Climate Change and Dairying
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School
Central New Mexico Community College *
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Course
1192
Subject
Geography
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
5
Uploaded by ColonelPorpoise3916
Geography 1110: Article Response: “Climate Change & Dairying”
*
The article to review is located in pdf format at
: Please check Brightspace:
Learning Modules…in same location where this document is located.
1.
Please list two (2) environmental factors which climate change is expected
to impact dairy cows? (page 121)
1.
Excessive heat and humidity.
2.
Excessive drought.
2.
What behavioral changes (there are two (2)), might cattle undergo when
dealing with the impacts (mentioned above) of climate change? (page
121-122)
Decreased dry matter intake and increased water intake.
a.
One possible behavioral change?
Animals will undergo physical changes in order to maintain a cool
constant temperature.
b.
2
nd
possible change?
The cattle will increase their water intake.
c.
What is one negative physiological change, shown in terms of milk
production, associated with these behavioral changes? (page 122)
Milk production decreases in response to high temperatures and
decreased food intake.
3.
How much money (in US $) was estimated to be lost during recent severe
heat episodes? (page 122)
Over $1 billion
4.
Please describe how the distribution of milk production is demonstrated in
the US?
(is it evenly spread across the whole US, or…..? (page 122)
The distribution of milk production is evenly spread across the US.
Although in the northeastern states milk production is very common.
a.
How about California…..How much milk is produce there as a
percentage in the US? (page 122)
20 percent of the US milk production is produced in California.
5.
Looking at Figure # 1:
a.
does it appear that New Mexico is a big dairy state?
Yes, or
No….& why?
Please describe your answer & please use the maps
& tables.
We are mostly desert & steppe climate, but……….
New Mexico is not a big dairy state, although it looks like the
southeastern part of the state has an increased amount of milk
production than any other part of the state.
b.
What are the three biggest milk producing counties in NM? (may
need to look at a map of NM to find county names)
Lea, Eddy, Chaves, and Dona Ana
c.
What reasons do you believe why these counties have large dairy
herds?
(where are they located in terms of physical geography?)
These parts of the state are more great plains, which is why these
counties have more cattle than other parts of the state.
6.
What do the authors state is the purpose of this article?
(page 122)
To combine current climate projections with the current data on the milk
production in the United States. Combining these data helps estimate the
direct impact of climate change on milk production.
7.
Why are the estimations used in this paper (at the county (parish in LA)
level) better than past research? (page 122)
They are an improvement over past research.
8.
Why might data from the country of Sudan not be applicable for all climatic
regions? (page 122)
The climate is very hot and dry.
9.
What variables
were held constant (independent) during the scope of this
research?
....
unchanged across research subjects? (page 123)
a.
Baseline milk prices
b.
Milk Production
10.Under
Methods,
what two variables are believed to remain steady
throughout the year? (page 123)
a.
Number of cows
b.
Baseline milk production
Why are a & b important in terms of total annual milk production? (123)
11.
When perusing the literature, how are the physiological effects of heat &
humidity estimated?
(what single parameter is used?) (page 123)
The temperature-humidity index (THI)
a.
What major agency (US Government) is this formula derived from?
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
12.
What might be some of the problems associated with the estimations used
by the authors?
....
what do the estimations not account for in terms of
indirect impacts?
Why might this be a problem in their estimations? (page
124)
The impacts of heat stress to the cows these include reproductive
efficiency, and changes in water availability.
13.
What is one big simplifying assumption that the authors make regarding
milk prices over time?
They do not change.
a.
How do the authors work around this?
Instead they are only
estimating what over time? (page 124)
The authors come up with a solution of focusing on climate change.
14.
Under
Data (Current & Future Temperatures)
, what do the authors
indicate is the simplicity of their approach to temperature differences over
time, AND what does their method ensure is retained? (page 124)
The author’s approach to temperature differences over time is to ensure
that the realism of the historical record.
a.
Under
Data (Humidity)
, what factor did the scientists keep as a
constant & why is this important? (page 125)
The RH is the factor that the scientist kept as the constant because
it helps with the control of the humidity so that milk production could
be constant.
15.
Under
Results (Sensitivity of Milk Production Loss to Temperature)
,
what does the “strong geographic variability in heat sensitivity of milk
production” follow?
The combined effects of diurnal temperature range and humidity.
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a.
What does this mean that even with climate change, a very
important factor still has a major influence on milk
production….starts with a G! (page 125)
Geography
16.
What does the outlook for Chaves Co., NM look like in:
a.
a) 1950-1999
: -0.75
_, 2050s
: -1.9_,
and 2080s: -
2.5
____?
(page 126 Table 1)
b.
What impact might this have on NM’s economy?
The economy of New Mexico loses money.
17.
What are the projected economic losses for the whole state of NM versus
just Chaves Co., (related to question 16)?
1950-1999:
-$9.0
, 2050s:
-$23.0
,
2080s:
-$30.0
? (page 128)
What does this indicate in terms of Chaves Co. & its
importance to NM dairy cow herds?
Chaves Co. has lost thousands of dollars due to the amount
of milk lost. This may indicate that they make a change in the
production of milk. It also demonstrates that NM is not the
best place to have dairy cow herds.
18.
What is one climatic/weather-related factor that NM has less of in terms of
affecting dairy herds than many other states?
Look at Figure 4 (page 127)
Humidity.
a.
What is the other factor that we have a lot of? (Figure 4)
Temperature increase, excessive heat.
19.
What is the current NM dairy cow herd size?
Where did you gather this
information? (page 128)
340,000 cows, Table 2
20.
In
Conclusions
, what is the primary objective of this article? In other
words, why did they do the research (people, including taxpayers in many
cases want to know why their money is being spent on certain studies)
(page 129)
To provide an improved and resolved assessment of climate impact on
dairy production across the nation.
21.
What are the milk production (estimated) losses strongly influenced by?
(page 129)
The summer because of the increase of temperature and humidity.
22.
What do the results of this study indicate in terms of climate change on
nationwide milk production? (page 129)
Milk production is vulnerable when it comes to climate change no matter
what part of the nation the dairy herd is at.