Rick Smith can’t remember the last time a stretch of Minnesota winter was so cold. If they could talk, some of his cows would say the same thing.

“The other day we had a couple calves freeze their feet,” said Smith, a dairy farmer near Adams.

Two shivering bull calves, after being put inside of calf warmers, eventually died from the shock. That wasn’t the only issue.

“We’re dealing with frozen water lines,” Smith said. “We’ve had pipes even freeze inside [the barn]. We’ve never had that before. I even had pipes freeze inside my house the other day. I’ve never had that before either.”

Overnight lows reached -24 on Sunday and -17 on Monday, according to the National Weather Service in La Crosse, Wis. That coupled with harsh winds made conditions miserable.

Because of the way most hog facilities are set up, hogs were warm, said Don Larson, of rural Sargeant. The sheer amount of livestock and body heat, coupled with indoor heating, canceled out the frigid nights.

“Most winter days, we’re actually ventilating a little bit,” Larson said.

Not so for dairy farmers: Smith thawed pipes with a space heater and heat gun, but not before tending to suffering calves. Smith and others had to move calves from outdoor hutches and into barns and calf warmers.

During the cold snap, milk cows have eagerly entered the parlor, but reluctantly left.

“Some cows didn’t even want to go out of the parlor this morning because they knew they had to go back to the cold barn,” Smith said.

During such extremes, milk production lags as cows store their energy for warmth. Near Alden, beef cattle farmer Robert Nelson’s herd won’t put on weight during the cold stretch either. Nelson hasn’t lost any cattle because of the cold, but he said a fellow farmer had to use 15 gallons of hot water to thaw out his water fountain. Nelson said the true test will be if the cattle can make it through the next few days without succumbing to stress or disease.

But Smith and Nelson see light at the end of the tunnel, light they hope will radiate a little more heat, that is.

“We joked this morning,” Nelson said on Tuesday. “How can 8 below feel so good?”

NWS forecasts Tuesday and Wednesday’s lows to dip to -14 and -12, respectively, in Austin. But Thursday’s high may reach what could seem like a balmy 17 degrees, followed by a comparative heat wave of 31 on Friday, or more than 50 degrees warmer than Sunday’s low.

NWS hydrometeorological technician Tom Stangeland said cold air from the Arctic Northwest has been continually causing problems, especially with the wind chill, which made temperatures feel as cold as 54 below in Dexter Monday morning.

“Wind chills became a big factor,” Stangeland said.

With the warmer conditions, there is also a chance of snow and sleet on Friday. Through Monday, NWS forecasts highs to remain in the upper 20s to lower 30s.