Economic Research Report No. (ERR-175) 45 pp

September 2014

Climate Change, Heat Stress, and U.S. Dairy Production

In the United States, climate change is likely to increase average daily temperatures and the frequency of heat waves. Dairy cows are particularly sensitive to heat stress, and the dairy sector has been estimated to bear over half of the costs of current heat stress to the livestock industry. Greater heat stress may lower U.S. milk production 0.6-1.3 percent by 2030.

Keywords: Climate change, dairy, heat stress, productivity, stochastic frontier, technical efficiency

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