DAIRY farmers across East Lancashire are bracing themselves for a period of changeable weather which increases the risk of pneumonia in herds.

Temperatures swinging from one extreme to the other, which the region has experience in recent weeks, can bump-up the risk of viruses and illnesses in dairy cows.

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The mercury is set to drop to -2C tomorrow but then jump to 6C on Friday before dropping again to zero at the weekend.

The Met Office has also issued a yellow weather warning for snow in East Lancashire which was due to last until noon today.

Leading farmers from East Lancashire say erratic weather can have serious consequences.

Eric Dowson has 344 cows at Hawkshaw Farm in Clayton-le-Dale and helps to run Mr Dowson’s Ice Cream.

He said: “For dairy farmers, the changeable weather can present difficulties amongst the herds.

“The milk yield can drop by around two per cent when it’s very cold which can be a problem.

“The changeable weather also increases the risk of viruses being spread, much like with the human race.

“One of them is pneumonia which can have serious affects on cows.

“We monitor them every day at this time of year to make sure that everything is ok.

“Normally with cold weather cows deal with it pretty well and it has to get very cold for a long amount of time before there is an serious concern.

“They generate a lot of heat which helps but going from one cold day to the next when it’s a lot warmer is not good.”

Kathelin Calvert or Manor House Farm, Paythorne, said: “We are a weather-driven industry and I don’t think that people, including the supermarkets, really consider that.

“The cold weather does have an affect on the animals and can cause problems.

“The problems can range from not being able to let them go into the yard because it’s frozen over to decreasing the milk yield.

“When the weather is extreme and then changes to being a lot warmer it disrupts the animals and the farming industry.”