As temperatures rise, farmers are being forced to adapt, experimenting with new breeds and cooling methods
South-west of Phoenix, Arizona, in the hottest desert in North America, Beth and Tim Wilson use sprinklers to cool their 300 pigs. Nearby, the Adams Natural Meats bison ranch employs shaders and misters. North of the city, chicken farmer Dave Jordan says he cannot put his 10,000 birds out to pasture.
“If they were out in the sun, they would just get cooked.”
Animal agriculture accounts for one-third of the US south-west’s agricultural revenue. Like the rest of the world, however, the region is changing. Between 1901 and 2016, its average temperature increased by 0.9C (1.6F), and by 1.6C (3F) in some of its hottest places. Arizona recently struggled through a summer that was the hottest ever recorded in some parts of the state.
Animal farmers are now compelled to find ways to adapt to this climatic shift, exploring new ways of keeping chickens and cows cool, or importing more heat-resistant breeds. Lingering in the air is the […]
The Navajo have been raising sheep for centuries in the same kind of climate. Maybe it’s time folks developed a taste for mutton!
Good point except for that global warming thingy…
What we need is a new type of grass which can withstand the heat. The idea was being explored over 10 years ago but I have not kept up with it’s development.