LED Lighting for Dairy Farming | Agricultural LED Lighting |

Advantages of LED Lighting in Dairy Farming

Dairy Farming LED Lighting

Farmers and other agricultural businesses; such as dairy farming are under increasing pressure. The worldwide demand for cheap produce is growing at an alarming rate; this has resulted in a number of farmers doing absolutely everything they can to reduce costs whilst increasing their yields; and one of these methods is raising animals indoors. 

Keeping animals indoors gives farmers more control over how their animals are raised, and therefore they can produce more accurate predictions about future yields. This makes it much easier on a business operational side; they also have complete control over the animals’ food intake, which can increase the total yield generated. 


Benefits of LED Lighting in Agriculture

Whilst there are obviously the generic cost-saving and environmental benefits of LED Lighting; there is a body of research developing that suggests that there might be specific agricultural applications – which could result in increased yields where animals are raised indoors. 

Here are some of the ways that LED lighting can not only save farmers money, but could also potentially increase their yields in the process. 


  • Control of Colour Temperature

LED lights can be purchased in a variety of different colour temperatures, which are measured in Kelvins (K). A recent study conducted into the effects of lighting on the milk yield of dairy cows by the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Maryland, found that the colour temperature is ideal for optimising milk production and animal welfare. Perhaps not surprisingly, this colour temperature is very close to that of natural daylight.


  • Control of Light Levels

This is an important point to mention, being able to control how long animals are subjected to light and dark. The same study as mentioned above found that keeping the dairy cows in an illuminated environment for 16 hours per day and eight hours of darkness, also correlated with an increase in milk production. This ensures that farmers can maintain the same level of milk production during the winter months when the days are shorter.


  • Cooler Operating Temperature

LED lights give off much less heat than traditional lighting solutions. This is because most of the energy they use is converted into light and not wasted as heat energy. This means that the need for mechanical cooling is massively reduced, resulting in what can be quite significant cost savings. 


  • Saving Money and the Environment

The long lifespan of LEDs, the low power usage and the low operating temperature means that they are very environmentally friendly. These factors help to make them up to 80% cheaper to run than traditional lighting solutions. The typical payback period for LED lighting is around six months, after that you’re in profit.


Making the switch to LED lighting will undoubtedly save farmers and other agricultural businesses money on their lighting costs, and with the prospect of actually increasing yields in the process a very real possibility. An investment in LED lighting will certainly pay for itself.