ASABE- American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
Abstract
In Portugal, animal production is of major significance, both economically and socially. Livestock are especially important to those regions in which agriculture is the main economic activity. Situated in Southwestern Europe, Portugal has a Mediterranean climate with hot and dry Summer. Livestock farmers have to deal with high temperatures and with their effects on animal production. In most cases, breeders are not prepared to handle animals under high temperatures; they lack facilities and/or knowledge about this problem. We have begun work with the aim of developing strategies to monitor and prevent harm to animals (housed or raised outdoors) during the summer months. We need to identify the Portuguese regions most seriously affected by this problem, as well as where and for how long high temperatures occur most frequently. Both individual days with very high temperatures and heat waves are becoming more and more common in Portugal. The past four summers have been among the hottest ever registered. Since 2003, eight heat waves have occurred. We chose two locations in Portugal's Northeast to carry out a preliminary study in order to evaluate the occurrence of hot climate conditions in recent years; to develop methods of obtaining that data; and to learn how climatic factors (mainly temperature) evolve over the course of the summer.
We can conclude that in this region livestock are commonly exposed to high temperatures for long periods. It becomes clear that it is necessary to develop strategies to protect animals from the effects of such conditions
