedlot operators in the Great Plains region were already trying to deal with drought, strong winds, and wildfires. The clear figure may be greater because the state health and environment agency's estimate only includes losses at farms that requested assistance in disposing of carcasses. "Several weather factors combined which led to heat stress for cattle that impacted cattle producers," a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Agriculture stated. The official added, "So we don't have any data about the degree of the impact," as cattle farms are not