The hidden cost of heat stress in dairy herds: beyond today’s milk loss

Heat stress is one of the most underestimated challenges in dairy farming. The immediate impacts of heat stress on intake and milk production in lactating cows are well documented and can be noticed immediately by producers. Indeed, St-Pierre et al. (2003) calculated that those effects of heat stress result millions of dollars in losses for the dairy industry annually. 

However, the long-term consequences of heat stress often go unnoticed by producers, and recent research from Laporta et al., (2020) shows that in addition to milk production losses, heat stress during late gestation also affects the lifetime performance of subsequent generations of cows. 

This article explores the importance of understanding these effects of heat stress on physiology and economic losses, and the importance of mitigating heat stress for both lactating and pregnant cows in the sustainability of dairy production thanks to AA balancing.

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