As temperatures begin to rise, dairy cows become at risk for heat stress. Purina Animal Nutrition Technical Support Dairy Nutritionist Stuart Rymph says heat stress can begin when temperatures hit 72 degrees. Humidity and sun exposure will only increase the problem. “From the nutrition side, reduced feed intake is the thing that we worry about as much or more than anything else,” said Rymph. “We can get to the point where we have lethargic cows that really don’t want to do a whole lot and that would be the most extreme case.” There should be plenty of water available for the cow herd. In the area of nutrition, Rymph encouraged dairy farmers to feed more highly digestible feeds. “That doesn’t mean feeding less forage. In my book, it means feeding better forage.” Listen to the full interview.
