We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
If there was a way to review your dairy’s results last summer in the areas of pregnancy rates, milk production, feed intakes and lying time, then make proactive changes to your heat abatement program before the dog days of summer arrive, would you do it?
Small tweaks to facilities can get a dairy operating at its full potential, with cow well-being and comfort at the forefront. However, there are some common bottlenecks that can interfere with achieving success.
Cow comfort is often listed as one of the most important aspects associated with getting dairy cows to milk to their genetic potential economically. Cow comfort involves not only providing a comfortable resting place and surface for cows, but also providing for proper ventilation within the facility to minimize heat stress, prevent condensation of moisture and allow for good air quality (i.e., low ammonia concentrations).
Typically, when the topic of heat stress comes up, northern New York is not the first region that pops into most people’s minds. Although it is true we do not tend to suffer from prolonged, extreme heat here in the north country, it is also true that it does not take much heat for high-producing dairy cows to begin experiencing the physiological distress that can ultimately lead to compromised production, immune function and reproduction.
Lameness is one of the most common and most economically destructive production diseases of dairy cows. It is associated with a reduction in milk yield and fertility and an increase in culling rate and medical costs. The prevalence of lameness in dairy cow herds is estimated within the range of 20 to 25 percent, but it could reach up to 80 percent in some herds.
