P6a Thesis: Revealing and exploiting the diversity in dairy cattle reticulorumen temperature data for heat stress amelioration

As Australia faces increasingly variable climatic conditions, protecting dairy cattle from heat stress is becoming more important than ever. Alice Shirley’s PhD research explored how reticulorumen temperature sensors can be used to better understand individual cow responses to heat and support data-driven heat stress management.

A key outcome of the research was the development of a novel drinking event detection model that accurately identifies water intake events from reticulorumen temperature data. Using this technology, Alice revealed significant differences between individual cows in their temperature responses to heat stress and demonstrated that drinking frequency could serve as a practical on-farm indicator of heat stress.

The research also clarified important heat stress terminology and investigated relationships between reticulorumen temperature, milk yield, and drinking behaviour. Together, these findings provide valuable insights to support climate-smart dairy farming, improved animal welfare, and future breeding and management strategies aimed at improving heat tolerance in dairy cattle.