An eastern Iowa dairy farmer said the two significant heat waves we’ve seen so far this summer have had an impact on his herd.
Temperatures cooled down Tuesday after a stretch of days with heat indexes in the 90s and 100s.
Blake Hansen, a co-owner of Hansen’s Farm Fresh Dairy in Hudson, said a day or two of high heat won’t stress the cows out too much. It’s when there is an extended period high temps that milk production really takes a dip.
Hansen’s Farm Fresh Dairy has150 cows making 1,200 gallons of milk a day.
“2004 is when we started to make ice cream, cheese curds, and butter, and fluid milk,” said Hansen. He added their farm is one of the few places in Iowa that processes their own milk.
“The milk does not leave the premises unless it’s ready to be consumed,” he said.
Hansen said the self-contained world of the farm has its own rhythms, one of which is a drop in milk production every summer.
“Usually we lose 10 to 15% of production because the heat and humidity. When the cows get too hot, they don’t want to eat, and if they don’t eat, they don’t produce any milk, or less milk for that matter.”
However, this summer the humidity is more of a factor.
“Last summer wasn’t near as bad,” said Hansen. “Being that it was so dry, the cows were able to go outside at night to cool off.”
He said, with all the rain and moisture this year, outdoor nights haven’t been as much of an option. On top of it being a wetter year, the recent heatwaves have also taken their toll.
“The cows can handle so much heat. If it’s one or two days of hot weather, that’s probably ok, but when it’s weeks long, it tends to grow on them and is a lot harder on them.”
TV9 asked if he could measure recent heat events in dollars lost.
“Figure $5 a gallon of milk, so you’re looking at $10 a cow a day.”
Mutliply that by 150 cows and you’re looking at a loss of $1,500 a day.
“It adds up,” said Hansen.
TV9 asked Hansen if he ever worried about changing weather and heatwaves happening more frequently in the future.
“I don’t really think about that too much, just because it’s really out of our control.” He added, “Whatever happens, happens.”
According to the USDA, heat stress in dairy cows typically occurs when the temperature-humidity index rises above 70. The Cedar Rapids area has been reaching that every day since the beginning of June.
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