Dairy Cow Comfort
Reducing Environmental Stressors to Improve Dairy Cow Comfort
A pressing, and often-overlooked challenge on dairy farms is maintaining or improving cow comfort. There are a wide variety of environmental stressors that have a direct impact on the production level of dairy cows. Some of these stressors include; heat stress, poor ventilation, improper stall/feed-bunk design, and not having access to water. Conditions such as these are not only stressful to the cows, but also greatly affect their physiology and productivity. Fortunately, there are practical and economical solutions available to deal with these issues.
Ventilation/Reducing heat stress:
When addressing problems associated with heat stress with dairy cows, you must first realize that the thermo neutral zones for cows are very different than those for people. You must also realize that heat stress is a function of temperature as well as relative humidity. In areas such as Kentucky known for their hot, humid summers, heat stress is much more of a pressing concern than cold stress. As the temperature heat index (THI) approaches 68, dairy cows begin to experience decreases in milk production caused by heat stress. At a THI of 55 to 60 you will begin to see negative effects on reproduction. It has been found that, on average, cows experience these effects at least one day in all months of the year other than December and January. Based on these facts, it is apparent that a dairy producer needs to focus on designing or redesigning facilities to decrease the effects of heat stress rather than cold stress. Listed below are some practices that could be employed to reduce some of the effects of heat stress.
Barn Orientation: Many factors must be taken into consideration when deciding how to orient a barn on a dairy farm. The direction is typically characterized by the direction of the ridge running along the roof of the barn. In order to maximize natural ventilation, it should be oriented so that
A pressing, and often-overlooked challenge on dairy farms is maintaining or improving cow comfort. There are a wide variety of environmental stressors that have a direct impact on the production level of dairy cows. Some of these stressors include; heat stress, poor ventilation, improper stall/feed-bunk design, and not having access to water. Conditions such as these are not only stressful to the cows, but also greatly affect their physiology and productivity. Fortunately, there are practical and economical solutions available to deal with these issues.
Ventilation/Reducing heat stress:
When addressing problems associated with heat stress with dairy cows, you must first realize that the thermo neutral zones for cows are very different than those for people. You must also realize that heat stress is a function of temperature as well as relative humidity. In areas such as Kentucky known for their hot, humid summers, heat stress is much more of a pressing concern than cold stress. As the temperature heat index (THI) approaches 68, dairy cows begin to experience decreases in milk production caused by heat stress. At a THI of 55 to 60 you will begin to see negative effects on reproduction. It has been found that, on average, cows experience these effects at least one day in all months of the year other than December and January. Based on these facts, it is apparent that a dairy producer needs to focus on designing or redesigning facilities to decrease the effects of heat stress rather than cold stress. Listed below are some practices that could be employed to reduce some of the effects of heat stress.
Barn Orientation: Many factors must be taken into consideration when deciding how to orient a barn on a dairy farm. The direction is typically characterized by the direction of the ridge running along the roof of the barn. In order to maximize natural ventilation, it should be oriented so that