Assessing temperature and humidity conditions for dairy cattle in Córdoba, Argentina.

Temperature and humidity conditions affect livestock production in Central Argentina. This study evaluates the risk of thermal stress affecting dairy production. The temperature-humidity index (THI) was used to analyze the regional and seasonal effects of temperature and humidity. Statistically, the THI was found to be normally distributed. The probability of occurrence of a daily THI higher than 72 was 40% for Río Cuarto during January. Regional variability of THI indicates a low risk of harmful extreme thermal stress conditions. The probability of THI being 78 or above ranges between 4% and 10% for the main dairy region of Córdoba during January. Also, in January and February, dairy production losses between 3 and 4 l cow(-1) day(-1) could be expected with a frequency of 5% in Río Cuarto and 15% in Villa de María de Río Seco.