As Temperatures Soar, Dairy Farmers Take Precautions
07/21/11 4:04PM

AP Photo/Toby Talbot
Wall fans cool feeding holsteins on Thursday at the Simpson farm in Braintree.
At Circle Saw Farm in Braintree, Robert Simpson is using huge ceiling fans to keep the air moving through his free-stall, open air barn.
Other dairy farms are using fans, sprinkler systems that spray mist ... and good old-fashioned shade to keep their cows from overheating.
Joel Russo, assistant state veterinarian for the state Agency of Agriculture, says that when cows get too hot, they don't eat as much, and when they don't eat as much, they don't produce as much milk.
