Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LANCASTER, PA — The heat and humidity in the Northeast isn't only affecting people, but also cows.
Dairy farmers say their herds are are producing less milk due to the heat, and that could hit you in the pocketbook and your milk supply.
"We do all we can to keep lots of air moving and refresh them with some water," said dairy farmer Joe Wivell.
Cows like it cold. The ideal temperature for a dairy herd is around 45 degrees, so when it's hot outside farmers worry about heat stress, which leads to loss of milk production, they say.
"They can drop as much as 10 pounds of milk production per cow per day," Wivell said.
Wivell tends to his cows needs by using a barn that keeps air circulating. Ceiling fans are a must, as well as fresh drinking water.
There's also technology in place to soak the cows in cool water. Its frequency is based on the temperature in the barn.
