Managing in the heat

Review and re-plan

Reviewing and re-thinking your system in the cooler months makes sense. Such a review needn’t take a long time but it makes sense to reflect on the recent hot season experience before embarking on improvement actions. There are at least four key questions to consider.

What impacts did excessive heat load events have?
What further shade planting is needed?
What should the next shade/cooling infrastructure project be?
What should change next hot season in terms of milking times, water troughs, paddock rotation, summer nutrition and mating management?

If this is the first season you have actively managed your cows in the hear, then the answers to some of these questions will become your bench mark for future years.