Agriculture Fans Help Increase Animal Productivity:

Summer heat stress lowers dairy cow feed intake and productive performance. Unless measures are taken to improve cow comfort this stress can also lead to animal health problems. Various cooling methods have been used successfully to alleviate this problem (Shultz 1986 and Armstrong 1993). These methods focus on increasing feed intake, while cooling the cow and the immediate environment around her. Commonly Exhaust Ventilation fans or Circulation type fans are used together with water misting or drenching of cows in the milking barn cow wash/holding pens and in the rest and feeding facilities. A popular practice is to use a low volume high speed (LVHS) fan, like our Cabinet AG style fan or Slant Wall Ag style fan, for this purpose. These type of fan are effective when placed in rows for directional air movement. The LVHS fans are usually placed a few feet above the cows and have a safety cage.
The relatively high rpm of the LVHS fan, in some cases, may results in larger than normal electrical power demand. This adds to milk production costs that could eventually be passed onto the consumer. Fan options exist that could move an equal amount of air with less power. One example is the Ceiling fan used in factories and warehouses that cost effectively reduces heat load. However, little comparative information exists as to how effective they would be in helping the cow overcome summer heat stress in an acceptably economic manner.

Other Considerations:

There are factors that should be considered before installing either exhaust or circulation type fans. The first is whether fans would be beneficial with existing breeze and natural ventilation at the dairy. Also, whether there is relatively easy removal of obstacals to natural ventilation. In a limited finance situation, the milking barn cow wash and holding pen can be a relatively lower cost improvement priority than other barns. Where improved feed intake is a priority, these fans can help this and eventually cow performance. Installation of the LVHS fans upon feeder stanchions or walls can be relatively less complicated than the ceiling fans.

Finally:

Fans are essential for reducing summer heat stress in order to improve dairy cow performance. Traditionally used low
volume high speed fans are effective but demand a relatively large amount of electricity. High volume low speed ceiling
fans maintained cow performance while using over 80% less electrical power than the smaller model. Cow behavior heat
stress indicators help to evaluate animal performance and cost benefits in fan comparisons.