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MARYVILLE

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News Brief

April 10, 2025

Small farms have felt the impact of extreme heat

A new study shows how extreme weather conditions negatively affect production yields on Midwest dairy farms, with a disproportionate impact on smaller farms.

Researchers at the University of Illinois studied milk production records from nine Midwest dairy farmers. Considering both temperature and humidity when measuring extreme heat, they found farms lose about 1% of milk yield annually because of heat stress, while smaller farms lose closer to 2%.

Study co-author Marin Skidmore says when cows are in extreme heat, it can cause increased restlessness and risk of infection, and decreased appetite, which reduces milk yield and impacts bottom lines.

"To some extent, it's only 1.6%, but if you're really making every dollar from your paycheck, how, because living in a time of high costs, then 1.6% of your paycheck being gone is meaningful.", says Skidmore.

The study predicts extreme heat days to be much more frequent in years to come and milk yield losses to increase about 30% in the next 25 years.

The Midwest tends to have smaller dairy farms compared with other states, with herds ranging from 100 to 200 cows. Researchers say being able to track and compare daily milk yields across a large region with similar climates has never been done before. Skidmore said their findings suggest that larger herds seem to have some level of protection to extreme heat compared with smaller farms, which start to see impacts of heat stress at lower thresholds.

"This is additionally concerning in the context that we're studying because we see a lot of dairy farm exits over the last decade or two and many of those are small farms.", says Skidmore. 

Skidmore emphasizes the need for additional support for small farms since capital costs can be particularly constraining.

Skidmore says more research is also needed to explore other options to best manage extreme heat on dairy farms.