Cool, comfortable cows

As the school year finished, the last of the big toothless smiles of kindergartners hopped off the bus on Friday to spend a few hours at our farm. It seems like summer is here too quickly. The memory of cool mornings a few weeks ago has been pushed away by a blast of hot weather. The 85-degree days can melt even the most excited students.
The kids carried their own water bottles throughout the farm tour. Sometimes they left them behind, requiring them to remember where they were left so they could be refilled to rehydrate and refresh them with cold, country well water. The sweat that was dripping from their hot faces didn’t stop them from holding chicks, feeding lambs and snuggling up with the calves. Giggles and shrieks were roared from the kids as they ran through the fans with the foggers, only to have the cows look at them blankly as they continued to chew their cud.
With the hot temperatures and drought conditions brought on as the season of spring is forgotten, our cows have found the best locations in the barn to maximize their comfort. Our cows have waterbed mattresses with circulation fans above with a fogging system that will turn on for a few minutes to cool the air down, and then it shuts off. There are humidity sensors throughout the barn that also take temperatures in the barn and outside. We are connected to a main computer that can be controlled by us or other technicians through the fan company.
The tunnel ventilation in the barn is pulling the outside air in, and the foggers cool it to make it so nice. The added humidity helps keep the manure moist to enable it to be pushed through the slats in the floor by the Lely Discovery robots. Without the humidity, we have areas that the robots struggle to keep clean, so we need to manually push dry manure through with a flat scraper.
Last year, we noticed the cows really love the foggers. Many of the girls liked them so much that they would rather stay put on the waterbed than get up to eat or go to the robots to be milked – just lying there comfortable, chewing their cud, keeping cool. Cool cows are content, and that is great, but some would be lying in a puddle of milk. Perhaps they could be too comfortable; is that possible?
We were told about another system we could use. More technology ... another system. I love when all the robots and systems work, but when they don’t, I am not happy. The cows also have problems when they are showing signs of heat stress or if they are standing too long by the waterers. This system would be over the headlocks and would soak the cows while eating. It would go on and off on a timer based on the temperatures in and out of the barn.
I actually knew what foggers were because we were able to check them out at the World Dairy Expo. We looked at brands and systems when we were planning and designing our new barn. I didn’t even know what a soaking system was. I envisioned a soaker hose like I have in my garden. Anna has seen some that were like irrigation tubing that would sprinkle the cows to moisten their hide and cool them down in feedlot settings. The system that was planned for us would be heavy duty, so the cows wouldn’t be able to pull it down, and it would work with our fogging system too.  
Just as the heat this week was pushing the mercury up the thermostat, the installation of our new soaker system was installed. Now that we have a new system, the cows are trying to adjust to the soaking. The water droplets are bigger, and it is more of a blast that wets them quickly. I have been blasted with the cows, and it is cold water that does soak cows and people quickly. We will be tweaking the settings to find the best amount of time, volume of water and intervals when it is soaking. One more system, more technology, to keep the cows cool and comfortable this summer.
I have many families vacationing in Wisconsin, summer camps, church groups and a few senior outings planned to visit us throughout the hot summer days. We will all be enjoying the cool visits to the barn to check out the cows as they get soaked and fogged. I am certain our cows will be cool and comfortable with this new technology, and our visitors will get a first-hand feeling of how cool it is to be a cow.
    Tina Hinchley, her husband Duane and daughter Anna milk 240 registered Holsteins with robots.  They also farm 2,300 acres of crops near Cambridge, Wisconsin. The Hinchleys have been hosting farm tours for over 25 years.