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Heat Stress in Dairy Cattle

Andrew Fidler and, Karl VanDevender (1999)

Summary

Typically, summers in Arkansas are both hot and humid, which combine to make a very uncomfortable environment for lactating dairy cows. During hot summer weather, milk production may decrease by as much as 50 percent, and reproductive proficiency of lactating dairy cows is greatly diminished. Some data indicate that only 10 to 20 percent of inseminations in "heat stressed" cows result in pregnancies. This fact sheet details a series of steps to reduce heat stress in Arkansas dairy herds.