In the summer, producers send their cows out to pasture to graze on fresh grass. Pastures provide cows with good food and a chance to exercise.
Some producers prefer to keep their cows inside in order to better monitor the food each cow consumes or because of the environmental constraints imposed on producers who send their cows outside. Examples of these constraints include building fences to keep cows from watercourses, providing water troughs, creating areas for exercise, etc.
Nowadays, modern stables offer cows a degree of comfort that earlier buildings could not: more space in the stalls, better ventilation, rubber mats, various types of bedding such as sand, etc.
Growing numbers of new buildings now have “poly curtains” that replace the glass in the openings (windows). These buildings are known as “natural ventilation” buildings. Their curtains open and close automatically in order to control the air circulation and temperature inside the stable. Adjustments are made electronically in the winter and summer. Because cows wear a fur coat all year round, the sweltering heat of summer can cause cows to get too hot and suffer. As a result, they eat less and produce less milk. In addition, biting insects that harass animals outside can be controlled in the buildings, and this reduces the stress of the cows.
When they have new stables built, some producers opt for “loose housing,” which allows the unattached cows to move freely inside the building.
The goal of milk producers is to have a barn that meets procAction standards.
Free stall
Stall housing
Others choose “stall housing,” where each cow has its own space (stall with bedding, drinking trough and feed trough).
Finally, some producers also practice mixed management, in which the cows can freely access an outdoor exercise area or are sent to pasture at night, after the last milking.