Heat's Hidden Toll on Dairy Farms

Extreme heat is taking a toll on dairy cows, and the effects are lasting longer than expected. New research reveals that milk production can drop by up to 10%, with the impact lingering for more than 10 days.

Prime Production Stages Hit Hardest

Cows in their prime production stages are the most affected. The more milk a cow typically produces, the greater the loss when temperatures rise. It's a tough trade-off: the better the cow is at producing milk, the more vulnerable it becomes to heat.

Farmers Fight Back

Farmers have implemented cooling systems and management changes to combat the issue. While these efforts have helped, they only reduce losses by less than half. Even with the best technology and practices, the damage from heat remains significant.

A Global Concern

This isn't just a problem for one farm or one country. The data comes from key dairy-producing regions across a wide range of climates. If the best efforts aren't enough to protect dairy farms from heat, what does this mean for the future of food production in a warming world?

The Bottom Line

Climate change is a big problem for dairy farms, and current adaptation strategies aren't enough to solve it. It's time to think bigger and act faster.