According to Lancet Study (Medical Journal)2022, increasing temperatures could reduce milk production in India’s arid and semi arid regions by 25% by end century in 2085.
Impact of Heat Stress on Cattles:
News Jungal desk: Elevated temperatures affect the cow’s ability to diaplay natural mating behaviour, as it reduces both the duration and intensity of oestrus(female animal’s readiness to mate) expression.
Lactating dairy cows have an increased sensitivity to heat stress compared with nonlactating(dry) cows.
There is a positive relationship between milk yield and heat production, thats why higher yielding cows are more challenged by heat stress than lower yielding animals.
The impact of rising temperatures, especially on cross-bred cows will make the task of meeting domestic demand difficult and could eventually lead to decline in per capita consumption.
Milk Production in India:
According to Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2022, total milk production in India was 221.06 million tonnes in 2021-22, making it the largest milk producing country in the world.
The indigenous cattle contribute 10.3% of the total milk production in the country.
Non-descript cattle contribute 9.8% and non-descript buffaloes contribute 13.4% of the total milk production in the country.
Top three major milk producing states are Rajasthan(15%), Uttar Pradesh (14.9%), Madhya Pradesh (8.06%).
India’s milk production is contributing around 23% of global milk production.