Dr. Ted McCollum, AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist:

For cows -- "The water in the grazed forage is the jug of water that rehydrates her while she is out on the range or pasture..."

Snippet from the Kinney County Post. Tuesday , July 19, 2011. Original -- unsigned -- article is titled Drought causing concerns for livestock water availability, quality.

Doctor McCollum tells us:

"An average cow grazing green forage normally consumes about 30 to 70 pounds of water daily, or about 3.5 to 8.4 gallons, from the forage she grazes.

"This year, as a result of no forage growth and a relatively low intake of dry forage, daily water consumption from grazed forage is probably around 3 to 5 pounds or 0.4 to 0.6 gallons.

"How many people would think of getting out to work for a few hours without a jug of water to drink from periodically?

"The water in the grazed forage in the cow's jug of water that rehydrates her while she is out on the range or pasture ..."

And the way things are right now??

"The risk of heat stress is greater because we have high ambient temperatures combined with dry range foliage.

"The cow's jug of water is relatively empty this year, and the risk of heat stress and water - related problems is greater..."

A well - informed commentary, thanks, Doctor! :)