Photo Courtesy of: The Des Moines Register
The effects of climate change are usually described based on the impact it will have on humans, "the melting of ice caps could increase the rate at which floods will occur and could endanger lives", however the effects of climate change on animals is not acknowledged. This article Climate change Stresses out Cows , Lowers Milk Production by Chelsea Whyte, gives us an insightful look into how the production of milk by cows is being related to rise in global temperatures.
As we enter the summer season, it is without a doubt that each summer becomes drastically hotter than the previous, with rise in temperatures people become uncomfortable and stressed. This behavior goes for animals also and it seems that cows living in humid areas become more stressed and less likely to produce as much milk as they would have. With no improvement to climate change it seems like it may remain this way for a while.
Production of milk due to the climate change varies depending on many factors, such as the level of humidity and temperature swing between day and night according to the University of Washington. The University of Washington went further as to detail data of the production of Holstein milk from county to county through to the year 2080. According to statistics there is a difference between milk production in the Southeast versus the Northwest probably due to the uncomfortable environment in Southeast.
According to the article, places which experience cool yet humid weather in the nighttime such as Tillamook Oregon see a milk production level drop at much lower temperatures in comparison to very dry areas such as Arizona. It is believed that, "Tillamook cows become less productive starting at 59 degrees Fahrenheit while those in Maricopa, Ariz. Start making less milk at around 77 degrees."
Cows like most humans do prefer cooler environments, dairy farmers have taken the initiative to cluster them in more habitable environments but as climate change persists so will the inhospitable weather and regions like the Southern U.S. will probably begin to see a loss in population of cows.
However it seems that science and technology are at the forefront of this race, with "new advances in technology and breeding practices, the milk industry may make it through the coming climate changes", this wont be enough as estimated in 2080 milk production will have lowered to about 6% and with the population of the world at constant increase could pose a very serious problem.
So with that being said, I would like to pose a few questions and ideas. Seeing as climate change still persists and probably will till effective methods are being put into place how sure are we that population of cows will not be lost even before 2080? Furthermore this shows that although there is data to prove loss of milk production, science has decided to find ways to produce milk instead of trying to fix the problem. It brings the "Not in my Backyard" phrase into play, once things are not being noticed and are not physically affecting us as a people we turn the other way. I am also interested to know how in depth the scientific data collected by University of Washington is. Despite this being a U.S. Environmental report how are other countries affected by it and how are developing countries going to face the issue at hand?
This is a very interesting article that enlightened me a lot . I wrote my second blog on a very very similar article dealing with a cows milk production and its relation to the climate and hospitable environment for a cow. Other countries are not really affected by a lack in the number of cows or a lack in the milk production unless that particular developing country directly depends on the US for milk. If not, milk production in the developing country will depend on the number of cows they have and the hospitable environment they have to keep the cows healthy enough for a good milk production ensuring the population in that country receive a good supply of milk as they would like.
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