New Purina Cool Cow App

A THI level of 68 is enough to affect milk production.

The new Purina Cool Cow smartphone app is available as a tool to help raise heat stress awareness among dairy producers. The app features four tabs: Heat Stress Impact, What You Can Do, Dairy Heat Stress Calculator, and Nutrition Toolbox.

The Dairy Heat Stress Calculator allows users to slide bars for temperature and humidity in their area to determine their Temperature Humidity Index (THI), an indicator of heat stress. A THI level of 55 is enough to affect reproduction while a THI of 68 is where milk production begins to be affected. Using the calculator, a temperature of 72 degrees F with a humidity of 45% will reach a THI of 68. 

The Cool Cow app is currently available for iPhone and Android devices. To learn more, watch this video in which Elena Lindemann, Purina's Marketing Director of Lactating Livestock Feed, discusses the purpose and features of the app.

Source: Emily Caldwell, "New app aims to help dairymen analyze heat stress levels," Progressive Dairyman, July 1, 2013: 47.