Heat stress might curdle the dairy industry

published inin March, the impact of climate-change-related heat stress on dairy and beef cattle production may lead to global production losses of meat and milk amounting to about $40 billion per year by the end of the century for a high greenhouse gas emission scenario. Even in the best-case scenario where emissions are low, producers could be looking at a loss of around $15 million.

Based on the study, the losses in tropical regions are estimated to be higher than those in temperate regions, for both high and low emission scenarios. “Some parts of the northern temperate areas of the globe may see increased production as cold spells decline,” says Thornton. “In other words, more of the energy in the feed eaten by animals can go towards meat and milk production, rather than keeping the animal warm.

The impacts of heat stress on cattle can affect the food security and diet diversity of both livestock producers and consumers. Producers may experience income reduction, loss of assets, and decreased resilience of their livelihoods, while consumers may face higher prices for meat and milk, says Thornton.

Food supply depends on products coming from farms, so anytime there is a disruption in these systems, the entire food supply chain suffers, says Stone. “We may see a shift in where these farms are in relation to our consumers—for example, ‘local’ may be a farm 100 miles away instead of 10—and there will be fewer farms with more cows supplying all our needs,” she adds. Therefore, it’s crucial to mitigate the impacts of increasing heat stress on cattle production.

Cows can’t sweat as humans do, so in confinement operations where cows live inside a barn, fans and sprinklers can be

Dairy is a perishable product that has been shown to exacerbate food insecurity. Producing pulses and legumes instead of milk: 🌱saves up to 1,800 liters of water for every 100 grams of protein 🌱takes up a 4th to a 12th of land 🌱generates 5 to 21 times fewer GHG emissions

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