Beat the Heat: Why Feeding Twice a Day Might Be Your Cow's Summer Vacation Request

A practical, temporary heat-wave feeding strategy for when the thermometer is over 30°C and the cows would rather eat when the sun has calmed down.

Let's be honest - feeding cows twice a day is not always practical.

You've got crops to harvest, equipment to fix, calves to check, and about 47 other things competing for your attention before breakfast. For many farms, once-a-day feeding works just fine most of the year.

But when temperatures climb above 30°C and the cows start looking for a way to cool down before they look for feed, it may be time to temporarily change the game plan.

Your Cows Don't Read the Schedule

During heat stress, cows naturally reduce dry matter intake. It is one of their ways of reducing internal heat production. Unfortunately, eating less often means producing less milk, ruminating less, and putting more pressure on overall performance. Heat stress can begin affecting dairy cows at temperatures lower than most people expect, especially when humidity is high. One challenge is that digestion itself creates heat. The peak heat from rumen fermentation occurs several hours after a meal. If cows consume the majority of their feed during the hottest part of the day, they are basically running their own internal furnace when they least need it. Feeding during the cooler morning and evening hours can help shift that heat production away from the afternoon peak.

Fresh Feed Matters More Than Ever

Heat does not just affect cows - it affects the feed too.

As highlighted in Hot Silage, Hidden Losses: Managing Feed Quality Throughout the Season by Nathalie Van der Berg (Lely), once oxygen reaches silage, yeasts and molds can become active and begin using valuable nutrients, generating heat in the process. Warm silage is often less palatable, which can reduce intake and add another layer of production loss. Feed that is only

5-10°C above ambient temperature may already be undergoing aerobic deterioration and nutrient loss.

Now picture a TMR sitting at the feed fence all afternoon during a 32°C day. Not quite the fresh buffet your cows were hoping for.

Delivering feed twice daily helps keep feed fresher, reduces the time feed spends heating in the bunk, and provides another opportunity to stimulate cows to eat during cooler parts of the day. Research and extension resources have also linked more frequent feed delivery with better dry matter intake, less sorting, and more consistent access to fresh feed.

Think of It as a Summer Strategy, Not a Permanent Lifestyle

This is not necessarily a recommendation to permanently switch feeding programs - although there's argument for using this strategy year-round. Think of twice-a-day feeding during a heat wave the same way you think of turning on extra fans or adding soakers: it is a temporary management tool designed to help cows cope with environmental stress.

• Feed early in the morning before the barn and bunk heat up.

• Deliver a second feeding later in the evening, after the worst heat has passed.

• Consider shifting a larger portion of the ration to the evening feeding during heat-wave conditions. (40-60)

• Increase feed push-ups to keep feed accessible and encourage more frequent meals.

• Keep water availability, airflow, shade, and cooling systems in the front of the plan too. Feeding helps, but it is not a replacement for cow cooling.

A Final Thought

If your cows could schedule a staff meeting during a heat wave, there is a good chance their first agenda item would be:

"Can we get dinner served after the sun goes down?"

While twice-a-day feeding may not be the most convenient routine for the people on the farm, it can be a valuable short-term tool for the cows. During extreme heat, fresher feed, improved intake, reduced feed heating, and better timing of rumen fermentation can all help lessen the impact of heat stress on production and performance.

Sources

• Hot Silage, Hidden Losses: Managing Feed Quality Throughout the Season. Upland RightAnswers Portal, Solution ID

260601091618030. Last modified June 1, 2026.

• Michigan State University Extension. Feed delivery frequency impacts dry matter intake. 2016.

• All About Feed. Effects of feeding frequency on dairy cattle. 2019.

• Trouw Nutrition. Best practices and strategies for feeding dairy cattle in heat stress.

• Understanding and mitigating heat stress in milking cows. Internal Lely resource.

• WCR Heat Stress Blogpost. Internal West Coast Robotics resource.