“The first two weeks of June illustrated
the heat-stress conditions on many of our units, with maximum temperatures above 30°C recorded on consecutive days in the south. A maximum daily THI above 70 was recorded on 11 out of 14 days in the south and Midlands, and on a third of the days in the north and Wales during the first half of June. “At these levels, cows will spend more
time standing in cooler areas rather than lying in cubicles, less time visiting the water trough and feed face, and make fewer visits to automated milking facilities. These all have an impact on intakes and productivity.” Cargill is publishing this real-time data
on a website, which can be freely accessed by dairy farmers and advisers to help them manage heat-stress conditions and mitigate any knock-backs in productivity. “Fertility – particularly oestrus and
conception rates – are the first parameters affected by heat stress and they are hidden victims, taking a hit at temperatures in the high teens in the British summer,” says Mr Scott. “The effects are not seen immediately on many units and producers may fail to link a drop in rates to increased temperatures. But many producers do see lower fertility rates in summer, suggesting heat stress has had an effect.” Cargill UK’s ruminant team is
encouraging farmers and advisers to use its new website to monitor THI in their area and to pick up any risks of heat stress early, before they affect performance. “And while heat stress can affect grazing cows too, it’s worth noting that the THI in buildings will typically be between two and four points higher than outdoors, depending on building design,” says Mr Scott. “And cows producing 45 litres of milk a
day will produce 26% more body heat than those producing 32 litres a day. This is a serious amount of heat to dissipate when conditions get warmer and more humid. So even when we think that it’s not particularly hot, the THI threshold may be triggered, and our cows could be encountering some heat stress.” Improving the building environment
with ventilation and fans, and ensuring fresh feed is available regularly, using the cooler times of the day for feeding during warmer weather, will help to reduce the risk of heat stress in cows. Many dairy herds are now including a cooling rumen buffer in rations, such as Equaliser CoolCow, to help to mitigate the effects of heat stress. “The buffer element helps to maintain a good rumen environment,” he adds. “The CoolCow elements have been shown to reduce the cow’s internal temperature and keep her hydrated at a cellular level so she can better manage the metabolic challenges that heat stress brings.”
Cargill’s THI website is updated directly
from the network of loggers and can be accessed in real-time on:
https://weatherdatauk.provimi.eu/
UK RESEARCHER WINS
INTERNATIONAL AWARD Dr. Tom Chamberlain wins the HealthyLife research grant for his project “Raising the awareness of heat stress problems with dairy farmers”. The Trouw Nutrition HealthyLife
project aims at improving sustainability of dairy farming by increasing longevity and performance of dairy cows. A HealthyLife Grant of €10,000 was offered towards on- farm innovations that enhance the longevity and well-being of cows, thus improving sustainability of dairy farming. The winner of the grant is Dr. Tom Chamberlain for his project “Raising the awareness of heat stress problems with dairy farmers”. The project has two important aims.
The first one is to increase awareness that heat stress can also affect cattle in temperate climate zones such as Europe and the coastal areas of Latin America and North America. Dr. Chamberlain explains: “A common way to quantify the risk of heat stress is the Temperature Humidity Index (THI). This has two limitations. Firstly, threshold values are often based on studies working with cows that are acclimatized to high environmental temperatures and humidity. Threshold values in cattle in moderate climates, can be as low as 62 (See Figure 1, Hammemi, 2013). Secondly, the THI threshold values are only applicable to housed cattle. There is a clear call for data from grazed cattle in moderate climates”.
with assessing heat stress in their herds. Both THI and DHLI are environment and not animal based. As such, they indicate to what extent animals are at risk, but they do not measure the effect of heat stress in animals. The project will develop a metric based on animal measurements. Dr Chamberlain continues: “Previous research workers have developed animal-based metrics but these have been too invasive or expensive for commercial use. Our intention is to develop a metric that is simple to apply on commercial dairy farms.” Cesar Bratz, Technical Manager at
Trouw Nutrition adds: “At Trouw Nutrition, we are continuously looking for ways to help dairy farmers to increase their Lifetime Daily Yield. We are proud to support the project of Dr. Chamberlain, because we are convinced it will help creating awareness that heat stress is a common problem also in countries with moderate climates. Thanks to the endeavours of Dr. Chamberlain, farmers will not only be able to avoid loss of production, but they will also be able to avoid serious animal welfare issues as a result of heat stress”. To look at the real time DHLI data, please visit:
https://grazemore.co.uk/heat-stress To find out more about the HealthyLife programme for sustainable dairy farming, please visit:
https://healthylife.trouwnutrition. com
BASF RECEIVES GMP+ AND ISO 22000 CERTIFICATIONS FOR ITS GLYCERIN PRODUCTION AT THE
Figure 1: Yield data from heifers in Belgium and Holland, (Hammemi, 2013) showing the threshold score for heat stress is 62, with moderate losses between 62 and 72, high losses between 73 and 79 and severe losses and death if the THI is above 79.
Dr. Chamberlain comments: “In grazing
situations it is preferable to work with the Dairy Heat Load Index (DHLI, Lee, 2017), which is based upon recordings of humidity and temperature in a so called “black globe” which is placed where the cattle are grazing, giving you an accurate measurement of the conditions the cow really has to face. With the help of Trouw Nutrition and Lallemand Animal Nutrition, we now have real-time data for THI and DHLI available from seven farms in the South-West of England. The results are available in real-time through our webpage”. The second aim of the project is to provide farmers with a better tool to help them
DUSSELDORF SITE BASF has obtained two new certifications for its crude glycerin production at the Dusseldorf-Holthausen site: GMP+ and ISO 22000. Both are important standards for the food and feed industry. GMP+ defines the requirements and conditions for setting up a feed safety management system to safeguard, for example, production, processing, storage and handling of feed; the ISO 22000 standard is a management system for ensuring food safety. “Consumers want to know where
their products come from and under what conditions they were manufactured. GMP+ and ISO 22000 are crucial standards to ensure quality, traceability and safety along the complete production chain and an essential requirement for our customers. With the new certifications, we offer them more flexibility when it comes to serving current market requirements and supplying food and feed processing companies with high-quality glycerin,” said Agustin Sanchez, Vice President Business Management Standard Surfactants Europe.
FEED COMPOUNDER JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 55
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