Dairy cows across the region spent most of the day in their barns, where they were cooled down by fans and sprinklers.
At farms across central Pa., cool sprinklers were showering hundreds of cows as they tried to get relief from the late summer heat.
“To be the most productive you can be, you want to make the cow as comfortable as possible,” said Greg Perry, a partner at Perrydell Farm and Dairy in York Township.
Perry said his cows have spent all day in the barn, where fans and sprinklers keep them cool. He said cows generally get heat-stressed when the temperature is above 80 degrees.
He added that they need those cooling mechanisms in place to stay healthy.
“If they’re not laying down and chewing their cud, you want them to be up and eating,” said Perry. “If they’re not doing one of those two things, there might be something wrong.”
Maria Forry at Oregon Dairy Farm in Lancaster said their cooling protocol is the same as it was during the summer.
“We always run the fans and sprinklers based on the temperature outside,” said Forry. “So if we get a heatwave in October, the fans and sprinklers will turn back on.”
She added that the farm expects there will be less milk coming from the cows over the next few days.
“Even with the fans and sprinklers running, there will be a decrease in milk production because it is still extra hot with the heat wave,” said Forry.
Forry added that it’s important for dairy farmers to spend extra time keeping their cows happy until the weather starts cooling down later this week.
“Because we can run the fans and sprinklers during the extreme heat, the cows will feel like it’s much cooler than it actually is in reality,” said Forry.
