Green County DHIA Newsletter

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1 June 2016 Upcoming Events Green County DHIA Newsletter June State Dairy Nutrition Seminar Dubuque, Iowa 18 Green County Dairy Day Cattle Show, Show starts at 9:30 AM, Cattle Check-in 7:30-9AM, Green County Fairgrounds, Monroe 24 District 6 Black and White Show, Alliant Energy Center, Madison 25 Green County Dairy Days, Dairy Queen Brunch starts at 10 AM, First Union Church, Belleville; Dairy Day Parade at 1 PM, Belleville July 1 Green County Fair Auction Buyer Cards Due to UW-Extension by 4:30 PM Green Co. Fair, All Dairy Cattle must be checked between 9 AM 3 PM on Tuesday, July 19th 2016 Dairy Youth Recognition Auction Scholarship Winners Four Green County youth were recently selected to receive scholarships through the annual Dairy Youth Recognition Auction Scholarship program. The scholarships are funded through proceeds garnered from the Green County Dairy Youth Recognition Auction that is held in conjunction with the annual Cheese Auction conducted by the Foreign Type Cheesemakers Association at the County Fair. Scholarships were awarded on the basis of information provided by the applicant that included their involvement in the dairy project, leadership skills they gained in 4-H & FFA and their future career goals. An applicant must be a senior in high school or enrolled in secondary education to be eligible to apply for this scholarship that is an active Green County dairy project member in 4-H or FFA. The scholarships do not require that youth go into a dairy related career. A total of $2,750 was distributed this year by the Dairy Youth Auction Committee. Receiving Dairy Youth Scholarships were: Kelsey Cramer, daughter of Bob and Nikki Cramer, Juda; Haley Reeson, daughter of Dean and Rae Reeson, Blanchardville; Danielle Dieckhoff, daughter of John and Deb Deickhoff, Juda; and Dylan McGowan son of Rolly and Patty McGowan, Blanchardville. These youth will be formally recognized at the 2016 Green County Dairy Youth Auction to be held on July 24, during the Green County Fair. Over $33,000 in scholarships have been awarded to Green County Youth through this auction since For more information on the Dairy Youth Recognition Auction Program in Green County, please contact Mark Mayer at the UW-Extension Office at

2 Implement Heat Abatement Systems Early Heat stress is one the largest profit robbers on dairy farms with annual losses of over $200 per cow seen on many dairies. These losses are not just from lower milk production, but also include loss of body condition, embryotic mortality, lower fat test, missed heats and feet problems related to acidosis and increased standing, There are many effective methods for heat abatement. Providing shade in pasture dairies and over outdoor feed bunks, installing ventilation fans, sprinkling systems can all help to reduce heat stress. Properly designed natural ventilation systems and sprinkler soaker systems can also be effective in freestall barns. Most dairy farms already have these systems in place, but many fail to start using them early enough to make them more effective in eliminating heat stress in milk cows. The ideal temperature for dairy cows is between degrees F. This means that heat stress occurs in cows much earlier than it does in humans. Therefore, it s important to not wait until we feel uncomfortable to turn on and implement heat abatement systems for milk cows. Timeliness in turning on fans and sprinklers is critical in combating heat stress because once a cow s body temperature rises from excessive heat it takes minutes to get that temperature back down. The old Temperature Heat Index (THI), developed over 60 years ago, was based on data from cows producing pounds of milk per day. That index suggested that cows started to experience heat stress at a THI of 72. However, new research shows that today s higher producing dairy cows start to suffer from heat stress when a THI of 68 is reached. For reference, a temperature of 72 degrees F with a humidity level of 50% equals a THI of 68! Since it s easier to keep a cow cooled down than it is to lower her body temperature once its increased, fans and other cooling systems should be turned on earlier than is commonly done on most farms. Many fan thermostats are set to turn on at degrees and many dairymen do not start to use their sprinkler systems until temperatures and humidity levels are both in the mid 80 s. At 84 degrees F. with a humidity level of 70% the THI equals 80 and the cow is already suffering from moderate heat stress. This would include a body temperature of 104 degrees F. with a respiration rate of greater than 80 breaths per minute. Anything over 40 breaths per minute can indicate heat stress. To combat heat stress early on, fans should be set to turn on when air temperatures reach around 68 degrees F. and sprinkler systems no later than air temperatures of 74 degrees F. It s also important to clean fan blades and screens at least once a year as the efficiency of fans can be reduced by as much as 30-40% from dirty fans. Sprinkler systems should be low pressure with proper nozzles that produce large droplets that shoot 5-6 feet back from the feed barrier to soak the cow s hide from their shoulder to the back of the cow. The sprinkler should be on a timer and run between1-2 minutes and then be off for minutes to allow the fans to do the evaporative cooling and then the process repeated. These soaking frequency times will need to be increased with increasing ambient temperature. The most important component of a sprinkler is for the droplet size to be large enough to wet the hide. Mister hoses that produce small water droplets should not be used. The small droplets produced by these hoses only wet the hair coat and actually form a barrier on the hair coat that makes evaporative cooling less efficient. Adequate access to clean drinking water is also of great importance to reducing summer heat stress. Milk cows can drink double the amount of water on hot days and will drink approximately 60% of their daily water requirements after milking. Thus water should be readily available after the cows exit the barn or parlor. The goal is to provide cows with 4 inches on linear water space for summer months and ideally they should never have to walk more than 80 feet to get access to water.

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7 Green County DHIA Newsletter Green County DHIA, P.O. Box 400, Monroe, WI Bonnie Moser - Office Manager Field Technicians Office Phone June 2016 Sue Pudwill Jim Moser Diane Foulker Lisa Becherer Robert Cramer, Jr W3224 Norton Rd, Juda President Craig Tourdot W3872 Hwy 11-81, Monroe Vice Pres John Dieckhoff W2210 Pinnow Rd, Brodhead Sec/Treas Jeremy Mayer N3926 County Rd N, Monroe Director Andrew Houlberg N4991 Spoerry Rd, Monticello Director Stephanie Miranda 6931 W State Rd 11, Janesville Director Green County UW-Extension Office Justice Center th Street Monroe, Wisconsin Phone: Internet: green.uwex.edu COUNTY EXTENSION STAFF Mark Mayer, Dairy & Livestock Agent & Editor Victoria Solomon, Community Resource Development Educator Ellen Andrews, 4-H & Youth Development Educator Bridget Mouchon-Humphrey, Family Living Educator Lisa Messer, Nutrition Educator Jayne Butts, Extension Activity Assistant Lana Anderson, Extension Activity Assistant Mark Mayer Dairy and Livestock Agent & Editor Green County The University of Wisconsin-Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and educational programming, including Title IX and the ADA requirements. Please make requests for reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to educational programs as early as possible preceding the scheduled program, service or activity. If you need this material in an alternate format or other accommodations for access, please contact the UW-Extension Office at , voice or 711 for Wisconsin Relay.

8 Green County DHIA Newsletter UW-Extension Office Green County th Street Monroe, WI 53566