ISSUE FOCUS 44 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE July 2025 HEAT STRESS IN DAIRY COWS: 4 Evidence-Based Reasons to Rethink Your Mineral Strategy Gavin Boerboom Category Director Trace Minerals Trouw Nutrition “Dietary approaches to mitigate heat stress in dairy cows are promising because the gastrointestinal tract is the initial pathway for many health issues that threaten an animal’s health and performance. Nutritional interventions can be easily implemented into farm operations and generally do not require expensive structural capital investments.” While much research has explored the adverse effects of heat stress on dairy cows’ gastrointestinal tracts, comparatively little study has focused on the role that trace minerals can play to help livestock recover from heat stress. Below, we look at the challenge of mitigating heat stress on the dairy farm and review a study that explored how swapping a trace mineral source can help cows recover from heat stress. HEAT STRESS: A CONCERN FOR ANIMALS AND FARMS As global temperatures increase, heat stress is a costly concern for dairy herds. Among livestock producers, heat stress imposes the largest losses on the dairy industry (St-Pierre et al. 2003, Ke and Sneeringer, 2014). Heat stress can occur when dairy cows are exposed to high temperatures and humidity, leading to increased body temperatures and respiratory rates. These effects become more pronounced as temperatures rise, and can lead to decreased milk production, compromised health, and increased economic losses for farmers. One of the most noticeable consequences of heat stress is a reduction in feed intake, while other problems are harder to observe. Inside the animal, heat stress disrupts the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) barrier, causing hyperpermeability, inflammation, and altering of the animal’s metabolism. Whether visible or not, the consequences of heat stress in dairy cows are significant. Issues can show up as lower milk yield, higher health costs on the farm, or an animal’s shortened time in the productive herd. A DIETARY APPROACH TO HELP ANIMALS RECOVER FROM HEAT STRESS Science-based nutrition is a strategy producers can use to support dairy cows’ recovery from heat stress. Dietary approaches to mitigate heat stress in dairy cows are promising because the gastrointestinal tract is the initial pathway for many
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