Dairy Cow
Heat Stress

In 2024 we will again be monitoring the risk of heat stress on dairy farms in England. This year the work will be part of an MRes thesis at Harper Adams University which is looking to better quantify the losses from heat stress. This year the wet and dull spring has slowed the setting up of the monitoring farms but we will soon have eight farms in this years network. As before we are assessed the risk of heat stress for both housed and grazing animals covering farms in the southern regions of Britain. Click on the icons in the map to the left of select farms from the table below the map.

The detailed dashboards start with coloured dials showing the current short term (3h average) and long term (24h average) heat stress index. If the short term index is high then there will be changes in cow behaviour, such as shade seeking, reduced appetite, increased standing, panting etc. If the longer term, 24h Index is high then the animals are not able to ‘recover’ overnight and the stress will accumulate with bigger impacts on milk yields and fertility. The temperature and humidity (over 5 days) is shown next and then the long term trends in heat stress index.