Place enough troughs on the yard, the race, standoff areas and wherever cows are grazing. This is particularly important in areas near hills and other steep or elevated parts of the farm. Water should be clean, palatable and drinkable.

Water troughs should be the right size for cow numbers, and have adequate flow rates. Water pipes should be 75mm in diameter, with enough pressure to provide 20 litres per cow per hour. If cows are standing at a trough waiting for it to refill, you’re not meeting their needs.

If you have little or no experience with planting, talk with a planting project management provider – they will often manage the entire project. Contact your regional council or search online for one – there’ll be plenty of providers available in most regions.

Provide shade (e.g., trees, a herd home, shade cloth shelters) to protect cows from the sun’s rays. These areas should be big enough to provide about 5m² of effective shade per cow.

It’s equally important during adverse weather (high winds, heavy rainfall or snowfall) to protect cows from exposure to high winds, heavy rainfall or snowfall, freezing temperatures and flood-prone areas. Providing shelter in both kinds of conditions helps to maintain your herd’s well-being and productivity.

Keep planting more trees and vegetation to increase shade areas on your farm. This could include building extra shade shelters or shelter sheds as part of your ongoing farm infrastructure improvement plans.

Being proactive in managing heat stress or adverse weather will improve your farm's productivity, profitability, sustainability and animal welfare. Create a heat stress management plan and a wet weather management plan, if you haven’t done so already. Ensure they factor in future climate change challenges too.

Know how many days of heat stress or adverse weather events your region is likely to have and plan for future climate change, too. Even if your region isn’t prone to a high number of heat stress risk days each year, it’s predicted that temperatures across New Zealand will rise by 2050. Adverse weather events are likely to increase during this period as well.

When it’s hot, consider changing feeding times, and milking times and frequency (e.g., 16-hour milking) to take advantage of cooler evenings. Minimise cows’ time on the yard, and where possible, shorten walking distances between grazing paddocks and the milking shed. In high-heat-stress regions, use sprinklers and fans (use both in high-humidity regions).

Proactively manage your pastures and feed crop areas to minimise pasture and soil damage during wet weather events. Just prior to and during wet weather, move cows to other areas less prone to flooding and pugging.