Ventilation and cooling in dairy farms

Conversation with Marcelo Wasser

Ventilation and cooling system to improve animal welfare and productivity

Today we talk about ventilation and cooling in the barn, a much discussed topic in our sector, through this short interview we will show you the point of view of an expert in Brazil who talks about us touching various points of reflection.

I’m Marcelo Wasser and I worked as manager of a dairy farm of 400 dairy cows and 270 calves, in Israel, from 1997 to date. I also work as a consultant on huge projects in South America, especially in Brazil: I’m a Cooperdia consultant in the “Leite Mas” project for the improvement of dairy production on the cooperative’s milk farms, which today has more than 1000 milk farms.

Marcelo Wasser
Marcelo Wasser, dairy expert and farm manager.
Interview
Let’s talk about animal welfare: Do you think ventilation and cooling are two must-haves for improving livestock performance and improving farm productivity and efficiency?

Yes, definitely. Ventilation and control of heat stress are one of the most important factors in dairy production. Many studies were carried out on this subject and there is much to talk about it, in general, cows enter a state of heat stress when the temperature exceeds 25 ° of temperature and increases in respiration to more than 60 per minute. Those aspects influence and affect animals in various aspects such as production, reproduction and food.

In a modern dairy farm, is a proper ventilation strategy strictly required to improve comfort, milk production during the summer months, and the general barn environment?

Yes, as I write above, they are essential systems and it is vitally important to become aware of this issue. Without good ventilation and a heat stress control system, the losses in milk production (10% or more of production) and in reproduction will be very large.

The constant air movement improves overall air quality, removes unpleasant barn odors, disperses ammonia gas, and gives the herd a cool breeze. Can we say that comfortable cows are productive cows?

We can ensure that cows in a comfortable, air-conditioned environment, with beds or Free Stall (called hot bed in some countries) that are dry and well treated will be more productive, lower mastitis levels, with less consumption in the use of antibiotics, for this decrease expenses, and obtain better results.

Based on your experience, could you say that CMP fans are an effective and inexpensive way to reduce heat stress and keep your herd healthy and productive?

After having worked for many years in different countries and with different ventilation systems, I can assure you that CMP systems give the best result, and with a very low cost of electricity, lower than other fans on the market. I, personally, on my farm have changed the ventilation system several years ago and we have lowered energy consumption by more than 35%.

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