Heat stress in dairy cows is an escalating welfare concern as climate change increases the frequency and duration of heat events, requiring proactive management infrastructure investment.
Heat stress welfare is both acute - elevated body temperature causes genuine discomfort and physiological harm - and chronic, as repeated heat events compound effects on body condition, reproduction, and immune function. The panting, reduced activity, and seeking of shade and cool surfaces that characterize heat-stressed cows are behavioral indicators of negative affective state analogous to human discomfort in excessive heat. Infrastructure investment in shade, ventilation, and water access is the most effective welfare intervention and is increasingly recognized as a production necessity given climate trends. Proactive heat abatement planning - having systems in place before heat events rather than responding reactively - provides far better welfare protection.