ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFICATIONS FOR REDUCIN G SUMMER STRESS ON FLORIDA DAIRY FARM S. D.R. Bray, O.K. Beede, M.A. DeLorenz o Dairy Science Departmen t

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1 F6 ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFICATIONS FOR REDUCIN G SUMMER STRESS ON FLORIDA DAIRY FARM S by FLonI A DAIRY CHECK.OFF D.R. Bry, O.K. Beede, M.A. DeLorenz o Diry Science Deprtmen t R.A. Bucklin, It. Nordstedt, It. Montoy, S. Men s Agriculturl Engineering Deprtmen t University of Florid Ginesville, Florid Russ Gies y Hillsborough, Psco nd Polk Countie s D. Crew s Lke Count y Introductio n The work reported in this pper hs been funded by the Diry Check - Off Fund nd is summry of work done by mny individuls. Effect of Green Concrete on Foot Helt h The incresed use of confinement housing hs incresed feet nd le g problems in these herds. Hoof helth is gretly ffected by the finish o f the surfce nd the length of time cows must stnd on concrete. On e thought hs been tht "green" or new concrete my be more hrmful to fee t becuse the surfce is more lkline when new thn when ged for one yer. The resons for this thinking hs been "field experience" : the longe r concrete sits idle before use the less foot problems rise. The secon d reson is tht the byproduct of wter nd portlnd cement is lime. In order to test the lkline theory, we used vrious types o f concrete on the floor of the new freestll brn t the Diry Reserc h Unit. Regulr concrete 3000 psi ws used in most of the construction. This concrete contins limerock. Regulr Concrete (3000 mi l _. limeston e b. well H O c. ir entrpment gen t d. polymer wter reduce r The second type of concrete ws the sme mixture, but River Roc k replced the limerock. This should reduce the lklinity becuse th e limestone ws removed.

2 The third mixture ws "Shirer." This mixture uses Fly Ash t o replce 20% of the cement, which reduces COH production nd should reduc e lklinity. Polymer reducing gents replce the wter which should ls o reduce lklinity nd "P" rock is used insted of limerock. Shirer -. No H 2O - Polymer reduction gent s b. 20% of cement replced by Fly Ash - 1) reduces COH productio n 2) lso lowers strengt h c. No limestone - P-rock TABLE 1. ph Mesuremen t Loction Aug 91 Sept 91 Jn 92 Jn 92 Feb 9 2 Regulr Regulr River Rock Shirer Shirer Regulr Acid-rinse Bse-rinse Regulr Regulr The next ide ws to use muritic cid wsh on the concrete t o reduce lklinity of the concrete. My next brillint ide ws to us e pipeline cid clener on the floor. Since this is diry, I m sure som e dirymen would cll nd sk me just tht, nd I would hve the nswer. The only problem ws tht my directions were uncler nd the pipelin e chlorinted lkline clener ws used insted of the cid clener. Tbl e 1 show the lklinity of the different concrete types nd the rinses. There is not much difference between the concrete types. The cid rins e seemed to give only temporry reduction in ph. The pipeline clene r seemed to provide permnent increse in ph. I still believe tht "green" concrete hs hrmful effect on cows ' feet in brns where cows hve no relief from it until they exit t night. We did not observe ny feet problems in our cows in the new brn, but the y hve the opportunity to stnd or ly in snd-bsed freestlls wheneve r they wish.

3 Freestll Brn Wter Usg e During the construction of the new freestll brn t the Dir y Reserch Unit, wter meters were connected to every wter consuming devic e (Figure 1). These included the two 10,000-gllon flush tnks, eight gllon concrete wter tnks, six 100-gllon tilt-wters (used for drinkin g nd flushing), nd seven wter bowls (individul cow type). Figure 1. FLUSH TM K f r i NEW BARN WATER METER LOCATIONS f J I22 I I I I I I IC71 I I I I InI I I" I I I CSI I I I I I ~ I 2 8 I I I 1 QI I I 9 f I I 1 I 11 I Q I P I I IL 1 I ( r 1 13 wnw+ METER) In Tble 2, the per dy consumption for these vrious devices i s listed. The only useful informtion is tht wter consumption ws gllons per dy per cow.

4 TABLE 2. DRU New Brn Wter Usge (49-dy period cows ) Number Feb 28 Jn 10 Used Gl/Cow/D y Drink & Flush Drink & Flush Drink Drink Drink Drink Drink & Flush Drink & Flush Drink Drink Drink Drink Min Cup Cup Drink & Flush Cup Drink & Flush Cup Cup Cup Cup Totl wter use per cow per dy (flushing nd drinking) = gllon s Totl wter per cow per dy (excluding min flush tnks) = gllon s Wter Run-Off Experimen t A study involving sprinkler nd fn cooling systems ws conducted t the Diry Reserch Unit. This study mesured the quntities n d chrcteristics of the wste wter system. Sprinkler nd fn coolin g systems use from 50 to 120 gllons of wter per dy per cow. Thes e systems re effective in reducing het stress, but the lrge quntities o f wste wter generted my cuse problems for wste hndling systems. Both sprinkling nd flush wter were collected seprtely n d combined. These different smples t different solids concentrtions wer e tested with chemicls to get precipittion of solids. Regulr lime, clcium crbonte, ferric sulfte nd their combintions t vrious level s were tested. No sttisticl nlysis hs been run on this dt.

5 Ev p ortio n Wter tht is pplied through the sprinkler system does not ll ln d on the cows. Some blows wy ; some flls to the floor ; nd some th t lnds on the cow will be evported wy, cooling the cow. In one study, totl evportion from cows is 5-7 gllons, or 25% o f the 26 gllons sprinkled in 15 minutes, or gllons per hour. Thi s ws run in brn with 24 cows, resulting in gllons per cow pe r hour evported. With this low volume of wter, 75% of the sprinkle r wter ws run-off wter tht must be hndled in some wy. Evlution of theeffects of Reflective Pin t on Poorly Ventilted Diry Housin q Except for clf hutches, most diry housing in Florid is wel l enough ventilted tht reflective roof pints do not offer economic l benefits. However, lrge portion of the diry housing round the Tmp re is poorly ventilted. Portions of the roof of n open-side d freestll with n eve height of 7 feet were pinted with commerci l reflective pint nd stndrd white pint. Portions of the roof were left unpinted to serve s controls. Dry bulb tempertures nd blck glob e thermometers were mesured under ech tretment nd control re. Roo f tempertures were mesured on one side of the brn. Dt ws collected i n August, September, nd October. Anlysis of results indictes tht bot h the reflective coting nd white pint lowered roof tempertures (Figur e 2). There ws no difference in blck globe tempertures under the roo f under ny of the tretments (Figure 3). These results probbly suggest tht under low, poorly ventilte d brns, it is hot inside, no mtter wht is done. Figure 2. ROOF TEMPERATURES TRT 1 (CONTROL) HOUR + TRT 2 u TR T (MINT) (WHITE) 24

6 Figure e BLACK GLOBE TEMPERATURES z so HOU R Comprison of Air Velocities Produced b y Oscillting Belt-Driven Fns nd Direct Drive Airplne-Type Fn s One horsepower direct drive irplne-type fns were instlled on on e side of the new freestll brn t the Diry Reserch Unit. One horsepowe r oscillting belt-driven fns were instlled on the other side of the brn. The ir velocities produced by both sets of fns were mesured with digitl vne nemometer. The velocities produced by both types of fn s vried with distnce. The oscillting fn produced velocities t height of six feet o f round 300 feet per minute for bout 25 feet from the fn. The velocity dropped off t distnce greter thn 25 feet. The velocity drooped of f rpidly t height of 3 feet (Figures 4 nd 5). The oscillting fns m y need to be tilted down t greter ngle. The direct-drive fns produced low velocities for distnce of 1 0 to 15 feet from the fns. At greter distnces, velocities incresed t o the 200 to 300 feet per minute rnge (Figures 6 nd 7). The two types of fns produced velocities in the sme rnge, bu t with different flow ptterns. The flow ptterns cn be djusted by chnging the tilt ngles of the fns.

7 Figure 4. Velocities t 3 FT Airplne Fns. w u Distnce From Fn, ft _0 Fn 1.._p... Fn 2 _,}_ Fn 3 Figure 5. Velocities t 3 Foot Elevtio n Oscilling fns N M Distnce from Fn, It _0 Fn 1. _ Fng 2

8 Figure 6. Velocities t 6 FT Airplne Fn s is u Distnce From Fn, 0 t Fn 1 e_ Fn 2 _tr.. Fn 3 Figure 7. Velocities t 6 Foot Elevtion Oscilting fns N 1s DhWic from Fn, 0 { Fn t. Fng 83

9 Summr y The ph of concrete floors vries with types. Acid wsh of "green" concrete hs no lsting effect on lowering ph. Low, poorly ventilted brns re hot, nd pinting the roof h s little effect on inside tempertures. Velocities of fns vry gretly in tll, open brns.