Jay and Lori Bacot
J&LDairy
Tylertown, Missouri

In order to maintain dry matter intake during the hot summer months, Jay and Lori Bacot of Tylertown, Mississippi, feed cows three times a day. This way, they keep good, fresh feed in front of the cows at all times. They believe it's very important to have cool, fresh water available, too.

At J & L Dairy, they have found that using POSILAC^® during summer months also helps keep milk production on the increase. "Even through the summer months you can notice the increased dry matter intake of cows supplemented with POSlLAC," says Lori. "You can notice the cows on POSILAC at the feed trough more often." The estimated response to POSlLAC during the summer months is a nine pound increase per cow per day.

During the heat, Jay and Lori also bring cows back from the pasture area to the feeding shed. Although cows have some shade from the trees in the pasture area, they have the benefit of shade, fans and sprinklers in the feeding area. The feeding area was built with high sidewalls and open ridge. They also provide shade, use sprinklers and limited fans in the holding area. The return alley is shaded in the afternoon.

The rolling herd average is 19,350 pounds of milk for this 240 cow Holstein herd. During the summer, the average production is 57 pounds of milk per cow per day. Cows are milked in a double six herringbone and fed a total mixed ration.