cooled and non-cooled cows, respectively). In economic terms, there is an increase of US$ 100–$ 300/cow/year as a result of summer cooling. It is reasonable to assume that by adding the expected benefits, which arise from also improv- ing summer fertility and health traits, annual profitability per cow can increase by as much as 30–40%.
Power generators Electric generators are used on the farm as the primary source of power or to guard against electrical failure. The noise associated with such machines may adversely affect feed intake, metabolic processes, the endocrine system, im- munity, reproduction and milk yield. The generators should be sited as far as possible from the stalls so that the accept- able noise level (60–90 dB) can be maintained. This solution, however, might not be realistic on a farm of a small area; in this case, the installation of sound baffles or resonators should be considered.
Flooring Covering barn floors with sheets of soft rubber or other bed- ding materials, such as sand or straw, to mimic pasture soil helps to achieve the following advantages compared to solid concrete floors: 1. Animals tend to relax on the soft floor for up to 14 hours a day, and this improves blood circulation in the udder and hence increases milk production. 2. Soft ground helps to increase the efficiency of oestrus de- tection by increasing the mounting rates, while in the case of hard floors these rates are lower due to the fear of slipping. 3. The soft ground acts as a shock absorber and thus main-
tains the integrity of animals’ hooves. It also allows the unre- stricted movement of animals inside the barn and hence improves blood circulation in the living tissue of their hooves.
Shelters Shelters are effective means of alleviating heat stress on hot days and have many advantages over methods such as fog- gers and sprinklers, which are sophisticated and expensive and often lead to foot disorders and excessive flies. Studies on cows under outdoor feeding operations revealed lower respi- ration rates and lower rectal temperature in shaded cows compared to the cows with no shade. Lactation and reproduc- tive performances were also improved during the shading ex- periment. That is, the average daily milk production, concep- tion rate and early embryo death were 16.6 kg, 44.4% and 0% respectively for the shaded cows, as opposed to 15.0 kg, 25.3% and 2% respectively for the cows with no shade.
Waste disposal As dairy herds increase in size, engineering aspects of waste-handling systems take on new dimensions. Water be- comes a labour saver in the waste clean-up, and the volume of wastewater to be handled can be very large. Just as waste from a large dairy can have a tremendous impact on the envi- ronment, opportunities for obtaining maximum utilisation of nutrients in the manure also exist. Also, because of economies of scale, large dairies will be the first to take advantage of new technology in waste utilisation and energy conversion. Con- stant assessment of available opportunities will be required.
References available upon request. ▶DAIRY GLOBAL | Volume 7, No. 4, 2020 17
Electric genera- tors should be sited as far as possible from the stalls so that the acceptable noise level (60- 90 dB) can be maintained.
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