Misters and fans to cool dairy cattle in the Southwest aren't an option. They are a necessity in the summer when hot winds feel like heat from a blast furnace.

“Studies are now being released to prove that core body temperature and the temperature humidity index (THI) directly affect milk production, reproduction, and body condition, which proves the importance of dairy cooling,” says Skip Meyer, western regional manager for Schaefer Ventilation Equipment.

The company's patent-pending FlipFan Dairy Cooling System not only blows and mists but also moves according to the sun's angle, wind speed and direction, humidity, and temperature. Introduced to the market early this year, the system has been installed and tested on working farms for a couple of years.

“With the range of motion of FlipFan, we can cool both the east and west sides, and the cattle can spread out on more square feet of bedding,” says Darrel Kuiper, who milks 750 cows with his son, Calvin, in Buckeye, Arizona. That means animal waste is spread out better, and the ground stays drier and can be cleaned with just scraping. The old system required harrowing.

Immediate benefits

Kuiper saw immediate benefits when he replaced three of his shades' 20-year-old stationary fans and low-pressure mist systems.

“The cows in those pens have the best dry matter intake (5% to 10% higher) during the hottest time in July and August,” Kuiper says, which means milk production doesn't drop as drastically as it generally does in the hottest months.

“We think we've seen increased reproduction,” he adds. “But we haven't really tracked it.”

Without setting up control groups, it's difficult to track, notes Nick Vanderwey, who runs the 4,800-cow Grand View Dairy in Buckeye, Arizona, with his three brothers. But they have observed their animals are more comfortable and are eating more.

As old stationary fans wear out, the Vanderweys are transitioning all their pens to the FlipFan system because of its efficiency and low maintenance when compared to oscillating systems.

“This is superior. It's a very stout structure. It eliminates a lot of hoses, and it's stainless steel,” Vanderwey says. “It's simpler and puts out more wind. It gives constant cooling and moves with the shade like the cows would move.”

Both Kuiper and Vanderwey appreciate how FlipFan folds up horizontally out of the way when cleaning the sheds and during strong winds.

Kuiper says FlipFan handles monsoon storms better than the oscillating fans in some of his shades. For farmers in the Southwest, it's just part of doing business.

“I would not dairy without fans again,” Kuiper says.

Competitive cost

While the cost is higher than stationary fan systems, it is lower than other more complicated systems.

Vanderwey believes FlipFan offers the best cooling for the money spent. “I think it's a quality product,” he says.