It's not a guarantee that something bad will happen on January 1 of 2000, but farmers need to be aware of a potential problem and check it out now. Many of the world's computers use two digits to indicate the year. Everything from banking, to transportation, to utilities services could be affected. If power is lost and fans don't run for a few hours, animals can suffocate in a mechanically-ventilated building. He said producers also may want to investigate installation of a battery-powered alarm for ventilation systems to alert them of a power outage.
Some alarms can automatically dial a phone to a prescribed number in case of fan shutdown.
Turner said most environmental controllers for livestock buildings don't have embedded computer chips. But those that do have chips, or electronic timers, could present a problem. Controllers particularly susceptible are those that include a date function. He said some vendors have Internet web sites that provide that information. As for computers and software, there is no way to predict if an individual producer will have a problem.