Dairy farms are implementing cooling systems due to extreme heat.

Dairy farms are facing the consequences of more frequent dry periods, which are officially classified as extreme. According to experts, heat stress in livestock animals leads to a reduction in milk yields of up to 20%. To minimize these losses, farmers are forced to invest significant funds in creating comfortable conditions for the herd.

Specifically, at farms near Chippenham and Swindon, forced ventilation and irrigation systems are being implemented. For example, Sarah Godwin's family invested £15,000 in a complex of fans and a sprinkler system dubbed "cow showers." Similar equipment, including 10 industrial fans, is used by Sam Woolford to lower the temperature in the milking parlor, which helps the animals remain calm during the procedure.

Climate change is also affecting the feed base. Professor Nicola Cannon of the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester notes that due to pasture burnout, farmers are forced to use winter feed stocks several months earlier than planned. The grass cover, affected by the lack of moisture, loses its nutrients, and the state of "permanent wilting" prevents it from recovering after grazing or mowing.

As specialists from the Met Office emphasize, weather conditions that were previously considered anomalous are gradually becoming regular. Farmers note that despite the use of cooling systems, it is not possible to completely neutralize the negative impact of prolonged heat on herd productivity. In the current reality, farmers are striving to adapt their management practices to increase the resilience of production to a changing climate, working with a long-term perspective.