Old-fashioned fly swatters may be the most foolproof housefly killer, but for dairy farms, insecticides are the practical choice. Flies spread disease and a host of pathogens that cost farms hundreds of millions of dollars in annual losses.

Today’s antifreeze solutions are a sophisticated blend of chemicals specifically designed to provide not only freeze protection and enhanced cooling but protection from other dangers inherent in modern, complex cooling systems such as corrosion, cavitation erosion, etc.

Check out images from Pagel’s Ponderosa, a 5,000-cow dairy near Casco, Wisconsin.

Summer is here and the cows are getting hot. Our dairy cows are large fermentation vats on legs, and they generate a lot of heat. The thermoneutral zone for an adult dairy cow is typically in the range of 40 to 70ºF, and cows suffer heat stress above the upper critical temperature – before most humans become bothered by heat.

Whether it’s natural or mechanical, barn ventilation is imperative when it comes to the welfare of dairy cattle. However, ventilation alone does not always provide the necessary air movement for cooling and comfort needs. Animals can intrinsically demonstrate their comfort levels simply by their eating habits, conception rates and milk production. Without a cooling breeze, the simple ventilation designed into a building isn’t enough.

As equipment has become more and more sophisticated, greater emphasis has been placed on comfort and convenience – the so-called “bells and whistles.” These bells and whistles can quickly turn into rants and cursing when they fail and take the functionality of your machine with them. Tackling this topic was a challenge for this aging farmer simply because I recall the days when the tractor not starting was simply a battery or connection issue. While these can still be today’s culprits, increasingly we see the world of computers entering our tractors and implements, just as they have our automobiles.