It’s a commonly heard message you’ll see in publications and social media every spring…beat the heat.  Sometimes, just thinking about excessive summer temperatures can be exhausting, so how can you expect to fight them when there’s no stopping Mother Nature?

We’re proposing you make a stand against summer temperatures with three extremely easy methods that not only combat the effects of warm weather, but they do it with little or no extra work for you!

 

Never let them see you sweat

Use AccelLyte II as a drench, add it to your stock tanks or dry mix it into feeds.  Cows stay hydrated and on feed during periods of stress, thus ensuring reduced milk loss, panting and other heat-related symptoms.

On the product side of things, we’re excited to offer Bovine Accellyte II, a specialized electrolyte for periods of stress, rehydration and prehydration.

You lose electrolytes when you sweat.  Electrolytes are minerals in the blood and other body fluids that carry an electric charge.  This charge primarily affects water transportation through cell membranes, and it also affects the acidity of your blood (pH) and muscle function.  Water transportation regulates body temperature, and so the more electrolytes you can keep in the system, the cooler you can keep an animal.

AccelLyte II has a great shot of electrolytes that do just that.  This revolutionary product replaces electrolytes lost during stress, and contains minerals needed to compensate for deficiencies from reduced feed intakes and vitamins necessary for life.  This one product can do so much for calves, heifers and cows…it’s like giving your herd a shot of Gatorade after a hot, summer football practice!

One thing we notice quite often during the summer months is that people forget to check water trough locations (not sitting directly in the sun, are water troughs clean, is the water running easily to fill them) and mister functionality (are all misters working, does the timer need to be reset, is frequency appropriate for the current temperature).  These may sound simple, but they can be major factors in heat abatement.

AccelLyte II can be used as a drench, added to stock tanks or individual water feedings.  It also can be dry-mixed into feeds for group or herd application during periods of stress such as calving, vaccinations, feed changes, temperature extremes and illness.  Feed one ounce per cow per day for single application.  Feed six (6) pounds per 100 cows per day for herd application.

This one product can cover the entire herd with an added shot of nutritional support through our oral electrolytes.  They’re relatively inexpensive and very easy to administer.  Don’t take our word for it, though, hear what some producers think about AccelLyte II!

Get them bred

With the debut of new elite sexed fertility bulls from Select Sires, you now have a choice of breed-leading bulls to use that will increase your pregnancy rates, even during the toughest dog days of summer.  Elite sexed fertility sires have been tested and shown to have much greater conception rates than other bulls, irrespective of sperm dosage.  Simply stated, a sire’s fertility advantage can outweigh any sperm dosage advantage (such as conventional vs. 2M and 4M semen).  This means that some bulls simply have more fertile semen.

The new Elite Sexed Fertility designation will identify gender SELECTed sires with above average conception rates based on Composite Fertility Index (CFI) data.  Only the latest CFI data will be used, therefore updated bull lists will appear monthly.

When picking bulls to use during summer months, wouldn’t it be nice to have a head-start on the list of available choices by considering those with the strongest likelihood of getting cows pregnant?

Five bulls that have been frontrunners in the Elite Sexed Fertility lists are 507HO12195 BUTLER, 507HO12266 YODER, 507HO11351 SUPERSIRE, 507JE5020 STRIKER and 507JE1528 DISCO.

 

California Girls make the Elite Sexed Fertility bulls shine!  Check out these two daughter pictures of California cows, sired by newly designated elite sexed fertility sires, BUTLER and YODER.

Daughter of 507HO12195 BUTLER   –  S-S-I Butler 9481-ET (VG-85) Den-K Holsteins, Los Banos, CA

Daughter of 507HO12266 YODER   –   Hilmar Yoder 8968 (VG-87) Hilmar Holsteins, Hilmar, CA

 

For a complete list of Elite Sexed Fertility bulls, click here.

 

Give it to me straight

The last component in our “Beat the Heat” equation is the SRS Program.  SRS, or Select Reproductive Services, is an industry-leading program that’s been around for quite some time.  The national team of SRS evaluators are highly trained individuals whose main job is to analyze, train and suggest improvements in dairy operations in regards to management topics.  For instance, they have the ability to do a herd visit and analyze milking procedures, cooling, pen stocking rates, basic feed quality and more.

Why is this important?  We all can agree that when you’re managing a dairy day-in and day-out, you’re sometimes “too close to the action” to see your dairy objectively.  Having an unbiased, qualified industry expert come in to evaluate all parts of your management systems can be eye opening.  Sometimes there’s not a problem at all, while other times there may be missed opportunities for improving efficiencies.  And sometimes, the SRS evaluator can make a simple observation of pens being too crowded, or cooling systems not working, or too few (or too many) fans to be at maximum cooling.

All West has an exceptional team of SRS experts that share their knowledge with owners and team members alike.  They have the ability to train, to suggest improvements, and to be involved with other industry experts (such as nutritionists and veterinarians) to help with the overall performance of each dairy.

 

The SRS Evaluation Team is trained to analyze all parts of a dairy business, from record analysis, to milking procedures, to pen stocking, to heating & cooling systems.

By calling the All West office and requesting an SRS analysis, you’re allowing members of our staff to do a walk through and give suggestions as to how to get better performance from your cows, your teams, and yourself.  Who wouldn’t want another pair of eyes looking at day-in and day-out routines?  Watch this brief video for an SRS recap.

While these three methods aren’t the only tools you have to Beat the Heat, as a three-fold combination, they’re a pretty powerful punch in the war against summer weather.  This year, don’t stress over rising mercury.  Rely on your All West team for products, bulls and services that can provide you with a total line of hot weather defense!

Don’t let heat stress burn away your profits!

 

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