TIFTON — It’s that time of year again — daylight saving time (DST), and we all know what that means. Two hours after midnight, we set our clocks ahead one hour.

Most of us are probably familiar with the expression “spring forward, fall back” and have probably even used it as a way to remember how to reset our clocks. It’s just something we do twice a year without really thinking about it. So why do we observe DST?

DST is a system intended to “save” daylight hours. The official time is adjusted forward during the spring and summer months so that the active hours of work and school will match the hours of daylight better. This provides more usable hours of daylight for activities that take place in the afternoon and evening, especially outdoor recreational activities.

DST can also be a means of conserving electrical and other forms of energy. In the fall, as the period of daylight grows shorter, clocks are set back to correspond to standard time.

Although DST is often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, it was first seriously proposed in England by William Willett in 1907. Willett was unable to get the British government to adopt the idea.

DST was first put into practice by the German government during World War I in order to conserve resources. Shortly thereafter, the United Kingdom adopted it. In 1918, the United States Congress made DST official for the remainder of the war.

The United States reinstated DST during World War II, but it was not until 1986 that federal legislation fixed the period of DST in the United States as the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October.

Despite its long history, the concept of DST is still not universally accepted. In fact, some parts of the United States, including Hawaii, Arizona and sections of Indiana, do not observe it.

Supporters of the system claim it is beneficial because it reduces energy consumption. Opponents of DST contend that the disruption of sleep patterns that results from setting clocks forward — thereby causing people to lose an hour of sleep — corresponds with an increase in the number of automobile accidents. Many DST opponents believe that the benefit of saving energy is simply not enough to warrant adjusting clocks twice a year.

Perhaps the most interesting argument against DST is its effect on agriculture. DST is particularly unpopular among people who work in that field because animals do not observe the time change. This means farmers cannot observe DST. They have to adjust their work schedules by an hour to accommodate the animals’ needs.

Although this idea may seem far-fetched — after all, it’s only an hour difference — Dr. Mack Rainey, associate professor of animal science at Abraham Baldwin College, who also manages the livestock at the ABAC Farm, said the argument does have some validity.

“The time difference caused by daylight saving time is most critical with dairy cows,” Rainey said. “The cows are on strict feeding and milking schedules, and these can’t be adjusted. Cows must be fed twice a day and be milked twice a day. There has to be 12 hours between milkings. So, dairy cows have to stay on their same schedules year round — no matter what the clock may say. Dairy farmers have to carry on as if daylight saving time doesn’t exist.”

Rainey said that hogs’ feeding schedules are also affected by daylight saving time. Unlike dairy cows, however, hogs will adjust to the different schedule over time. And for some animals, such as poultry, daylight saving time has no effect because the animals receive artificial lighting and are not affected by time changes.



To contact reporter Lisa A. Lewis, call 382-4321, ext. 207.