Dairy sprinklers and fans generally idle on low until the official start of summer. With an extreme heatwave hitting the midsection of the country, farmers are ratcheting up their cooling systems to ensure their cows are as comfortable as possible.
In Central Texas, dairy farmer Joseph Osinga says if you generally don’t like the weather in Texas, wait a day or two and it will be different. Although he says he is afraid the heat is here to stay – and for Texas farmers, that means it’s here until early fall.
Over the weekend, a high temperature hovering in the upper 90’s hit the area. Alongside family, Osinga owns and operates two dairies with 1,600 cows milking in Texas and 1,400 cows milking in northern Illinois.
In Illinois, where above average temperatures are forecasted for the week, Osigna’s cows are housed in a cross-ventilated barn. Head south to his Texas dairy and both the fans and soakers are on full speed to help keep cows cool. Osigna reports no change in feed intake nor production and says his cows are still humming along, producing more than 90 pounds a day.
“We’re actually at 92 pounds today,” he says. “They haven’t dropped yet.”
Central Texas is known for hot temperatures, but Osigna, who has dairied in central Texas since 1994, says it’s the worst he has ever seen.
“We actually haven’t had hardly any rain,” he shares.
Osgina’s corn was planted in the middle of February, and they plan to chop corn silage around the middle of June.
“Our corn silage doesn’t look great,” he says. “It’s probably going to have a short plant with a good ear, which is not good for most farmers, but it’s good for cow feed, as it’ll have more starch.”
Tips to Keep Cows Cool:
Juan Piñeiro, assistant professor and extension dairy specialist with Texas A&M recommends providing enough shade and drinking water to all milking cows, dry cows and heifers.
Piñeiro offers the following tips to cool lactating and dry cows during summertime heat, or now, during the springtime heatwave that farmers are experiencing.
Dry Lot Facilities:
- In dry lot pens, the orientation of the shades should be from north to south to allow the sun to dry up the surface.
- Provide between 38-48 square feet of solid shade (steel or aluminum) at a height >12 feet.
- Daily grooming is necessary to dry up the surface and stimulate cows to lie down.
Free-stall Facilities:
- For free stall barns, the orientation should be east/west to take advantage of the prevailing winds from the south.
- Clean your fans before summer begins to increase efficiency and orient them on a 30-degree angle towards the floor. Fans should provide appropriate air movement around cows at the feed bunk and, since cows cannot dissipate heat as well when they are lying down compared to standing, especially in the stalls.
- Use the combined effect of fans and soaking your cattle while they are waiting in the holding pen to be milked. When the ambient temperature is >87 °F soakers should be activated every five minutes.
Furthermore, Piñeiro says providing appropriate heat abatement in the milking parlor helps both cows and employees.
In central Texas, Osinga says his number one priority is keeping his cows as cool as possible, to keep the milk flow coming.
