The past week has been ‘pleasant summer weather’ by British standards. Outstanding grain harvesting was completed and clients have started to complain about having too much grass and silage! Most housing systems experienced some mild heat stress that will have modified behaviour with increased standing times and changes in feeding patterns (less eaten in the afternoon heat). Benefits would have been gained from continued heat stress mitigation created by feed additives and fans. As we near the end of August heat loads will start to decline but at this stage all mitigation efforts need to continue – I have been to several farms where fans are not working or not installed!
Two of the buildings with the highest weekly THI’s have the most challenging ventilation. One is a loose yard suffering from ‘lean-to-itis’ such that it is too deep and the ceilings too low at the back. The other is an older wooden kennel system with low ceilings and limited air volumes.
