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Heat Stress
Dairy Heat Stress
Heat stress costs dairy farmers millions in lost milk production and threatens animal welfare. Discover proven, cost-effective strategies to keep your herd cool and productive—without breaking the bank on energy costs.

Impacts of Heat Stress
Reduced milk production, decreased fertility, and increased health issues.
Effects of Heat Stress on Dairy Reproduction
Heat stress not only affects the productive ability of your cattle but also their ability to conceive and sustain a pregnancy. It is important to understand the effect heat stress can have on reproduction and how you can help minimize the effect.
HEAT STRESS VIDEO
Pagel’s Ponderosa
Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy, LLC is a one-of-a-kind family farm and agritourism destination.
It is the largest private, family-owned dairy farm in Wisconsin.
Have a question about heat stress on your farm? UW-Madison Extension can help. Contact us »
Managing Heat Stress
Recommendations to help cattle cope with high temperatures, humidity, and other stressors.
Heat Stress Abatement in Dairy Facilities
When cows are heat stressed, they eat less, produce less milk, have reduced immune function and higher SCC, and show reduced fertility. A spike in lameness often follows the hot season.
Dealing with Hot Weather in Grazing Systems
To minimize heat stress, there are three key things farmers can do to help cows on pasture stay healthy, productive, and comfortable during hot spells.
Balancing Ventilation Costs and Milk Production Losses on Wisconsin Dairy Farms
Effective ventilation management reduces the impacts of heat stress on milk production.
Animal Handling During Heat Stress
Combating heat stress in the herd requires an action plan to prevent heat stress and address heat stress-related issues.
HEAT STRESS VIDEO
Rosy-Lane Holsteins
Rosy-Lane Holsteins operates across 2,243 acres and milks 1,750 Holstein cows at two locations. One site is located in Watertown, Wisconsin, and the other is near Paoli, WI.

Nutrition and Feeding
Strategies for storing feed and managing rations and feeding in hot weather.
Summer feed storage and feed bunk management
Hot summer weather can be hard on feed ingredients and total mixed rations (TMRs). It is vital that feed quality and aerobic stability be maintained during this challenging season. Doing so will minimize nutrient losses while optimizing cow intakes which are often compromised due to heat stress challenges.
Dairy Cattle Ration Management During Summer
Dairy cattle are susceptible to heat stress during much of the summer. Dietary adjustments can help maintain nutrient intake and production.
Calculating Heat Stress Impacts
How to use farm reports and software to measure how heat stress affects herd performance.
Using DHI Herd Summary Report to Assess Potential Impact of Heat Stress on a Dairy
Farmers enrolled in DHI receive several reports regarding herd performance. The Herd Summary Report (HSR) encompasses three main sections: Milk Production, Reproduction & Genetics, and Inventory. The milk production section has eight blocks—the focus related to heat stress will be on Blocks D, F, and G. The Reproduction & Genetics section has five blocks—the focus for heat stress will be on Block L.
Using DairyComp to Assess the Potential Impact of Heat Stress on a Dairy
Diving into a dairy’s herd management software can help a producer quantify where the losses are occurring and, with some easy calculations, determine the profitability of investing in cow cooling measures.
Using Bovisync Reports to Assess Potential Impact of Heat Stress on a Dairy – Coding Supplement
Below is a visual representation of what to enter in the report screen to generate charts similar to what is shown in the companion factsheet: “Using Bovisync Reports to Assess Potential Impact of Heat Stress on a Dairy”. Milk Production Butterfat Percent Reproduction Milk Quality Clinical Mastitis and Transition Cow Health
Using Bovisync Reports to Assess Potential Impact of Heat Stress on a Dairy
In this fact sheet you will see examples of the resulting data you can use to unlock the power of your herd’s Bovisync records.
Human Heat Stress
Help the farm workforce stay safe in the heat.