Harmony Farms located at 5294 Kidron Rd, Apple Creek recently built a new four-row, sand bedded free stall barn. One of the unique features of this barn is an evaporative cooling system by a company named CowKuhlerZ was installed to provide relief from heat stress for the cows. CowKuhlerZ has set up an open house with the Neuenschwander family of Harmony Farms to provide an opportunity to showcase the work of all the vendors involved in the new construction and to highlight the CowKuhlerZ cooling system. I was contacted by the company to help with some publicity for the open house. With all the heat and humidity we have experienced this summer this is a good opportunity to look at a cow cooling system. According to CowKuhlerZ representatives some key points to the cooling system are:
- It’s a precisely engineered combination of variable speed air flow directed over the cows with water droplets controlled by temperature and temperature and humidity.
- The high air speed directs the water over the cows back then the cycle shuts off allowing the water to evaporate and cool the cows’ core body temperatures.
- CowKühlerZ is not a mister, soaker, fogger or traditional cooling system. It is evaporative cooling that can be used while the cows are in the stalls to encourage more lying time which results in better production, higher conception rates during warmer months, improved hoof health and better cow comfort.
The open house will be held on August 23 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. A meal catered by East Carolina BBQ will be served. In addition to CowKuhlerZ, other sponsors and vendors that worked on the new construction will be present and include:
Harold’s Equipment, K&M Builders, Kiefer Dairy Consulting, Stein-Way Equipment, LE Sommers and ABS.
Attendees are asked to bring their own lawn chair for the evening.