T h e B u s in e s s O f D a ir y
SHADE AND ENERGY
Solar Panels Used as Shade in Grazing Pastures Cow comfort. An industry term that we hear all the time, but how to achieve that perfect balance of comfort and practicality is a debated topic. However, for grazing herds, Brad Heins, University of Minnesota assistant professor and Extension organic dairy management specialist, might have found just the right answer. Heins and his team, including graduate student Kirsten Sharpe, installed a 30-kilowatt solar powered system in the pasture of their rotational grazing system at the West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris, Minnesota. The system provides shade for their milking herd and energy for the milking parlor.
Using solar and small-scale wind energy, as well as a heat reclamation system, the 300-cow dairy has a goal of net zero energy. They also are working with the University of Minnesota Morris on a new solar-powered system. They will be putting up a 200-kilowatt system that the dairy will use for shade for the cows while grazing and all the energy will be used by the University.
In order to identify the positive impact of the shade on the cows, Heins and Sharpe monitored the rumen internal temperature. They wanted to determine if the solar panels decreased heat stress in cows. They found a half degree decrease in internal body temperature of cows that had access to the solar panels as shade, as compared to cows that did not have access, showcasing the positive impact in cow comfort.
To help highlight this work, the WCROC and Extension hold field days for farmers and industry alike. They have had visitors from not only Minnesota but across the nation and on YouTube. Watch one of their videos at https://z.umn.edu/cowsolar.
38 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.
Heins has also been monitoring four other dairy farms for the past year-and-a-half in order to learn how efficient the farms are with their energy usage and identify opportunities to expand renewable energy.
Adapted with permission from the University of Minnesota Extension.
