Markets & Management

All life depends on water. Farmers know that better than anyone. Water issues become priority on a dairy farm regardless of the time of year. How many of us have had to fix a bursted water pipe while it is 15 degrees out? I know I have. It is not fun. Milk is over 87% water. It doesn’t take cows being out of water for very long for it to reduce milk production, especially in the summer. In the  early 2000s, we converted the heat abatement system in our three freestalls from misters on the fans to sprinklers above the feed bunk. We were concerned that our current water supply (two  wells supplying a 64,000-gallon water silo) would not be enough to meet our daily water demands during the North Carolina heat. It only took us two days to have our fears realized. Read More