Heatwave destroys pastures in northern Slovakia

The current high temperatures have begun troubling Upper Orava, one of the typically coldest regions in Slovakia, with local farmers stating that the ardent sun has burned pastures and dried out most of natural water reserves for cattle and sheep. "We've had to restrict pasturing and begun cooling down stables. It's already happened that a whole flock ran away to look for water and shade in a forest. Not even shepherds with dogs and electric fencing were able to halt the flock", TASR was told by Milan Mišánik, managing director of agricultural company DAKNA Námestovo. "A big problem is that the pastures have been dried out completely and no new grass will grow. So, one grass collection has dropped out. We probably won't have enough feed", said Mišánik, adding that farmers already now have to feed livestock with fodder from reserves, which are usually consumed in winter. "The only positive feature is that the harvest has produced drier grains that don't need to be dried out [artificially]", said Mišánik. Meanwhile, the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute on Tuesday announced that the warmer, southern Slovakia has already experienced a record 16 super-tropical days this summer (with the daytime maximum temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius).