ArticleThe aim of this study is to develop a computational tool, based on the Temperature and
Humidity Index value, to characterize the thermal environment in dairy cattle barns and to
evaluate the impact of thermal stress on productive performance. The software for the thermal
environment prediction, and determination of the influence of heat stress on dairy cow
productivity (Ambi + Leite) was developed using the C# programming language in the Microsoft
Visual C# 2010 Express Integrated Development Environment. The following scenario was
considered for the program test: air temperature 32°C, relative air humidity 70% and milk
production potential in thermoneutrality condition 20 kg cow-1 day-1
. The prediction of the
thermal environment based on the simulated situations indicates that the animals are submitted to
a moderate heat stress condition with THI equal to 82.81. In this condition a decrease of
approximately 26% in milk production and a reduction of 4 kg cow-1 day-1
in food intake was
calculated. In conclusion, the developed software can be a practical tool to assist the producer in
making-decision processes