The prospect of higher summer temperatures due to climate change has dairy farmers concerned their cows will produce less milk, but a Japanese company thinks it has a solution to allow the animals to beat the heat.

Major Japanese underwear maker Gunze Ltd. has developed a shirt-like device to keep the heat-affected cows cool, automatically wetting the animals down so they are comfortable in the often oven-like dairies where they are milked.

 (NOT FOR SALE: Kyoto Prefectural Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Technology Center) 

The device, named Ushi-ble, is made of a stretch "feel-cool" fabric that is more often seen in sportswear. It covers the cows' necks and shoulders, making it look like they are wearing a stretch t-shirt.

The device has a sensor that keeps tabs on how wet the material is, and when it becomes too dry, water is pumped through a tube to douse the animal. The water then vaporizes to bring down the cow's hide temperature by around 5 C, the company said.

The device has been tested by Gunze and its partner, the Kyoto Prefectural Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Technology Center, and has proven effective in minimizing the normal 10 percent summer-time reduction in milk production.

At present, many dairies have sprinkler systems that aim to keep the cattle cool in summer, but the method tends to leave standing water and can exacerbate hygiene issues.

Gunze said its wearable device may also have positive effects on the cows' summertime fertility rates, which also fall when the temperature rises.

(NOT FOR SALE: Kyoto Prefectural Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Technology Center)