AN ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS FOR MILK PRODUCTION IN THE RAINY SEASON IN RONDÔNIA

Abstract

The rainy season is considered the most productive for dairy farming since this condition is directly related to forage production, however other factors that can promote forage growth can also negatively affect cow productivity. This work aimed to investigate theoretically the loss of milk yield from the effects of temperature and relative humidity in the rainy season of the year for 10 municipalities in the state of Rondônia (Ariquemes, Cacoal, Guajará-Mirim, Ji-Paraná, Ouro Preto do Oeste; Pimenta Bueno, Porto Velho, Presidente Médici, Rolim de Moura and Vilhena). For this purpose, a survey of the typical climatic conditions of these municipalities was carried out for the variables temperature and relative humidity, with which the loss of milk production can be calculated using a specific equation. Milk production data were obtained from the record available in the 42nd stage of vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease for the year 2017. In general terms, 15.64% of milk production is not produced due to the animals' thermal discomfort. The extremes for these estimates are found in Vilhena with the lowest loss, 9.41%, and Porto Velho, with the highest, 23.22%. Theoretically, almost 76 thousand liters of milk per day are not produced due to the stressful conditions. With the genetic improvement of the dairy herd, there is also a need to improve the facilities for environmental comfort, since the more productive the cow, the greater the effects of these environmental variables, limiting milk production.