Heat in the summer is a given, which means decreases in milk production and dry matter intake will usually follow. While you can’t control the weather, you can take several steps to manage heat stress throughout the summer to support endurance and transition your cows into the fall.

The first wave

The first heat wave often has little effect on cattle, and if you have heat abatement strategies, like fans and soakers, cows will usually come right back. However, it’s the continuation of heat stress throughout the summer that really affects cows.

Heat throughout the summer

As the summer continues, a cow’s internal ability to fully recover from heat stress wanes, affecting her performance and your bottom line. Research from the University of Florida has also shown that heat stress can lower milk production well into the fall, even after the heat is gone. Based on the benchmark of a 60-day dry period, you may expect less milk for up to two months or even more after heat stress weather ends.

Feed additives for heat stress

Feed additives for heat stress are very similar to the hydration drinks we use to rehydrate when working through the summer heat. Also, cows need that extra hydration to recover and thrive during hot weather. Fans, soakers, and shade are a necessary part of the heat abatement equation, and so are feed additives.

Lose less this summer

Heat stress happens. But significant losses in production don’t have to follow. Promote® I.C.E.® PLUS helps her better sustain dry matter intake, hydration, and milk production. Even when margins are tight, adding Promote I.C.E. PLUS is a long-term solution to help support cows’ endurance and recover quicker from heat stress events providing stronger ROI and helping support their endurance to better tolerate the heat, support reproductive status, and transition into the fall.

Research trials and more than 20 years of in-field experience demonstrate the success of Promote I.C.E. PLUS helping to keep cows cool during heat stress. The proprietary combination of key ingredients helps cattle better regulate their body temperature during heat stress, keeping cattle cool from the inside out.

Benefits to feeding promote I.C.E. PLUS

Effect of Promote I.C.E. PLUS on Dairy Cattle Fertility Results

The fertility of dairy cattle is negatively affected by heat stress. Consequently, cows are unable to conceive or maintain pregnancy. Trials feeding Promote I.C.E. to both multiple-lactation and first-lactation dairy cattle supported reproductive success as indicated by higher first-service conception rates.

Cows Fed Promote I.C.E. PLUS Experience More Milk Production

Over the trial period, cattle fed the diet with Promote I.C.E. averaged 106.7 lbs./cow/day as compared to the control group averaging 104.5 lbs./cow/day, resulting in an additional 130 pounds of milk per cow from the cows fed Promote I.C.E. compared to the control group during the two-month trial period.

Lose less this summer and into the fall with Promote I.C.E. PLUS.