A system developed to treat the water used to cool downtown commercial buildings is now available to treat the rural water troughs where dairy cows drink.

Flies are a predictable part of dairying during the warmer months. Flies can injure teats, spread mastitis and pinkeye bacteria, reduce daily milk production and slow growth of replacement heifers.

There reaches a point for many dairy producers when retrofitting existing facilities produces diminishing returns. Before 2009, the cows at Diederich Farm LLC were housed in a late-1960s-style freestall barn – low roofline, low sidewalls and short stall beds.

Failure to maintain proper coolant can result in engine overheating, engine cylinder liner cavitation (pitting), water pump failures, corrosion, coolant contamination of the lube system and loss of coolant. Most manufacturers recommend testing annually or at specified hour intervals, such as every 500 hours.

This article was #2 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2013. It was published in the May 1, 2013 Extra e-newsletter and the August 11, 2013 print issue. Click here for the full list of the Top 25. Last winter, JTP Farms in Dorchester, Wisconsin, set a new production record for the DeLaval VMS system. In a period of seven days, the dairy – owned by Tom and Peggy Peissig and Jake and Tolea Peissig – harvested an average of 6,453 pounds of milk per milking station from their 247-cow herd, equaling 104.5 pounds per day. Jake Peissig attributed this accomplishment to the farm’s focus on cow comfort and animal welfare in their new facility.

If you’re milking your herd with an automatic milking system (AMS), chances are you see your cows as robot customers. And as the saying goes: The customer is always right. Robotic dairy owners and herd managers should be asking themselves: “Do I have the right plan in place with detailed strategies and standard operating procedures to motivate and help my customers perform their best – or in other words, achieve their genetic potential?”

It’s been said that “it’s hard to be a bright light in a dim world.” For success to be achieved, the environment must provide the essential components. New research brings this statement to light: Proper parlor and dairy facility lighting may play a role in herd performance and an operation’s bottom line.

Cooling your cows when temperatures start climbing is not a novel idea, but it’s also not an idea to simply discard altogether. Although we are still a ways from reaching those scorching summertime temperatures, now is the time to think about cow cooling.