Adaptive Management Practices for Robust and Profitable Dairy Operations in the Tropics Upon the Uncertainty of Climate Change

Abstract

One of the greatest challenges of dairying in tropical regions of the world is heat stress. Upon the uncertain effects of climate change might have in dairy cattle productivity in the tropics, intrinsic advantages exhibited by heat tolerant breeds, in combination with adaptive nutritional management for heat stress, and modifications to the tropical environment, could be valuable in the quest to assure a robust and profitable dairy operation in our region. In the American continent, farmers have selected bovines better adapted to the region, like the hot and humid environment of Puerto Rico, where we can find “purebred” Holstein cattle that phenotypically have a very short and slick hair. This chapter intends to present the main managements practices carried out in dairy herds in the tropics upon the climate changes.