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Animal lighting

Good animal lighting is adapted to suit the type of animal and how it is housed. This improves performance and reduces costs.  

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Good poultry lighting improves performances and reduces costs.

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Cattle lighting

Optimal cattle lighting increases milk yields, growth and more.

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High quality pig lighting improves performances and biosecurity.

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Good mushroom lighting has a long, problem-free service life.

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Dutch Engineering & Production

All our products are engineered in the Netherlands. An increasing number is also produced here. 

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Why lighting matters Products & solutions Products & solutions
Animal lighting

Good animal lighting is adapted to suit the type of animal and how it is housed. This improves performance and reduces costs.  

Discover animal lighting
Placeholder

Poultry Lighting

Good poultry lighting improves performances and reduces costs.

Broilers Laying Hens Parent Stock Rearing Turkey Learn more
Placeholder

Cattle lighting

Optimal cattle lighting increases milk yields, growth and more.

Dairy cattle Veal calves Young cattle Learn more
Placeholder

Pig lighting

High quality pig lighting improves performances and biosecurity.

Learn more
Placeholder

Mushroom lighting

Good mushroom lighting has a long, problem-free service life.

Learn more
View all products
Insights Insights
Success stories

Happy partners and farmers inspire us . We’re pleased to share their experiences with you.

Read the stories
Brightness for everyone

HATO Insights

Enrich your knowledge on animal lighting

Knowledge articles

Take a deepdive into specific topics

Webinars & training

Our brightness consultant at your service

Latest news

Stay up to date on all HATO related news

About us About us
Dutch Engineering & Production

All our products are engineered in the Netherlands. An increasing number is also produced here. 

Learn more
Get to know us

About us

World pioneer in animal lighting.

Our story

Your lighting partner since 1974

Careers

Are you ready to add brightness to your career?

Contact Contact
How can we help?

Do you have any questions? No matter what subjects, our specialists are happy to answer all of them

Message us
Let's collaborate

HATO Collaborations

We’re open to many forms of collaboration

Become a partner

Join us as a (custom) product or research partner

Become a dealer

Join our worldwide network of valued dealers

Find a dealer

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A starter guide on dairy cattle lighting

Lighting is an important part of dairy cattle management. Our convincing research has shown that an optimal light climate influences dairy cattle’s vision, behaviour, welfare and performances.

An optimal light climate can be realised by adjusting the different aspects of light to the vision and needs of the dairy cows.

Why should you switch from fluorescent to LED lighting-03An optimal light climate can be realised by adjusting the different aspects of light to the vision and needs of the dairy cows.Why should you switch from fluorescent to LED lighting-02

 

Dairy cattle’s vision

Dairy cattle’s panoramic vision (i.e. total vision) is 340°. This means that dairy cows can see things in all directions except for what is right behind them. As you can imagine, they have a preference for their monocular vision, as this represents the majority of their total vision (figure 1). Due to their relatively small binocular vision, it’s more difficult for the cows to estimate distance, which limits their perception of depth.

A starter guide on dairy cattle lighting-05Fig. 1: Dairy cattle’s panoramic vision

When it comes to spectral vision, dairy cattle have dichromatic vision. This means that dairy cows only have two types of functioning colour receptors or so-called cones in their eyes. Their receptors are mainly focused on the green and blue part of the light spectrum. Because of this, they can only perceive two pure spectral light colours. This in contrast to humans, who can perceive three.

Now, let’s have a look at the most important aspects of dairy cattle lighting and their influence on dairy cattle vision, behaviour, well-being and performances.

 

Light spectrum

The light spectrum or visible spectrum is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that can be seen. The different wavelengths are perceived by the eyes as different colours.

The visible spectrum of human beings and dairy cattle differs significantly, as you can see in figure 2. The visible spectrum of dairy cows reaches from about 400nm to 680nm with peak wavelengths at 451nm (blue) and 555nm (green).

By adapting the provided light to the dairy cattle’s visible spectrum, they are able to see better. This decreases stress and stimulates desired behaviour. Improved performances are the logical result of this.

A starter guide on dairy cattle lighting_Cattle vs HumanFig. 2. Spectral sensitivity of dairy cattle vs. human beings.

 

Light distribution

The light distribution – the spread of light throughout the house – is of key importance.

Since dairy cattle have poor depth perception, it’s very important to make sure there are no dark spots throughout the house. When dark spots appear on the floor or in front of the cows, it is likely they will startle and stop moving. This negatively impacts desired behaviour and induces stress.

By providing an optimal light distribution, dark spots can be prevented. This stimulates desired behaviour, makes the cows feel more at ease and reduces stress. The correct positioning of the lamps plays a major role here. This can easily be realised by creating a light plan prior to the purchase of the lighting equipment.

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Light flicker

Light flicker – the rapid change in light output of a lamp (figure 3.) – may be perceived consciously and unconsciously.

Dairy cattle perceive light flicker similarly to human beings. This means that they notice flicker at a similar frequency (amount of fluctuations per second). For human beings, flicker can lead to headaches, eyestrain and loss of concentration. This may mean that the dairy cow’s health is affected by flicker as well.

As such, to improve the dairy cattle’s well-being, it is important to take light flicker and its frequency into account when purchasing lighting equipment.

A starter guide on dairy cattle lighting-04
Fig 3. Light flicker vs flicker-free lighting

 

Light intensity

Providing the right light intensity – the amount of light measured at one place – will help to improve dairy cattle’s performances.

Research has shown that the light intensity influences the creation of melatonin, which in turn influences milk production. By making use of a higher light intensity, milk yield can increase. Besides that, when providing a high light intensity and a correct distribution, dairy cattle’s vision will improve as well. This makes the cows feel more at ease and makes it easier for them to go to the milking robot or parlour.

Also, important: a high light intensity makes life easier for the people working in the dairy cattle house. It becomes easier for them to see their stock, and they are able to notice when the cows are on heat or when there’s something wrong earlier.

 

A starter guide on dairy cattle lighting-06

RUDAX: Cattle lighting, the HATO way

Discover our light solutions for cattle

 

Photoperiod

The photoperiod – the period of time in which the lights are on – is of extreme importance as well.

The different life phases of dairy cattle have different requirements when it comes to the photoperiod. Young cattle and dairy cows need long photoperiods to feel and perform at their best. Especially during winter time, making days ‘longer’ through lighting will make a major difference, as seasonal effects can be reduced this way. During the dry period it’s recommended to provide shorter photoperiods to simulate winter time.

Studies show that using the right lux levels and photoperiods at the right time can significantly improve milk yield and fertility.

A starter guide on dairy cattle lighting-02

Improving life through brightness

Long story short: it is important to provide dairy cattle with a proper light climate. This can be realised by adjusting the different aspects of light to the dairy cow’s needs and vision. Doing so has a major impact on its vision, behaviour, welfare and performances. Increased desired behaviour, less stress, higher milk yield and improved fertility are some of the major advantages of an optimal light climate for dairy cattle.

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