The Role of Ventilation
The best way to fight heat stress is airflow. Moving air helps cows get rid of body heat, keeps barns fresher, and makes them more comfortable. Good ventilation also clears out dust, ammonia, and moisture.
If you want your cows to stay cool and productive, you need to get air moving in the barn—especially over the stalls, feed alley, and holding areas.
Practical Ventilation Solutions
1. Circulation Fans
- Hang them so they blow directly over the stalls and feeding areas. They should be close enough to the cows that you feel a steady breeze (about 2 m/s or 4–5 mph).
- Place fans in a row so the air from one feeds into the next (about 15 m apart).
2. Tube Ventilation
- Uses tubes with holes to spread air evenly. Works well in calf barns and areas where you need fresh air without strong drafts.
3. Natural Ventilation
- Open sidewalls, ridge vents, and curtains help—but don’t rely only on natural airflow. On hot, still days, it won’t be enough.
- This solution is great for northen climates.
Need more Cooling?
- Soaking system will wet the cow’s back (not the udder), and fans quickly evaporate the water, pulling heat off her body.
- This is great for the feed lane and the holding pens. Where cows tends to bunch up and get stressed.
- High Pressure Fogging (HPF) system are a great addition to your ventilation set-up for dry climate. The HPF will introduce fine water droplets into the air to decrease its temperature while rising humidity inside your dairy farm.
How Many Fans Do You Need?
As a rule of thumb:
- Our 55' model covers about 12 m (40ft) of barn length with proper airspeedhigher than 2m/s
- Our 72' model covers about 18m (60ft) of barn length with proper airspeed higher than 2m/s.
- Our 84' model covers about 20m (70ft) of barn length with proper airspeed higher than 2m/s.
We recommend to overlapping the fans so you have a nice 2m/s corridor of airflow for your stalls and feed lanes.
Bottom Line
- Heat stress starts earlier than most farmers think (around 22 °C / 72 °F).
- Airflow is your best friend—aim for at least 2 m/s (4–5 mph) over your cows.
- Use a mix of circulation fans and soaking to keep cows cool.
- Focus especially on stalls, feed areas, and holding pens.
If you invest in a good ventilation setup, you’ll see the results: cows will lie down more, eat better, stay healthier, and give more milk—even in the hottest weeks of summer.
