Target 10 Communicator
January 2011 Edition
COWS NEED WATER
As the weather warms up it is timely to check that the farm water supply is able to provide for the increased demand that summer will bring.
The body of a dairy cow is 70 to 75 per cent water, and milk is around 87 per cent water, so cows need access to drinking water at all times.
In mild weather conditions, a dairy cow requires 30 to 40 litres of water each day for maintenance, plus an additional four to five litres of water for every litre of milk produced. So a cow producing 25 litres of milk needs between 130 and 165 litres of water each day.
Water requirements increase as temperatures rise, and in hot weather dairy cows need access to 200-250 litres of drinking water per cow per day.
Keeping water up to the cows during a hot spell requires some planning.
Water pipes should be 75 millimetres in diameter, with sufficient pressure to provide 20 litres per cow per hour so that troughs can cope with periods of peak demand.
Avoid running black poly pipe along the ground, as water will become very hot.
Water troughs in every paddock will keep cows grazing longer in hot weather. Large volume concrete troughs help keep drinking water cool and a large water trough on the exit side of the dairy is also appreciated when the temperature is high.
If you are using a feedpad, provide a minimum of 0.75 m water trough space per cow at your feed-out facility.
