by DR. GEORGE F.W. HAENLEIN Extension Dairy Specialist University of Delaware NEWARK, Del. - Summer heat is here again, and it’s time to take steps to protect milking cows from its effects. Without your help they will suffer in a number of ways which can also have economic con sequences. Cows can’t tell you when and if they suffer. They simply give less milk with a drastically lower milkfat per centage, don’t come into estrus, don’t show estrus and don’t con ceive. What can you do to prevent the harmful effects of heat stress on your milk herd? Short of installing air con- HOWTO MILK AKUBOIA. A Kubola tractor can do a whole herd of chores on a dairy farm. J/ —-rq‘fl- , | r Out in the hayfield, it can plow, till, mow and bale. Apply fertilizer or pesticide. Help repair an old fence. Back in the barnyard, it can haul feed from the silo to the trough at mealtime. Then clean out the corrals. In fact, it can do almost everything except milk the cows. Because it’s loaded with hardworking features. Some come standard. A To Come In And See The Full Line Of Kubota Tractors & Implements Reduce Summer Heat to Increase Profits ditioners - which would be ideal but probably aren’t an economical solution these days for most dairy farmers in this region - you can do quite a few things, starting with exercising common sense. Physiologists have shown that the comfort zone for Holsteins is between 35 degrees and 70 degrees F. So on days when the tem perature is above 70 degrees, you can expert problems with your cows - especially the high milking ones. In the presence of high humidity, the effects of summer heat can be even more severe, because the cows make thermoregulatory adjustments in their physiology, nutrition .and behavior to over come hypothermia. These ad justments are somewhat easier to Your Kubota Dealer Invites You liquid-cooled diesel engine. A bevel gear system on every 4WD tractor. Plus a neatly designed operator platform. Or choose a model with more advanced features. For example, a 5-cylinder direct injection diesel engine. It’s fuel-efficient. It runs more smoothly than a 4-cylinder engine. And more quietly. That can help reduce both operator fatigue and noise related stress on the cows. Of course, any Kubota make in a breeze. The windchill factor, so feared in winter, is a great benefactor in summer. By installing strong fans you can artificially create extra wind to cool their backs, especially if you spray them with water first. One common behavior ad justment of cows to heat stress is daytime lethargy, which reflects their reduced metabolic activity. This also means less feed intake and less sexual interest, which are alleviated in part by shifting ac tivity to cooler night hours. Cows require frequent drinks of clean, cool water to combat daytime heat stress. Have water bowls nearby, providing at least one for every 20 cows to take care of the timid ones. Unfortunately, green algae grow fast in the bowls tractor works hardest with implements also designed and built by Kubota.The quick-attach front loader on the L4ISODT you see here is a perfect example. A Kubota dealer can show you all of our tractors. You have more than 15 different choices from 23.5 hp to 85 PTO hp. One should be just about custom-made for your needs. So start imagining all the chores a Kubota could do around your place .There’s really only one thing it won’t do. Head for the bam before the work is done. UKUBOTH Nothing like it on earth: on summer days, which makes the water taste different, causing it to be less atractive unless they’re suffering badly from thirst. So you need to clean out the bowls several times each week to keep water palatable. The same goes for water tanks. Some farmers keep goldfish in their tanks to reduce algae growth and feed contamination! It really works, and the cows don’t seem to mind. To support high milk production, cows must eat large amounts of heat-producing feed. Fibrous and protein feeds produce even more heat, but these are essential in the diet to avoid low milkfat tests and body weight loss. When cows eat more con centrates and less forages to Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 5,1956-A23 reduce heat stress from digestion, they suffer an acute potassium shortage. Potassium goes into the milk daily and must be replenished mainly from silages and hays or whole cottonseed. Grain com and other copimon grains and by products in the concentrate ration (except for soybean meal) cannot supply this potassium in sufficient amounts. Like humans, cows also sweat. But where we lose sodium, they lose potassium, which further aggravates the shortage. Current potassium recom mendations for dairy cattle are 0.8 percent of the total daily feed in take. Research in Texas and Florida shows great benefits in improved feed intake when this level is doubled for milking cows during hot weather. CALL YOUR LOCAL KUBOTA DEALER PENNSYLVANIA Alburtis CANNSBILCO 215-966-3733 Avondale THOMAS POWER EQUIP. 215-268-2181 Biglerville O.C. RICE, INC. 717-677-8135 Bloomsburg TRACTOR PARTS CO. 717-784-0250 Carlisle PETERMAN FARM EQUIP., INC. 717-249-5338 Chambersburg STOUFFER BROS., INC. 717-263-8424 Dallas PENN STATE SEED CO. 717-675-8585 Dayton DAYTON EQUIPMENT COMPANY 412-783-6990 Dover STRALEY FARM SUPPLY, INC. 717-292-2631 -4443 Honesdale MARSHALL MACHINERY, INC. 717-729-7117 Jersey Shore THOMAS L. DUNLAP 717-398-1391 Lebanon KELLER BROS. TRACTOR CO. 717-949-6501 Lititz KELLER BROS. TRACTOR CO. 717-626-2121 New Park - itewartstowi MS REQUIP., INC. 717-993-2511 lewtown Square NIEMEYER SERVICE CENTER 215-356-2672 North Huntingdon LASPINA EQUIPMENT 412-864-5147 Reynoldsville McGARVEY EQUIP. CO. 814-653-9637 Spring Mills RISHEL S SALES & SERVICE 814-422-8826 - 238-7788 Wellsboro BENEDICT'S FORD TRACTOR 717-724-2839 Westchester M.S. YEARSLEY ISONS 215-696-2990 MARYLAND Chestertown Wl COOPER I SON INC. 301-778-3464 Hagerstown ARNETTS GARAGE 301-733-0515 Rising Sun AG IND. EQUIP. GO. INC. 301-658-5568 Upper Marlboro GATEWAY FORD TRACTOR, INC. 301-627-6400 NEW JERSEY Andover ANDOVER TRACTOR I EQUIP. INC. 201-786-5525 Elmer ROORKS FARM SUPPLY INC. 609-358-3100 Fairfield CALDWELL TRACTOR S EQUIP. INC. 201-227-6772 Flemmgton PONIATOWSKI BROS. EQUIP. CO. 201-782-3514 Hamesport MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEMS 609-267-6100 Hammonton RODIO TRACTOR SALES, INC. 609-561-0141
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