An estimated 1,000 cattle have died this week across Minnesota because of the unusually hot weather. Most have been in south central and southwestern Minnesota.
The University of Minnesota's Extension office estimates the losses could total about $1 million.
Most of the losses have been large, black-hided cattle, according to Grant Crawford, an extension livestock instructor.
"A lot of times they've been in open lots that don't have a lot of shade or covering," he said.
Crawford says the typical steps that farmers take to keep cattle cool haven't worked as well because of the extended heat wave.
"It's not that producers weren't prepared. It's that this is the worst that we've had in a while," said Crawford. "The practices they took this time around probably worked in the past. It's just that because this heat was so extreme and so dangerous, the normal practices didn't work as well as they worked in the past."
Across the border in South Dakota, officials estimate as many as 1,500 cattle have died in that state because of this week's heat wave.