Heat stress in gestating dairy cows impairs performance of future generations
Thursday, July 16, 2020 - 10:20
in Health & Medicine
It is estimated that in the United States, environmental heat stress in cows costs the dairy industry more than $1.5 billion annually due to decreased milk production, impaired reproductive performance, increased rates of illness, and shortened lifespans. But what effects do heat stress in pregnant cows have on the productivity and health of their female offspring in the future, and how much might this affect dairy producers' costs? In a recent article appearing in the Journal of Dairy Science, scientists from the University of Florida and the University of California, Davis investigated the performance and profitability of two future generations of cows born to mothers exposed to heat stress during pregnancy.