https://doi.org/10.4081/jae.2021.1229
Assessing the effect of barns structures and environmental conditions in dairy cattle farms monitored in Northern Italy
Published: 23 December 2021
Abstract Views: 1228
PDF: 587
HTML: 14
HTML: 14
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
Animal welfare is a fundamental pillar for livestock farming, and it can be endangered by a series of aspects, among which is the presence of undesired microclimates. This condition can be monitored by measuring the temperature-humidity index (THI), an index able to inform about the emergence of heat-stressing conditions in the barns. The THI can be influenced by the external environmental conditions and the barn structure, orientation, thermal buoyancy, and roof insulating materials. In order to evaluate these structural aspects of buildings and the consequent microclimate, in this study, a survey was carried out in 8 dairy cattle barns located in the northern part of Italy that were monitored continuously during thermoneutral, warm, and cold periods. Experts observed the structural aspects ,and the environmental parameters were measured with sensors. From the results emerged that the barns had structural characteristics that considerably affect the internal microclimate, with openings, roof height, forced ventilation, and building orientation playing a significant role in estimating of the THI in the barn. The more critical period was the warm one when the structures could not mitigate the external conditions, and THI exceeded the threshold of 72 for a big share of the period in all monitored farms (range between 50-80% of observations). In the best situation, the cooling systems were able to maintain the external conditions. The results confirm the importance of the barn design and of an appropriate ventilation to improve air exchanges.
Allen J.D., Hall L.W., Collier R.J., Smith J.F. 2015. Effect of core body temperature, time of day, and climate conditions on behavioral patterns of lactating dairy cows experiencing mild to moderate heat stress. J. Dairy Sci. 98:118-27.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2013-7704
Arcidiacono C., Mancino M., Porto S.M.C. 2020. Moving mean-based algorithm for dairy cow’s oestrus detection from uni-axial-accelerometer data acquired in a free-stall barn. Comp. Electron. Agr. 175:105498.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2020.105498
ASABE. 2006. Design of ventilation systems for poultry and livestock shelters. pp 652-670 in Standards 2006 American Society of Agri-cultural and Biological Engineers (53rd Edition), St. Joseph, MI, USA.
Bar D., Kaim M., Flamenbaum I., Hanochi B., Toaff-Rosenstein R.L. 2019. Technical note: Accelerometer-based recording of heavy breathing in lactating and dry cows as an automated measure of heat load. J. Dairy Sci. 102:3480-86.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2018-15186
Bellingeri A., Cabrera V., Gallo A., Liang D., Masoero F. 2019. A survey of dairy cattle management, crop planning, and forages cost of production in Northern Italy. Ital. J. Anim. Sci. 18:786-98.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1828051X.2019.1580153
Berman A. 2019. An overview of heat stress relief with global warming in perspective. Int. J. Biometeorol. 63:493-8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-019-01680-7
Bohmanova J., Misztal I., Cole J.B. 2007. Temperature-humidity indices as indicators of milk production losses due to heat stress. J. Dairy Sci. 90:1947-56.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2006-513
CIGR. 2014. The design of dairy co and replacement heifer housing. Report of the CIGR Section II Working Group n. 14 - cattle housing.
Das R., Sailo L., Verma N., Bharti P., Saikia J. 2016. Impact of heat stress on health and performance of dairy animals: a review. Veterinary World 9:260-8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2016.260-268
De Paepe M., Pieters J.G., Cornelis W.M., Gabriels D., Merci B., Demeyer P. 2012. Airflow measurements in and around scale model cattle barns in a wind tunnel: effect of ventilation opening height. Biosyst. Eng. 113:22-32.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2012.06.003
Fernández M.E., Mariño R.A., Carreira X.C. 2008. Relationship between layout and timber structures in freestall dairy cattle barns: influence of internal features. Biosyst. Eng. 100:266-80.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2008.03.001
Ferraz P.F.P., Ferraz G.A.e.S., Leso L., Klopčič M., Barbari M., Rossi G. 2020. Properties of conventional and alternative bedding materials for dairy cattle. J. Dairy Sci. 103:8661-74.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2020-18318
Firfiris V.K., Martzopoulou A.G., Kotsopoulos T.A. 2019. Passive cooling systems in livestock buildings towards energy saving: A critical review. Energ. Buildings 202:109368.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2019.109368
Halachmi I., Guarino M., Bewley J., Pastell M. 2019. Smart animal agriculture: application of real-time sensors to improve animal well-being and production. Annu. Rev. Anim. Biosci. 7:403-25.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-animal-020518-114851
Hempel S., Menz C., Pinto S., Galán E., Janke D., Estellés F., Müschner-Siemens T., Wang X., Heinicke J., Zhang G., Amon B., del Prado A., Amon T. 2019. Heat stress risk in European dairy cattle husbandry under different climate change scenarios-uncertainties and potential impacts. Earth Syst. Dynam. 10:859-84.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-10-859-2019
Honig H., Miron J., Lehrer H., Jackoby S., Zachut M., Zinou A., Portnick Y., Moallem U. 2012. Performance and welfare of high-yielding dairy cows subjected to 5 or 8 cooling sessions daily under hot and humid climate. J. Dairy Sci. 95:3736-42.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2011-5054
ISTAT. 2021. Italian National Institute of Statistics. Available from: http://dati.istat.it/?lang=en Accessed: 13 Sept. 2021.
Lovarelli D., Bacenetti J., Guarino M. 2020a. A review on dairy cattle farming: Is precision livestock farming the compromise for an environmental, economic and social sustainable production? J. Clean Prod. 262:121409.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121409
Lovarelli D., Finzi A., Mattachini G., Riva E. 2020b. A survey of dairy cattle behavior in different barns in Northern Italy. Animals 10:713.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10040713
Menconi M.E., Grohmann D. 2014. Model integrated of life-cycle costing and dynamic thermal simulation (MILD) to evaluate roof insulation materials for existing livestock buildings. Ener. Buildings 81:48-58.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.06.005
Pinto S., Hoffmann G., Ammon C., Heuwieser W., Levit H., Halachmi I., Amon T. 2019. Effect of two cooling frequencies on respiration rate in lactating dairy cows under hot and humid climate conditions. Ann. Anim. Sci. 19:821-34.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aoas-2019-0026
Polsky L., von Keyserlingk M.A. 2017. Invited review: Effects of heat stress on dairy cattle welfare. J. Dairy Sci. 100:8645-57.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2017-12651
Porto S.M.C., D’Emilio A., Cascone G. 2017. On the influence of the alternation of two different cooling systems on dairy cow daily activities. J. Agr. Eng. 48:21-7.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/jae.2017.577
Provolo G., Riva E. 2008. Influence of temperature and humidity on dairy cow behaviour in freestall barns. Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering for a sustainable world: Conference Proceedings, Hersonissos, Greece.
Tassinari P., Bovo M., Benni S., Franzoni S., Poggi M., Mammi L.M.E., Mattoccia S., Di Stefano L., Bonora F., Barbaresi A., Santolini E., Torreggiani D. 2021. A computer vision approach based on deep learning for the detection of dairy cows in free stall barn. Comp. Electron. Agr. 182:106030.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2021.106030
Van Iaer E., Tuyttens F.A.M., Ampe B., Sonck B., Moons C.P.H., Vandaele L. 2015. Effect of summer conditions and shade on the production. Animal 9:1547-58.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731115000816
Vox G., Maneta A., Schettini E. 2016. Evaluation of the radiometric properties of roofing materials for livestock buildings and their effect on the surface temperature. Biosyst. Eng. 144:26-37.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2016.01.016
How to Cite
Lovarelli, D. . (2021) “Assessing the effect of barns structures and environmental conditions in dairy cattle farms monitored in Northern Italy”, Journal of Agricultural Engineering, 52(4). doi: 10.4081/jae.2021.1229.
Copyright (c) 2021 the Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
Similar Articles
- Francesco Da Borso, Alessandro Chiumenti, Maurizia Sigura, Andrea Pezzuolo, Influence of automatic feeding systems on design and management of dairy farms , Journal of Agricultural Engineering: Vol. 48 No. s1 (2017): Special Issue
- Alexandros Sotirios Anifantis, Simone Pascuzzi, Giacomo Scarascia-Mugnozza, Geothermal source heat pump performance for a greenhouse heating system: an experimental study , Journal of Agricultural Engineering: Vol. 47 No. 3 (2016)
- Salahudin Zahedi, Kaka Shahedi, Mahmod Habibnejad Rawshan, Karim Solimani, Kourosh Dadkhah, Soil depth modelling using terrain analysis and satellite imagery: the case study of Qeshlaq mountainous watershed (Kurdistan, Iran) , Journal of Agricultural Engineering: Vol. 48 No. 3 (2017)
- Wei Wang, Yuanjuan Gong, Xuewei Bai, Rui Tan, Real-time straw moisture content detection system for mobile straw granulator , Journal of Agricultural Engineering: Vol. 55 No. 2 (2024)
- Valentina Giovenzana, Alessandra Fusi, Roberto Beghi, Riccardo Guidetti, Energy analysis to assess the environmental sustainability of the dairy chain , Journal of Agricultural Engineering: Vol. 43 No. 3 (2012)
- Andrea Dell'Agnese, Bruno Mazzorana, Francesco Comiti, Patricia Von Maravic, Vincenzo D'agostino, Assessing the physical vulnerability of check dams through an empirical damage index , Journal of Agricultural Engineering: Vol. 44 No. 1 (2013)
- Maria Elena Menconi, David Grohmann, Statistical assessment of vegetation dynamics within protected areas using remote sensing data , Journal of Agricultural Engineering: Vol. 44 No. 1 (2013)
- Lorenzo Leso, Maurizio Uberti, Wasseem Morshed, Matteo Barbari, A survey on Italian compost dairy barns , Journal of Agricultural Engineering: Vol. 44 No. s2 (2013): Proceedings of the 10th Conference of the Italian Society of Agricultural Engineering
- Abderrahman Sghaier, Hanen Dhaou, Lassaad Jarray , Zouhair Abaab, Ahmed Sekrafi, Mohamed Ouessar , Assessment of drought stress in arid olive groves using HidroMORE model , Journal of Agricultural Engineering: Vol. 53 No. 1 (2022)
- Roy Latsch, Joachim Sauter, Optimisation of hot-water application technology for the control of broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius) , Journal of Agricultural Engineering: Vol. 45 No. 4 (2014)
<< < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >>
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
